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The new 32nd edition of The
Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps, Item 890500, soon will be available
for sale as follows:
• At all Post OfficesTM.
• At postal retail stores.
• At philatelic centers.
• By mail.
• By telephone.
• By Internet order from Stamp
Fullfillment Services.
To obtain the initial supply for
your Post Office, immediately order Item 890500 from your designated stamp
distribution office (SDO) using a separate PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp
Return. All locations may place the new edition of the guide on sale
as soon as initial quantities are received.
This edition of The Postal Service
Guide to U.S. Stamps has been redesigned for ease of use and to accommodate
more subjects of interest to collectors. The new guide, priced at $19.95,
is still a full-color design and now is larger (8 and 1/8 inches by 10
inches) and has a comb-bound spine (similar to spiral, but plastic) so
that the guide lies flat.
With this new format, we have reduced
the number of pages from 575 in last year's edition to 336 pages in this
year's edition. Plus, we have re-introduced the following sections that
had previously been removed:
• Special Delivery Stamps.
• Registration and Certified
Mail Stamps.
• Postage Due Stamps.
• Parcel Post®.
• Special Handling.
We also have added a new section,
U.S. Postal Service Listing of Stamp Series. This section lists all the
stamps in each series starting with the 1869 First Pictorial Series to
our various ongoing series - a total of 66 series titles. HarperCollins
Publishers is now shipping the guides to SDOs. Shipments are in master
cartons of 20 guides.
Installations should report any
discrepancies between the quantities shown on the Advice of Shipment and
those actually received by using the procedure outlined in Handbook F-1,
Post Office Accounting Procedures, Part 436, Handling Discrepancies
in Stock Received, or in Part 446, Handling Discrepancies in Stock Received
From Suppliers.
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Promotional copies of the guide
will not be distributed. You can now display the guide in your
Post Office by simply removing a copy from your inventory for promotional
use. Follow the procedures outlined in Handbook F-1, Section 428.8, Obtaining
Stock for Promotions or Presentations.
Offices must report all sales of Item 890500,
32nd Edition, The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps, in AIC
092, Philatelic Product Sales.
For the sixth year, in partnership
with HarperCollins Publishers, the guide, as well as the 2005 Commemorative
Stamp Yearbook, will be available in bookstores and other retail
outlets where books are purchased.
The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps,
31st Edition (Last Year's Edition)
As the 32nd edition of The Postal
Service Guide to U.S. Stamps becomes available, Post Offices must
withhold all remaining copies of the 31st edition (Item 890400) from sale
and take the following actions:
1. Retail Outlets.
Collect any copies of the 31st edition of the guide from stamp credits.
Immediately return them to main stock using PS Form 17.
2. Post Offices.
Consolidate all remaining copies of the 31st edition of the guide, if
any, into the unit reserve stock. Prepare all 31st editions of
the guide in accordance with procedures established for disposing of obsolete
and redeemed stock, and submit according to local district quarterly stamp
destruction or return schedules.
3. Local Office
Philatelic Programs. Submit PS Form 17 to the local SDO and Stamp
Services Center for the number of 31st editions of the guide needed for
philatelic/promotional programs. You may give one or more copies to local
schools, libraries, student groups, stamp clubs, and retirement s.
4. SDOs. Stamp
all copies of the guide used in promoting philatelic programs "NOT
FOR RESALE." The SDO custodian of accountable paper must attest that
each item is so stamped and prepare PS Form 3238, Stamps and Stamped
Paper Destruction Certificate, endorsed "PHILATELIC PRODUCTS
GIVEN TO PHILATELIC PROGRAMS." Program coordinators must acknowledge
receipt of Item 890400 and be responsible for its control.
Note:
The instructions for providing obsolete editions of the guide for philatelic
and promotional purposes are an exception to general guidelines for destruction
of accountable items, especially regarding obsolete (withdrawn from sale)
items. In this instance, it is Postal ServiceTM policy not to destroy
copies of the previous year's edition of the guide when they can be used
for valid promotional and/or educational purposes.
Disposition of Excess Guides
Dispose of all remaining copies
of the 31st edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps
(Item 890400) in accordance with Subchapter 45, Destroying Stamp
Stock, of Handbook F-1. Because disposition instructions are issued annually
for past issues of the guide, your office should have only the 32nd edition
in inventory after completing the above procedures. If previous editions
are on hand, dispose of them immediately, in accordance with subchapter
45.
— Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 10-27-05
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