Machin and country definitives without datamatrix codes were withdrawn from sale on 28 May 2022, the new Queen Elizabeth datamatrix definitives having been issued on 1 February and 4 April 2022.
Now these new stamps, and all associated products, will be withdrawn from philatelic* sale by Royal Mail on 1 June 2024 - some have already sold out, including the NVI presentation pack.
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| These business sheets will be withdrawn along with counter sheets and booklets. |
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| Make-up values 1p - £5 including £3 which was not replaced. |
The full list of products being withdrawn or already sold out is
What does this mean? Well if you prefer the Queen's portrait to the King's you need to buy now!
But it could also mean that the Swapout will at last be providing new stamps instead of Machins. Only time will tell.
On the other hand, if they are withdrawn from sale but still valid for use.... I guess we will still get them when we send in our old stamps.
* UPDATE 12 June
We now know that this announcement applied only to philatelic sales, and that some of the products are still available to users of the 'Retail' side of Royal Mail's website. This is particularly true of the 1st class large Business Sheet (DS1258) for which a King Charles version has not yet been printed. The Queen Elizabeth versions will still be sold to exhaustion by Post Offices and other non-retail outlets who have bought them for resale.
Interesting that they've done this, the 1st large Business Sheet for KC3 hasn't even been issued yet!
ReplyDeleteAlso will these mean that Charles stamps will now be used for swapouts I wonder?
Rob
Looks like the end of country definitives then.
DeleteOne of two things would have to happen: either new versions with the King's head on would be printed, or they would stop issuing them altogether. The first is less likely given normally low usage. The second is politically unlikely.
DeleteThe most recent RM Stocklist (April 2024) doesn't have any Machins listed, but the Country stamps are still available "while stocks last". Maybe they'll be withdrawn only when the paper turns yellow with age!
DeleteI can't find anything on the RM website warning about the June 1st deadline, which seems to me to be poor customer service, as well as a missed opportunity for RM.
We were only told this week by the Trade wing. I must put something on Xwitter and alert Royal Mail for the website to be updated.
DeleteTerry H 28 May 2024 12.30
DeleteAs a collector with several thousand Machins I hope that RM will give us plenty of notice before they end the swap out scheme, I am getting a little nervous and do not know where to go with this. As there seems to be very little interest in finding purchasers now I am wondering if its time to take the hit. Rob I shall in the short term rely on you to keep us updated on this.
Terry: this comment isn't really appropriate to this blogpost but I let it through so that I could reply.
DeleteYou may have missed the boat when it comes to selling for anything like a profit, or even at all, given that bigger dealers have been inundated with people trying to sell their duplicates - or even their collections - for the last 2 years.
I set out my position when the invalidation was announced - https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2022/02/thoughts-on-royal-mails-invalidation-of.html - and I have since prepared many sales lists and sold to collectors all around the world wanting to fill their gaps.
As stated in the latest post (yesterday), this is the end of the line. Another £500-worth sent for swapping today, and within the next few weeks - unless I get a lot of enquiries which I can satisfy - a lot more £k of stamps will be going to the incinerator.
If you have anything exceptional, then offer it to a dealer or other collectors. If not, then it is time to cash in your chips for a potential profit over the original purchase price for all the NVIs.
It will be interesting to see what happens at POs and retail outlets - will they continue to offer Machins until their stocks are exhausted, or will they offer KCIII from 1 June? At my local supermarket they supplied me with KCIII a couple of months ago, but earlier this week I was given a QEII book - which suggests that supplies are issued randomly to individual stores.
ReplyDeleteI was told yesterday that there never were any £3 stamps 'because that was not a value for postage' & that was in a city centre post office, not in some howling wilderness. Do they train PO staff in anything about stamps? Any other sort of shop trains its staff in what they sell.
DeleteRW
ReplyDeleteI am also wondering if the small Post offices like mine in the Village will still have the Queen Values? As when i asked last week they have enough sheets to last for years to come plus a large number of QE Horizon Labels, also I have tried a number of local Supermarkets and all have the QE Booklets.
The only place I have found is the Crown office in Paignton who have KC3 Stamps and also the King Head on the Horizon Labels. Robert
I don't really understand the reasoning behind this, what's wrong with just using up the old QEII stamps by keep selling them if they are still valid for postage?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in charge, I'd simply invalidate all stamps that don't have KC3 on them. It's the only way to simplify the mess that no one understands.
ReplyDeleteBut if it was me in charge, I'd just end this lunacy, validate all decimal stamps, and focus on enforce against those smuggling or selling fake stamps. I'd also merge the Post Office and Royal Mail, into a single government-owned corporation.
Received my 2024 Concise today, glaring error in the KC III Data matrix definitives for MPIL issues the £1 brown is listed as being printed in 2024 but it is printed as 2023.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the 1st Large business sheet is concerned the situation is confusing DS1258 the Queens head version has been removed from sale yet DS1656 the King Charles version is not available for purchase. I suppose it would be possible to just order the business sheet as shown on thw website but it still states that QE II version will be supplied until stock runs out so is this a case of Schrodingers 1st Large business sheet where the QEII version is both on sale and not on sale at the same time.
ReplyDeleteSee update at the foot of this post, and the latest blog post, 12 June.
DeleteFor what it's worth, my local supermarket is still selling 8x2nd Machin booklets.
ReplyDelete