Dismal Christmas Stamps from An Post

Banjoxed

Got the 90c Christmas stamps from the Post Office today for some out of Ireland cards and letters and they are dismal. The machine printed stamps are never too good looking but the bottom of the design barrel was well and truly scraped with these. A sprig of holly. A robin. Austerity stamps from Austerity Ireland? The 60c ones in the booklet are nice enough but these are awful.

Sheldons Brain

This represents an atheist Christmas, cold and unappealing.

Mint Aero

Nice thumb

theblaqueguy

They should of put my picture on the stamps to celebrate the diversity of ireland

hfallada

Well I couldnt give a **** about the stamps. But queuing for 30 mins all year to do anything in the post office kills me. Do the staff really need to have a 5 min conversation with every customer? But yet never enter a registered letter into the system right.

donegal__road

I agree OP, it is a very poor effort... here is the Canadian equivalent

Im not a big fan of Christmas, but at least it looks as if there has been some effort put into designing the Canadian stamps.

Whoever designed the Irish Christmas stamp for 2013, takes no pride in their work.

I'm of the opposite opinion. I actually hate the booklet ones with the stained-glass window thing on them, but I think the simplistic holly and robin ones are really nice.

I think you have a real problem here though. What if the addressees judge you on your stamp? Maybe you should include a note with your card to say that you're aware of the obvious design flaws and that you sincerely apologise.

kneemos

Mint Aero wrote: »

Nice thumb

Looks like a mechanics thumb.

we'llallhavetea

kneemos wrote: »

Looks like a mechanics thumb.

are you on drugs? it's spotless!

Lando Griffin

They could really think outside the box and sell advertising space on the stamp like a lovely Coke Cola Christmas theme or Mr Tayto or even Guinness.
Think of the revenue it would generate.
Sent on my Nokia 3310.

kneemos

aya startin wha wrote: »

are you on drugs? it's spotless!

There's oil under that fingernail.

That's a working mans thumb.

My name is URL

kneemos wrote: »

Looks like a mechanics thumb.

A mechanics secretary maybe.

Who the fcuk is buying stamps..?.. that's what I wan to know! You can get a big ass pre-paid envelope for like 70 cent.

Lando Griffin

kneemos wrote: »

There's oil under that fingernail.

That's a working mans thumb.

More index finger if you observe.
The cameraman is probably right handed which means he is holding with his left hand.
If holding in place with his thumb you would see much more of his index finger in the background.

Mint Aero

Lando Griffin wrote: »

More index finger if you observe.
The cameraman is probably right handed which means he is holding with his left hand.
If holding in place with his thumb you would see much more of his index finger in the background.

Ya should've gone to specsavers Lando :pac: You can see the rest of his hand in the background.

kneemos

Lando Griffin wrote: »

More index finger if you observe.
The cameraman is probably right handed which means he is holding with his left hand.
If holding in place with his thumb you would see much more of his index finger in the background.

The index finger is under the stamps.Definitely a thumb I reackon.Looks very straight to be a mechanics actually.Still has oil on it though.

BillyMitchel

Is there anything AH hasn't moaned about today?

Its getting worse that the Joe Duffy show.

Lando Griffin

Mint Aero wrote: »

Ya should've gone to specsavers Lando :pac: You can see the rest of his hand in the background.

I stand by my observations but I just might need re-training.

General General

This kind of bullsh!t by an post makes me seethe with rage. Shower of f`cks.

Kikin

I for one am disgusted at the indignation and complete lack of consideration given to letter senders and receivers in this country. A march on the dail at noon is the only solution.

Aquagakka

Mint Aero wrote: »

Nice thumb

Philately will get you nowhere.

banquo

Aquagakka wrote: »

Philately will get you nowhere.

Wins the thread.

SV

So this is what people complain about nowadays..there's a trivial things that annoy you thread somewhere, this is literally perfect for it.

kneemos

SV wrote: »

So this is what people complain about nowadays..there's a trivial things that annoy you thread somewhere, this is literally perfect for it.

Stop complaining.

SV

kneemos wrote: »

Stop complaining.

I'm not

MadsL

SV wrote: »

I'm not

Don't Argue/


here's the US rather rotund Christmas Holiday stamp

LordSutch

So I think I'm correct in saying that its 90c to post a Christmas card anywhere on the island of Ireland, but ho much does it cost to post a card next door to Britain? and then how much to Europe, and then 'The World' as highlighted in yellow on the Link (yellow No 4).

http://postage.anpost.ie/

There was a time not so long ago, when No2 was just a little more expensive than here, (but a lot less than Australia or the US) for example, so whats the story with stamp prices this year?

Banjoxed

LordSutch wrote: »

So I think I'm correct in saying that its 90c to post a Christmas card anywhere on the island of Ireland, but ho much does it cost to post a card next door to Britain? and then how much to Europe, and then 'The World' as highlighted in yellow on the Link (yellow No 4).

http://postage.anpost.ie/

There was a time not so long ago, when No2 was just a little more expensive than here, (but a lot less than Australia or the US) for example, so whats the story with stamp prices this year?

60c to Ireland (including NI)
90c to everywhere else.

sunflower27

Yeah, they are pretty bad alright. Was actually shocked at how bad they were when I clicked on the link.

90c - what a rip off!!!!

gobnaitolunacy

General General wrote: »

This kind of bullsh!t by an post makes me seethe with rage. Shower of f`cks.

I wouldn't care if there was a pic of a wombat riding Miley Cyrus on them, as long as they were cheap (which they're not)

Teyla Emmagan

Those aren't the Christmas stamps. The Christmas stamps come in a little booklet of 20. Those are just the random stamps they give everyone this time of year who doesn't specifically ask for Christmas stamps. You go in and ask for 5 stamps right now and you get those robin yokes, which personally I think are also quite cute.

Banjoxed

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Those aren't the Christmas stamps. The Christmas stamps come in a little booklet of 20. Those are just the random stamps they give everyone this time of year who doesn't specifically ask for Christmas stamps. You go in and ask for 5 stamps right now and you get those robin yokes, which personally I think are also quite cute.

The little booklet of twenty Christmas stamps are only in 60c denominations. There are no other 90c ones for outside Ireland.

General General

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

I wouldn't care if there was a pic of a wombat riding Miley Cyrus on them, as long as they were cheap (which they're not)

I think if the stamps were released featuring a pic of a wombat riding Miley Cyrus, they would have substantial collector value straight away.

Banjoxed

General General wrote: »

I think if the stamps were released featuring a pic of a wombat riding Miley Cyrus, they would have substantial collector value straight away.

Well like the 90c stamps, that too would say Happy ****ing Christmas from An Post!

Legs.Eleven

I'd like to discuss the thumb further if that's possible...

Fox_In_Socks

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I'd like to discuss the thumb further if that's possible...

From there, it's a slippery slope to talking about fingers.

beano345

donegal__road wrote: »

I agree OP, it is a very poor effort... here is the Canadian equivalent

Im not a big fan of Christmas, but at least it looks as if there has been some effort put into designing the Canadian stamps.

Whoever designed the Irish Christmas stamp for 2013, takes no pride in their work.

Yeah but their postal system is a joke might aswell use smoke signals

deise08

Don't see a problem wit them myself personally

dxhound2005

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Those aren't the Christmas stamps. The Christmas stamps come in a little booklet of 20. Those are just the random stamps they give everyone this time of year who doesn't specifically ask for Christmas stamps. You go in and ask for 5 stamps right now and you get those robin yokes, which personally I think are also quite cute.

They are Christmas stamps of the Stamps on a Roll (SOAR) variety. The holly and robin designs are only being sold from 7 November until stocks run out or until they are withdrawn some time in January 2014. SOAR stamps have no denomination on them, they can be printed with any price.

http://www.worldstampnews.com/2010/08/ireland-post-introduces-new-innovations-in-postage-stamps/

The five digit number on SOAR is the Julian date, which is based on the Julian calendar and the sequence below this contains Post Office information such as the location of the stamp printer etc.

The 13336 on the OP's stamps show that they were bought on 2nd December like he said, the 336th day of 2013. And I'm not too suprised to find whinging and moaning coming from where they were bought.

Banjoxed

dxhound2005 wrote: »

They are Christmas stamps of the Stamps on a Roll (SOAR) variety. The holly and robin designs are only being sold from 7 November until stocks run out or until they are withdrawn some time in January 2014. SOAR stamps have no denomination on them, they can be printed with any price.

http://www.worldstampnews.com/2010/08/ireland-post-introduces-new-innovations-in-postage-stamps/

The five digit number on SOAR is the Julian date, which is based on the Julian calendar and the sequence below this contains Post Office information such as the location of the stamp printer etc.

The 13336 on the OP's stamps show that they were bought on 2nd December like he said, the 336th day of 2013. And I'm not too suprised to find whinging and moaning coming from where they were bought.

So An Post get a clap on the back for the tech of the stamps. Good for them. But hey, shoddy design simply highlights how k3wl the tech is. I presume. Perhaps you could also clarify your knowledge of where they were brought from and why the aesthetic value should be so unappreciated by the proletariat of that particular locality.

dee_mc

They're just stamps! As stamps go I actually think they're quite nice - traditional like, none of your bells and whistles

dxhound2005

Banjoxed wrote: »

So An Post get a clap on the back for the tech of the stamps. Good for them. But hey, shoddy design simply highlights how k3wl the tech is. I presume. Perhaps you could also clarify your knowledge of where they were brought from and why the aesthetic value should be so unappreciated by the proletariat of that particular locality.

You know where you bought them and the numbers on the stamps tell me where you bought them. No big secret, just like a bank sort code. The denizens of the county where you bought them (and maybe you were just passing through) strike me as the most whingy and complaining on a range of topics, whenever the location is identifiable.

Dismal, awful,shoddy, scraping the bottom of the design barrell, austerity stamps. Me, I just think they are unremarkable but quite nice seasonal pictures.

thegreatgonzo

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Is there anything AH hasn't moaned about today?

Its getting worse that the Joe Duffy show.

I know! They are having a go at the poor robins now!

Ihatecuddles

That really is a lovely thumb. Good job OP

Judging by its reception here, maybe a stamp with the OPs thumb on it would be better?

Big Lar

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I'd like to discuss the thumb further if that's possible...

Nail biter I'd say?

Ihatecuddles

Big Lar wrote: »

Nail biter I'd say?

No way, Id say he's early 40's and works with computers

Cienciano

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

This represents an atheist Christmas, cold and unappealing.

Most athiest Christmas is the same as everyone elses in the country. Minus the hour long mass. Which i think most Christians will admit, is the ****test part of the day

Ihatecuddles

Cienciano wrote: »

Most athiest Christmas is the same as everyone elses in the country. Minus the hour long mass. Which i think most Christians will admit, is the ****test part of the day

Christmas is when all the fake Catholics come out to pray.

B.A._Baracus

mauzo! wrote: »

Christmas is when all the fake Catholics come out to pray.

Very true indeed. Way I see it is that if you believe in god, thats good If you believe there is no god, thats good

Everyone is different and no one has a right to say anything against peoples beliefs. But within saying that, be true to yourself. Be it an athiest 'pretending' to be catholic once a year or a 'catholic' downplaying their faith because of the company they hold etc etc etc. People should be true to themselves.

Ihatecuddles

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Very true indeed. Way I see it is that if you believe in god, thats good If you believe there is no god, thats good

Everyone is different and no one has a right to say anything against peoples beliefs. But within saying that, be true to yourself. Be it an athiest 'pretending' to be catholic once a year or a 'catholic' downplaying their faith because of the company they hold etc etc etc. People should be true to themselves.

Tis very true. Sometimes admitting you're a Catholic is like saying 'hello, you can now disregard everything else I say because I'm clearly crazy' :P

Banjoxed

dxhound2005 wrote: »

You know where you bought them and the numbers on the stamps tell me where you bought them. No big secret, just like a bank sort code. The denizens of the county where you bought them (and maybe you were just passing through) strike me as the most whingy and complaining on a range of topics, whenever the location is identifiable.

Dismal, awful,shoddy, scraping the bottom of the design barrell, austerity stamps. Me, I just think they are unremarkable but quite nice seasonal pictures.

Ah, interesting. Not originally from here but your view of the locals would explain the views of many here of Official Ireland.

Irish Guitarist

Making fancy stamps is a waste of time and ink. They're going to end up in the bin after they're received anyway.