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Old August 13th 16, 05:21 PM posted to rec.collecting.stamps.discuss
David E. Ross
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Default Stamps held by the public and USPS revenues

On 8/13/2016 8:04 AM, Sir F.A. Rien wrote:
In Linn's Stamp News, August 10, 2016, from the article: "Why the U.S.
Postal Service’s net losses for the year are growing" by Bill McAllister, I
learned as follows:

"One of the changes USPS made in the quarter was a revision to how many
stamps are held by the public.

That revision added $1 billion to postal revenues in the latest quarter.

The Postal Service does not record postage as a revenue item until the stamp
purchased is used in the mail. It notes how many stamps the public has
purchased and records this number as a “deferred revenue-prepaid postage
liability.” "

Can anybody explain what kind of revision was the one mentioned above, and
why did it add so much to the postal revenues? TIA.


IF this account is correct, one nedd only visit any stamp dealer,
show or go on line. There are hundreds of thousands of 'old' sheets,
blocks, etc. in 'collector' hands dating back to the 1930's.

If these are now 'not accounted in revenue' [though I'm sure the
money paid in has long been spent], then the 'books' are fried!

I'd expect this "deferred revenue-prepaid postage liability" to
exceed the total 'revenues for up to a full year!

NOW ... do they discount for the interest and use of the funds that
they have had for up to almost a Century?

ROTFLMAO about O'Bamanomics !!!


I stopped collecting mint U.S. stamps about 15 years ago when it became
very, very clear to many collectors that the USPS was issuing multiple
variations of stamps and stamps commemorating subjects that did not
deserve commemoration merely to pick the pockets of collectors. As soon
as the collector market was saturated with a distinct variety of a
stamp, the USPS would issue the same stamp with a hard-to-detect
difference. Collectors who wanted complete collections would then buy
that variation.

Effectively, the USPS was showing a positive cash-flow by selling stamps
to collectors, stamps that would never be used. One estimate I recall
was that 10% of the USPS's annual revenues represented stamps the USPS
knew would never be used.

--
David E. Ross

Republicans scream that Hillary Clinton was responsible
for the tragedy in Benghazi. They conveniently forget
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