Scott A. Shaulis
P.O. Box 549
Murrysville, PA 15668
724-733-4134 (evenings and weekends)
Welcome!
I've been a part time stamp dealer since 2004. I am a dealer member in good standing of both the American Philatelic Society (APS) and the American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA).
You can begin this service by filling out the request form (link above) and sending it to me via snail mail or email.
About this service
Policy changes at Stamp Fulfillment Services make it difficult for collectors to conveniently purchase new issues for their collections. In many cases, collectors must purchase an entire pane of stamps to get a single copy or plate block of the new issue for their collection. This dramatically increases the cost to collectors. It also burdens collectors with large quantities of excess stamps to use for postage.
This US new issue service allows collectors to purchase smaller quantities of stamps for their collection at an affordable price.
Packages
I offer three services: singles, plate blocks, and booklets. You can subscribe to any one service or multiple services.
Singles include (but are not limited to) one copy each of commemorative, definitive, booklet, Priority Mail, Express Mail, and semi-postal issues. Coil stamps will be a minimum of a coil pair (for a single stamp design) or a strip of stamps with one copy of each design. For setenant issues with multiple designs, you will receive the block of 4 (or whatever the appropriate configuration is) for that issue.
Plate blocks will be a block of 4 (or appropriate configuration) for the issue. If an issue does not have any plate numbers on the pane of stamps, which sometimes happens, I will not include that issue in that order.
Booklets will be a full booklet pane of all booklet issues. Typically, these are panes of 20 stamps per booklet.
The following items are out of scope of these services: non-stamp products (e.g., USPS commemorative mint sets, progressive proof sets, etc.), postal stationery, errors, federal duck stamps, recalled stamps, items removed from sale, or press sheets.
When an issue does not have die cuts that extend into the backing paper, the stamps you receive may not be on original backing paper. This is mainly coil and booklet issues.
There at times when a single stamp design may have two or more varieties. For example, the Flag stamp may come both with and without microprinting. I will do my best to obtain all varieties. However, if the USPS does not provide separate ways of ordering these items, I cannot guarantee that I will get all the varieties.
Sorry, I do not honor requests for customization of this service.
Delivery cost
Check the box if you want guaranteed delivery of your order. Because I offer this service largely at my cost, I cannot replace any lost orders at my cost.
Order cost
The cost of providing new issues is 12% above face value. For example, if the face value of new issues in an order is $35, the charge will be $39.20.
Excess stamps
There may be some excess stamps per order. For example, coil stamps are provided as a pair. If you only want a single stamp, remove the second stamp and use it for postage. I strive to reduce the number of excess stamps. In some cases, an extra copy may be necessary. Booklet panes of 10 different designs do not allow for easy separation either due to the layout. Those are usually provided as a full pane of 20.
Order frequency
Orders ship quarterly: April 10 (Jan-Mar issues), July 10 (Apr-June issues), Oct 10 (July-Sept issues), and Jan 10 (Oct-Dec issues). Billing occurs when an order is shipped.
Depending on availability, issues that are released near the very end of a period (e.g., March 31st) may not appear in that quarterly shipment. They will appear in the next shipment.
I reserve the right to change the order frequency if the amount of new issues per period changes drastically. For example, if the USPS issues a set of four different $20 stamps at once, those unusual releases exceed the quarterly prepaid subscription levels. I expect situations like this to be rare.
When you enroll for this new issue service, your first shipment will be on the next billing period. For example, if you subscribe to this service in May, your first invoice will be on July 10 for issues released in April-June.
Payment
This is a prepaid subscription service. Payment can be made one of two ways: an upfront deposit or use of your credit card.
When using a credit card, your card number on file will be billed for the total amount due. No further action is needed from you.
When making a deposit, an invoice will be sent with the order. You should remit a check or money order matching the amount of the invoice to return your account to full standing. For example, if you have a $35 deposit and the invoice is $29.35, you remit payment of $29.35 to bring your account back to full standing. Accounts that are not fully prepaid will not be serviced.
When making a deposit, the following amounts are needed:
Singles: $35 per subscription
Plate blocks: $100 per subscription
Booklets: $25 per subscription
According to Linn’s Stamp News, the annual average cost (since 1991) is $86.75 per year for new issues. With four orders per year and about $100 annually in cost (for single stamps), that is how I arrived at the subscription prices.
As postage rates increase, the subscription price will be adjusted correspondingly. Any changes in subscription rates will be communicated on your order.
Cancellation
You may cancel any or all your services at any time. Any account balances are refunded by check.
Older issues
If you seek earlier issues, I invite you to review my pricelist of US stamps which carries these items. I can provide a printed copy of my pricelist upon request. My current pricelist is always available on my website in PDF format.
