Regulations on Packages
Over 13 Ounces
USPS regulations on the mailing of
packages using only stamps are as follows:
Priority Mail weighing more than 13
ounces bearing only postage stamps as
postage may not be deposited into a collection box, Postal Service lobby drop,
Postal Service dock, customer mailbox,
or other unattended location. These mail
pieces are also precluded from pickup
service. The sender must present such
items to an employee at a retail service
counter in a Postal Service facility. Improperly presented items will be returned to the sender for proper entry
and acceptance.
All packages 13 ounces or more that
have postage stamps on them must be
stamped with the USPS green AVSEC
(Aviation Security) stamp or the USPS
PVI label with zeroes (0.00) on it to
prove it was passed over the USPS counter and not mailed in a blue drop box.
If you print out your own postage at
home, you are okay because the postage
can be traced back to you through your
payment record. Any packages mailed
without these markings may be returned
to the sender by the USPS. The package
may be returned to you with a sticker
affixed on it that has an airplane with a
slash through it. Since 2001, the American Philatelic Center has been stamping
our outgoing packages with the Aviation
Security stamps. To prevent any delay in
the arrival of your packages we remind
you to follow these guidelines.
Additional information can be found
on the USPS website at www.usps.com/
business/web-tools-apis/domestic-mailservice-standards-api.pdf
USPS Tracking Service
We now find that the Tracking number you receive when mailing circuits is
kept online for only six months. Please
enter the tracking number on the report
sheet before you send it to us. We can
then track the package and, if there is a
problem, we will write to you for a copy
of the original receipt. Do not send us
the original receipt. We would still like
to have you retain the receipt for twelve
months as a precaution.
We also suggest that you follow up
your mailing by checking the number on
the USPS Tracking site (www.usps.com)
to see if it has been delivered. The results
from the USPS could be attached to your
records for future reference, if needed.
Thank You Barb Boal!
The Domestic Mail Service Standards manual
is available at www.stamps.org/AP-Album.
1164 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / December 2014
As you all may know, Barb Boal is
retiring from her job as Editor of The
American Philatelist at the end of this
month. While this is not the last column
I am writing during her tenure (this one
was due in early October), I am using
this opportunity to give her a BIG thank
you for all of the support she has given
the Sales Division and the “Sales Talk”
column during the nineteen years I have
been writing for the AP. Her advice and
suggestions on presentation and graphics for our brochures, forms, sales books,
and specials have been exceptional. She
has managed a staff that goes above and
beyond what we request. (She also knows
how to properly groan at my jokes and
comments while taking visitors on the
building tours.) She will be missed!
StampStore News
For sellers, we have instituted a new
commission rate for all items submitted
after August 1, 2014 and sold through the
APS StampStore. These submissions will
now have tiered commission rates as follows, with a 50-cent minimum per item:
Tiered Commissions
as of August 1, 2014
Net Price
Rate
Up to $100
20%
$101–$25017.5%
$251–$50015%
$501–$100012.5%
$1001 +
10%
For the buyers, we are, once again,
offering free shipping to members when
they purchase over $100 when the order
is sent to a US address and $200 for orders sent to addresses outside the United
States.
StampStore is reaching more buyers
than ever before, and now anyone can
buy from the site! We have opened our
doors to all collectors, which means that
non-members are able to purchase items.
However, there is a 10% surcharge on each
non-member purchase order and each
such shipment will have postage charged
for the addition of the appropriate USPS
tracking service. Since this column is not
readily available to non-members, be
sure to let any of your friends know that
they can now take advantage of browsing
AND buying from StampStore.org. This
should be good news for members who
are selling material at this venue, as there
will eventually be a much wider audience
for their material.
Sales Books and Mounts
This is the time of year to stock up
on sales books and mounts, if you plan
to use the winter months to sell material
through us, especially since we anticipate an increase in the cost of mounts after January 2015. We have not increased
the prices of our blank sales books for
several years and we do not plan to do
so in 2015, although our postage charge
will be increasing early next year to help
alleviate the effects of the USPS rate
changes from September 2014. Ordering now will save you money. If you call
in an order, please note that orders re-
What the Sales Division
Can Offer You!
“Mini Stamp Shops” delivered to your home • $8 million inventory
More than 160 collecting categories • No buying limit
$215 average value per sales book • Buyer satisfaction guaranteed
Sellers’ books insured while circulating
40,000 sales books in circulation among members • Friendly staff
Excellent customer service (more than 100 combined years of experience)
ceived by Wednesdays at noon are filled
and sent on Thursdays.
Holiday Circuit Delivery
When you receive a circuit during
the holiday seasons of November and
December, please be sure the package or
its contents do not become part of the
holiday trimmings. It has been a very
long time since a circuit was thrown out
with the gift wrappings, but it can happen with the confusion of the seasons’
QuantityItem
Amount
Sales Books
_______
Sales books for singles $1.50 each, $8.50 for 10, $37.50 for 50, $60.00 for 100 $_______.___
_______
Sales books for blocks $1.50 each, $8.50 for 10, $37.50 for 50, $60.00 for 100 $_______.___
_______
Sales books for covers $1.75 each, $12.00 for 10, $55.00 for 50, $100.00 for 100 $_______.___
_______
Sales books 8-pages singles $1.25 each, $7.00 for 10, $30.00 for 50, $55.00 for 100
$_______.___
_______
Sales books 8-pages blocks $1.25 each, $7.00 for 10, $30.00 for 50, $55.00 for 100
$_______.___
Stamp Mounts (500 per pkg.)
_______
Pkgs. size C½ $26.00 per pkg.(for singles and standard commemoratives)
$_______.___
_______
Pkgs. size C1½ $27.00 per pkg.(for large singles and regular blocks of 4)
$_______.___
_______
Pkgs. size C3½ $38.00 per pkg.(for normal commemorative plate blocks)
$_______.___
Total
$_______.___
PA residents must add 6% sales tax $_______.___
Postage (see below) $_______.___
Total Remittance$_______.___
Payment by  Check  Money Order  VISA  MasterCard  Discover
Card No. _________–__________–__________–__________ Expiration Date ______–_____ CVV No. _____________
Name _________________________________________________________________________ APS No. ___________
Address ______________________________________________________________ Daytime Phone _______________
City ______________________________________________________ State ____________ Zip ___________________
Additional U.S. Domestic Postage all orders: $2.00 for First Class/Priority Mail
Additional International Postage on all orders (First Class/Priority): $25.00 for orders sent to Canada or Mexico
$35.00 for all other countries (Contact us for postage cost when ordering 100 books or more.)
APS Sales Division • 100 Match Factory Place • Bellefonte, PA 16823
Phone: (814) 933-3803 • Fax: (814) 933-6128
E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.stamps.org
December 2014 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1165
‘5 for 10’ Categories
(Needs)
Visit the
Sales
Division &
StampStore
Online!
www.stamps.org/Buy-and-Sell-by-Mail
festivities. A circuit should be placed in
a secure location away from the holiday
action and should be processed as soon
as possible for forwarding to the next
address. Remember that you are responsible for the safety of the circuit while it
is in your possession.
2015 Dues
We encourage members to pay their
2015 dues by the end of December to
avoid interruption of circuit service in
the New Year. On or about January 16
each year, the Sales Division sends a
reminder to all participants in our service who have not paid dues, noting the
date on which we will have to drop them
from circuit lists.
In 2015 the drop date will be February 2. Your prompt payment of dues will
be appreciated.
You can earn coupons for free blank
books for every 10 completed books
(Clearance books do not qualify) containing material from a set list of categories. For more information and the list of
qualifying categories visit http://stamps.
org/Stamps-Needed or contact us to obtain a hard copy of the list. [Note: Singlecountry books usually have better sales.]
U.S. Back of the Book
U.S. Officials
U.S. Possessions
U.S. Precancels
Danzig
Spanish Colonies
The Bahamas
Bermuda
Jamaica
China
Egypt
Ethiopia
Israel
PR CHINA
BUY Price
Mint, NH, XF Condition
Scott #
1388a
1399
1433
1452
1483
1492
1518
1540
1541
1573
1586
1617
1607 bklt
1647a bklt
1761
Price
$400
400
250
200
100
400
1500
140
150
200
1500
200
450
130
130
Buying at
FLOREX
in Orlando
We buy other stamps not listed,
also FDCs & covers.
Rising Sun Stamps
3317 Kennedy Avenue, The Villages, FL 3216-6344
Phone: (Cell) 570-350-4393
E-mail: [email protected]
1166 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / December 2014