Attached Link: http://photo.stamps.com/

I haven't had a chance to try this service, but it sounds like a cool way to create personalized postage stamps that are legal to actually mail correspondence with. The price works out to 85 cents for a 37 cents stamp (need to purchase 20 stamps on one sheet for $16.99; shipping and handling is $2.99 regardless of quantity ordered) I wonder what this service will do about the collectibility of these stamps to stamp collectors? Suddenly, there is a new rash of rare legal stamps where quantities will be as low as 20 stamps in all of existence. This site is even linked from www.usps.gov

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I don't think these will be collectible. They are technically not stamps, but "metered mail." Anyone could print them again, at any time. Though perhaps if a celebrity had some made, they would be collectible. If J-Lo had some made to send wedding invitations with, say.

what will they think of next.... Personalized toilet paper...LOL

That beard might be a bit scratchy!!!

I haven't collected stamps in 30 years, so I'm not sure where that market is. Around the time I was dropping out of that hobby, there was a controversy around the value of stamps being produced by countries more for collecting purposes than actual use as stamps. Mint stamps, from those countries, had cancellation marks on unused stamps so that they couldn't be bought in bulk and used to send mail. Real cancelled stamps were worth more than unused ones because only a small fraction of those stamps were ever used on real mail. There are still ads for stamps like those, but I don't know what the real stamp collection value is for them The photo stamps can at least be used. From that standpoint, they're truly stamps. Images on them separate them from metered mail. They're not the same as real US stamp releases. As with anything, there's always going to be some collectible value to somebody. These stamps probably wouldn't mean much to a stamp collector because they wouldn't show up in a guide. If large companies could get a better price break, they could potentially be releasing floods of stamps that could be as plentiful is standard postal releases. People who collect certain subjects would want stamps put on on them. I can imagine a limited edition set of stamps put out by name artists being of interest to various collectors. I could see various Poser artists using stamps, with their artwork, to send letters to friends and others. It's too expensive to put on bills, but it does provide a different means of showing of one's artwork.

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From USA Today's article on the service:

*It's going to generate a lot of excitement," says Janet Klug, president of the American Philatelic Society. She supports anything that brings people back to snail mail, which is "going the way of the dodo bird."

But don't expect that Aunt Edna or Fido stamp to appreciate in value. Anyone can make a PhotoStamp, anytime they want. And, at almost $1 apiece, stamp collectors are unlikely to buy into them, Klug says. They are "very thrifty individuals."*

I think you guys have got it. It'll be the association value that counts. And things like wedding invitations might be a good market. Ever wondered how people are going to get their images? If I remember right, a valid stamp can't have a picture of a living person, so Poser people might have a new opportunity.

It's NOT a postage stamp. It's "metered mail," and therefore the "living person" rule does not apply.

There are already custom metered mail logos, and no one collects them. I think it would have to be 1) a celebrity of some sort and 2) a special occasion, like a wedding before they would have any value.

It would be a nice way for an artist to promote his or her work, but kind of pricy.

What I find interesting is that they are using human beings to screen each design. No nudity, nothing politically controversial, and no copyrighted material is allowed, and they don't want to risk anything slipping through.

The post office is offering stamps, not the metered mail, and so the living person rule as well as copyright rules do apply if that is what you are order. Just heard about it on the news yesterday. Marque

No, this isn't the post office. The living person rule does not apply. It's a private company that's offering these stamps. The Post Office approves, however, and even links to the site.

Humm, weird on the news yesterday they said it was the post office that was offering it. Well not worried about it as I won't be using it...lol Thanks for the update randym. Marque

Uhm if you can't picture living persons on stamps, then someone has killed our queen... :o( Dunno about US rules but here it's VERY common to picture living people on stamps. Royals mostly.

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It's different in other countries. Australia put their Olympic athletes on stamps. Moldavia put the cast of the The X-Files on their stamps.

But here in the U.S., you have to be dead 10 years before you can be on a stamp. (Though for historical and presidential stamps, you don't have to wait that long. I believe presidential stamps usually appear on their first birthday after their death, so I'm expecting a Reagan stamp early next year.)

The reason for this rule is to get some historical perspective before putting someone's face on a stamp. Someone who seemed important once may no longer be, through the lens of history. Or they could do something embarrassing, as long as they're still alive. What if we'd made a Michael Jackson stamp back in his "Thriller" days, and he goes to jail for child molestation next year?

Finnish Post has offered this kind of service for a better part of a year and a half now. It's mostly used by private companies, but at Christmas time some of these stamps ordered by private citizens were in circulation. In fact at Arctic Circle last Christmas season people had the option to get their photographs taken and a small run of stamps were offered to them after a short wait (ie. printed right on the spot). As an avid stamp collector, I've closely paid attention to the collectibility of these and as of yet they are frowned upon by the collectors and even big runs (thousands of stamps to companies) are not listed and (what I've heard) will not be listed in stamp catalogues. Whether or not they are STAMPS is not an issue - whether or not they are COLLECTABLES is the important question.