USPS is planning some unusual marketing tactics when it introduces the 2013 version of the Inverted Jenny stamp.The original version of the stamp is one of the world’s most collectible. A sheet of 100 of the famously misprinted stamps — displaying an upside-down image of a World War I Curtis Jenny biplane — was accidentally sold to a customer in 1918. Today, 88 of the original stamps remain from that sheet of 100. Some have been sold for more than $900,000.

 

The new $2 stamp, set for a Sept. 22 unveiling, will be available as a souvenir sheet of 6 stamps. Each sheet will sell for $12. The Postal Service is using a special process for the release of 2 million, sheets, each individually wrapped in a sealed envelope within a clear plastic shell.

 

According to Stamp Services and Corporate Licensing Director Susan McGowan, the special preparation is part of a promotion to “create excitement when opening the envelope and for other reasons that will be announced at a later date.”

 

USPS is asking retail staff not to open the plastic shell protecting each sheet prior to its sale. Instructions on the wrapper advise customers not to purchase stamp sheets that are not properly wrapped.

 

Also, employees who want to purchase sheets of the stamp should order them by calling by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724). Employees who mention “source code 87093” while placing their orders will receive free shipping with their purchases.

 

McGowan said the marketing tactics being used for the new Inverted Jenny stamp are a preview of imaginative marketing that will accompany the unveiling of future commemorative stamps. “The Inverted Jenny is a great stamp with a great story,” she said. “I encourage all Postmasters and retail associates to share our enthusiasm for commemorative stamps with our customers.”

source: USPS News Liuk