USPS estimated 'The Simpsons' stamps would dominate, unprepared for flop
The U.S. Postal service predicted Forever stamps adorned with popular characters from "The Simpsons" would be a sure hit with fans of the 20-year-old TV show. However, while the Major League Baseball All-Star Forever stamp series blasted sales expectations out of the park, a recent USPS audit reported news that "The Simpsons" stamps were a flop.
The colorful character stamps only sold 318 million of the 1 billion stamps printed during 2009 and 2010, wasting $1.2 million in printing costs alone. However, this is not the first time the USPS has experienced loss when trying to give Americans stamps they think people will like: The Flags of our Nation stamps sold 120 million of the 380 million stamps produced, wasting $716,000 in printing costs.
"This process [of determining how many stamps to produce] depends on manual procedures and the experience of one individual, which increases the risk for costly miscalculations," according to the USPS audit. "Further, such errors may be detected if an independent review and assessment of production estimates were performed."
Business owners and USPS supporters can rest assured that the stamp-wasting problem will be addressed, as the report included suggestions and potential solutions for the government agency. People may also get involved in the stamp selection process by communicating with the USPS Stamp Advisory Committee, or using complementary Forever stamps on their web-to-print direct mail materials.