Stamp Collectors Upset With Potter Postage

According to Washington Post reporter Lisa Rein, last month all 13 members of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee walked out of their meeting and wrote a letter to Postmaster Patrick Donahoe demanding that he meet with them regarding the way subjects for U.S. postage stamps are being chosen.

Rein quotes Donahoe as saying he believes that the agency “needs to change its focus toward stamps that are more commercial” as a way to increase revenue to compensate for declining mail volume as Americans switch to the Internet.

Rein writes that at the urging of USPS marketing director Nagisa Manabe, a former Coca-Cola executive hired in 2012 to reinvigorate the postal brand, "the committee changed its charter to allow corporate advertising on stamps, as long as it is not featured as the main element, according to people familiar with the changes. The charter now includes 'contemporary and timely' in its criteria for new stamp selection, with 'educational' a factor but no longer an  'essential' one."

Rein goes on to say, "Many ideas for new stamps now originate with her staff and are heavy with celebrity subjects, those familiar with the changes say. Among those now under consideration are the Beatles, Apple founder Steve Jobs, basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and chef Julia Child."

To read the entire Washington Post article, click here.

For more on this story from Time magazine and photos of all the Harry Potter stamps, click here.