Royal Mail barcoding stamps - existing stamps valid only until 31 Jan 2023

NBLondon

Doc_N said:

All doubtless now worthless, apart from a very small face value.

Not worthless - but only of value to another collector who wants the same combinations.

The barcoded versions are arranged differently on the sheet so some collectors are now looking for other combinations.
https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2022/10/datamatrix-stamps-positional-blocks-and.html

molerat

NBLondon said:

Doc_N said:

All doubtless now worthless, apart from a very small face value.

Not worthless - but only of value to another collector who wants the same combinations.

The barcoded versions are arranged differently on the sheet so some collectors are now looking for other combinations.
https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2022/10/datamatrix-stamps-positional-blocks-and.html

At one place I worked there was a guy who was into buying all the different sheets. I didn't get it then and still don't.  I suppose it was some sort of inflation proof collecting but that has now been thrown out of the window - you would have to be an avid collector to keep hold of them because the inflation proofing bit has pretty much gone.

Doc_N

NBLondon said:

Doc_N said:

All doubtless now worthless, apart from a very small face value.

Not worthless - but only of value to another collector who wants the same combinations.

The barcoded versions are arranged differently on the sheet so some collectors are now looking for other combinations.
https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2022/10/datamatrix-stamps-positional-blocks-and.html

Hell’s teeth! It’s still going on then! Thought that dies out years ago. I can see the rarity of the traffic lights on a sheet of stamps, but not the collectibility.

Often wondered, in a similar vein, whether old credit cards might in due course have a value, on the basis that most of them will have been destroyed!

NBLondon

Doc_N said:

Often wondered, in a similar vein, whether old credit cards might in due course have a value, on the basis that most of them will have been destroyed!

Yes - there are people who collect different designs.

There are also collectors of phone cards (remember them - before almost everyone had a mobile) - different designs, promotional issues, overseas examples etc.   Quick random search gives https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165748033407?

Like stamps - the value is what another collector will pay for it.

soolin

NBLondon said:

Doc_N said:

Often wondered, in a similar vein, whether old credit cards might in due course have a value, on the basis that most of them will have been destroyed!

Yes - there are people who collect different designs.

There are also collectors of phone cards (remember them - before almost everyone had a mobile) - different designs, promotional issues, overseas examples etc.   Quick random search gives https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165748033407?

Like stamps - the value is what another collector will pay for it.

It isn't unusual still to see huge job lots of telephone cards being sold at auction. Most go for next to nothing, but occasionally one lot will go for £20-£30 which implies there are still some collectors out there. Incidentally I'm talking really big lots, whole collections sometimes with 1000s of cards.

MiserlyMartin

Money_Grabber13579 said:

They are allowing enough time. They haven’t put an end date (yet) on the swap scheme so what’s the issue?

It doesn’t matter whether you don’t care that the Post Office and Royal Mail are two separate companies, the fact is that they are. I don’t go into Sainsburys and insist that they take my Tesco loyalty card, just because it’s a bit inconvenient for me to get to Tesco.

There appears to be an end date according to the leaflet that was delivered to my house by the Royal Mail (Who are in many peoples eyes, still the Post Office.)

Secondly, that example is a poor comparison, because it is obviously that Tesco and Sainsburys are entirely different shops, and rivals at that. The Post Office, the Royal Mail postal service are related and intertwined.

soolin

MiserlyMartin said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

They are allowing enough time. They haven’t put an end date (yet) on the swap scheme so what’s the issue?

It doesn’t matter whether you don’t care that the Post Office and Royal Mail are two separate companies, the fact is that they are. I don’t go into Sainsburys and insist that they take my Tesco loyalty card, just because it’s a bit inconvenient for me to get to Tesco.

There appears to be an end date according to the leaflet that was delivered to my house by the Royal Mail (Who are in many peoples eyes, still the Post Office.)

Secondly, that example is a poor comparison, because it is obviously that Tesco and Sainsburys are entirely different shops, and rivals at that. The Post Office, the Royal Mail postal service are related and intertwined.

Unfortunately my leaflet has been recycled, but there wasn’t an end date on it, I suspect you misread your leaflet . 

olgadapolga

soolin said:

MiserlyMartin said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

They are allowing enough time. They haven’t put an end date (yet) on the swap scheme so what’s the issue?

It doesn’t matter whether you don’t care that the Post Office and Royal Mail are two separate companies, the fact is that they are. I don’t go into Sainsburys and insist that they take my Tesco loyalty card, just because it’s a bit inconvenient for me to get to Tesco.

There appears to be an end date according to the leaflet that was delivered to my house by the Royal Mail (Who are in many peoples eyes, still the Post Office.)

Secondly, that example is a poor comparison, because it is obviously that Tesco and Sainsburys are entirely different shops, and rivals at that. The Post Office, the Royal Mail postal service are related and intertwined.

Unfortunately my leaflet has been recycled, but there wasn’t an end date on it, I suspect you misread your leaflet . 

Soolin is right, as are all of the other posters who state that there is no end date for exchanging non-barcoded stamps for barcoded stamps. Below is a photo of the leaflet. It only states that the specific non-barcoded stamps have to be used by 31/01/23:





The Royal Mail website itself also states that there is no end date for swapping the stamps out (taken from their FAQ,  https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps):

HonestJohn

Nice to see it in print. Hopefully this will stop all the fake news.

1w2e3r4t

So, RM won't allow us to take our non-bar coded stamps to a Post Office. So we then put say £20 worth of stamps in an envelope and address it "Freepost SWAPOUT". I'm sure most RM employees are honest but what we are looking at here is a massive potential theft opportunity. Every letter marked "Freepost SWAPOUT" is stating "there's free stamps inside here - just help yourself".
It's outrageous.