USPS Stuck With $1.2 Million Worth Of Unsold Simpsons Stamps


The United States Postal Service printed one billion The Simpsons stamps to commemorate the shows 20th anniversary. However, they were only able to sell 318 million of them. This left the USPS with 682 million stamps, unfortunately washing $1.2 million dollars worth of printing costs down the drain.

Newser reports that The Simpsons stamps were sold in 2009 and 2010 priced at 44 cents each, one cent less than what it now costs to mail a letter. The stamps came in five designs. These designs featured the popular characters Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

The inspector general explains that the process in deciding how many stamps to produce was done in a very unscientific manner.

“This process depends on manual procedures and the experience of one individual, which increases the risk for costly miscalculations.”

The process apparently bet that the The Simpsons commemorative stamps would be more popular than the highest selling commemorative stamp of all time. The best selling commemorative of all time being an Elvis Presley stamp that was issued in 1993.

This $1.2 million dollar loss due to overproduction is just part of the USPS’s financial problems. Bloomberg reports that, earlier this month, the USPS posted a loss of $5.2 billion in its third quarter and may lose $15 billion in the year ending September 30. It has asked for Congress’s help in cutting costs by eliminating a requirement to pre-pay for future retirees’ health care and letting it stop Saturday mail delivery.

If the United States Postal Service can put an end to overproduction of stamps, the company would be able to save $2 million annually.

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