US Postal Service to offer postage stamps featuring pets

LTS3

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USPS is offering postage stamps featuring pets sometime this year
The gerbil one looks just like a gerbil I had years ago. It's nice to see a variety of pets instead of just cats and dogs
 

margd

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Why so many fish, reptiles, and lizards? And so few cats.
Here's the blurb from the USPS notice:

Pets
To celebrate America’s love for pets, the Postal Service will issue a booklet of 20 Forever stamps featuring photographs of 20 pets. Each photograph represents an animal we love from these groups: puppies, betta fish, iguanas, hamsters, goldfish, parrots, guinea pigs, tortoises, rabbits, kittens, corn snakes, mice, hermit crabs, chinchillas, gerbils, dogs, parakeets, horses, cats, and geckos. The photographs were taken by Eric Isselée and Derry Noyes was the art director.
 

DreamerRose

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I think some of the categories are over-represented.

Reptiles - iguanas, corn snakes, geckos

Fish - Betas, goldfish

Rodents -  hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits,  mice, chinchillas, gerbils

And I have to ask, do people really keep hermit crabs as pets?
 

margd

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I think some of the categories are over-represented.

Reptiles - iguanas, corn snakes, geckos

Fish - Betas, goldfish

Rodents -  hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits,  mice, chinchillas, gerbils

And I have to ask, do people really keep hermit crabs as pets?
Yes, people really keep hermit crabs as pets!  There was a time when my family had one cat, one dog, about 7 fish,  2 parakeets, one rabbit and 2 hermit crabs.   And I'll never forget the time the receptionist at my neurologist was crying because her hermit crab had died.  She had his picture on her desk and everything.  

I think the pets selected here were chosen not as representatives of categories but by their popularity as pets.  All of those pets are popular so it makes sense to include them if the stamps are to appeal to a wide range of people.  That's my take on it anyway - the truth is I'm only guessing.  
 
 

margd

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raysmyheart

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And I have to ask, do people really keep hermit crabs as pets?
Reminds me of many years ago, my sister asked me to watch and care for my nephew's little pet hermit crab, Herbie, while they were away on vacation.  One day I saw that the crab shell had been vacated and I thought the little guy had passed.  I broke the news to my sister over the phone, but she did not tell my nephew.  When they returned, my sister took a good look at his living quarters and then pointed out to me, Herbie was still alive, just had got rid of his shell!  I was very relieved, also my Dad was too, who I took care of.  My Dad could not speak, but just kept shaking his head.  When he learned that Herbie was still around he was overjoyed for my nephew.  I could see it in his face!  
 

catpack

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Personally, I love the assortment!! I am a huge cat person, but have many friends that are reptile and small animal lovers. There's something for everyone in this collection, which is the point I think.
 

DreamerRose

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I sold most of my father's stamp collection to put my sons through college. It takes at least 75 years for them to be worth anything. Something like this could take forever because so many were issued.
 
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DreamerRose

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@raysmyheart- He just needed a larger shell. I hope you give him one. That's why they're called hermit crabs. They don't make their own shells.
 

Willowy

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I have pet hermit crabs! :D And snakes, and a tortoise, and a rabbit, and a hamster. I'm glad they're representing all kinds of pets. 2 cats is 10%! That's not bad. They should have added a ferret though.

However! That picture of a hermit crab is backward and it's driving me crazy :lol3:. Shells don't go that way. Look at a shell to see for yourself. Plus the crab's big claw is on the wrong side. I'm sure they felt like they had to reverse the pic to make it fit better or something, probably thought nobody would notice, lol.

I think they'll sell well (I work for USPS so I have a stake in it!). I was looking at the list of this year's releases, and I really like the planet ones, and the soda shop stamps are cute too. The flower ones are out already, and they've been selling really well. My boss and I like to guess which stamps will sell well, she says they don't take enough suggestions from women. . .maybe they did this year.

And. . .rabbits aren't rodents ;)
 
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margd

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I really like the planet ones, too.  Actually I like the whole concept of stamps.   I've always loved the idea that people pay to have their mail delivered by putting beautiful little pictures on the envelopes.  
 

raysmyheart

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I love to buy stamps.  I love when there are beautiful florals or nature and I am really looking forward to these pet stamps!
 
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LTS3

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Those are lovely stamps.  I guess I'll have to break down and actually write a few letters. 


Have you seen these?  I still have a few but hate to use them.
I have not seen those


Featuring "exotic pets" is nice, IMO. Few people think of hermit crabs or mice as pets so I think it's great that exotic pets are pretty well represented on the stamps
I guess if you want more cats then you could use Stamps.com to make your own custom stamps.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Reminds me of many years ago, my sister asked me to watch and care for my nephew's little pet hermit crab, Herbie, while they were away on vacation.  One day I saw that the crab shell had been vacated and I thought the little guy had passed.  I broke the news to my sister over the phone, but she did not tell my nephew.  When they returned, my sister took a good look at his living quarters and then pointed out to me, Herbie was still alive, just had got rid of his shell!  I was very relieved, also my Dad was too, who I took care of.  My Dad could not speak, but just kept shaking his head.  When he learned that Herbie was still around he was overjoyed for my nephew.  I could see it in his face!  
One of my best friends also had a Hermit Crab named Herbie.  Somewhere I might still have pictures of Herbie riding a boogie board when we were on vacation (the weekend she bought him).  

I liked the Christmas Peanuts stamps they had last year. Years ago they did a nice series on Lighthouses and we bought a framed print and stamp from the Lighthouse near where DH's grandmother grew up.  Her father had been one of the first postmen in the area; so the postal aspect touched her.  I hope DH's father kept that after she passed (not that we'd easily find it in his house).
 
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