They sell the definitive stamps because that's what the Postal Service offers on consignment. If you want a choice of commemorative stamps, you can go to a post office. When a new stamp comes out, each post office gets an automatic shipment, Failor said. When they run out, it's up to the postmaster to decide whether to reorder -- which means you won't find all of the available stamps at any single post office.
If you want to find stamps that express your every whim, you can order by mail, phone (800-STAMP24) or online (all of which carry a $1 shipping-and-handling charge). Right now, there are about 45 different 37-cent stamps available at www.usps.com, including depictions of the arctic tundra or the USS Constellation, early football heroes, the Korean War, Mary Cassatt, Dr. Seuss, R. Buckminster Fuller and John Wayne.
"Our Web site is really cool," Saunders said in best spokesman fashion. "It's the post office that never closes, and you're always at the front of the line." And, he said, you can calculate rates for a package, print out a shipping label, pay for the postage and alert your mail carrier to pick it up from your doorstep the next day, all from your computer.
Between now and the end of the year, about 20 more commemorative stamps will be issued. Postal officials say their customers look forward to new stamps. And they're profitable. The Postal Service brings out a new stamp with ceremony, selling special items for collectors, a durable group making up about 5 percent of the American public, Failor said.
"The first U.S. stamps [of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin] were issued in 1847, and I would imagine a few days after that, someone started collecting them," he said.
There are also non-collectors who find a particular stamp appealing and keep it -- which means the Postal Service has sold a stamp but doesn't have to deliver anything for it.
"We call it stamp retention," Failor said. "If somebody buys a stamp or pane of stamps and puts them in a drawer, it's stamp retention. We do some surveys, and we estimate the value of stamps retained at somewhere between $150 million and $200 million of stamps a year. Certainly it's a good thing for us, but more importantly we try to keep the program fresh and contemporary and educational."
Perhaps you have an Elvis at home. That stamp, issued in 1993, holds the record for commemorative stamps, with 550 million printed.
Saunders said the Reagan stamp is popular, as well. "We printed 270 million, and once those are sold, they'll be gone," he said. "They're getting bought up like crazy."
More customers are paying close attention to the kinds of stamps they send, Failor said. "For many people out there, the stamp they put on their mail is a reflection of who they are," he said.
There's also a desire to have stamps reflect the contents of the envelope. No wonder the Postal Service has a Happy Birthday stamp. And Failor has discovered that when a couple is getting married, the mother of the bride wants a special stamp for the wedding invitation. With 70 percent of stamp buyers being women, attention is paid to such wishes.
"We've tried to satisfy the desire by having really pretty stamps," Failor said. "Last year we actually issued two stamps designed as wedding stamps. They're bouquets of flowers."
One of them, a bouquet of pink flowers, is a 60-cent stamp for 2-ounce mail. That's enough postage for an invitation on heavy paper along with an RSVP card and envelope tucked inside the invitation. Love stamps are often chosen, as well.
Sometimes, Love is not enough, as my friend discovered. I've found a better message for her. Unfortunately, this stamp was issued in 1977, in those long-ago days of 13-cent postage and what now seems like cheaper energy.
On the stamp, a radiant sun and glowing light bulb nestle atop the spare form of a house. The words are big and bold:
Energy Conservation.
