Philately: increasing revenues in a monopoly service

Abstract

Postal administrations across the world have recognized philately as an important source of revenue in the postal business. The number of users in this domain, who buy new stamp releases, collect stamps based on their thematic importance, or create customized stamps through digital channels is estimated to be 17 million which includes business and private subscribers. The resulting revenue from the philatelic market across the globe is expected to be USD 10 to 20 Billion . The Universal Postal Union body has also acknowledged that sale of stamps and products related to philately is a significant revenue generation mechanism for several institutions that issue stamps. Department of Posts (DOP) has also realized the potential source of revenue from philatelic services. It has been putting a consistent effort to introduce philately as a major revenue earner. Several new measures have been taken in this aspect. For example, ideation of My Stamp for customized stamp creation, commemorative stamps, philatelic deposit account etc. have been launched towards increasing the number of people taking up philately as a hobby. The stamps and other philatelic products are available to the general public through post offices and DOP’s digital platform – epostoffice. Being the sole player in the market of issuing stamps, India Post can significantly reap the benefits of an earnest population if the interest in philately is increased multifold.