Bob and I had decided to have photo stamps made for our wedding invitations from Stamps.com. They are a licensed vendor of the US Post office, and you could put any photo you wanted (within decency standards) on a real postage stamp. We had a test sheet made with one of our engagement photos and they turned out really cool, so we decided to do it. Decision made on Sunday.
Yesterday (Monday) I read a news article that people had been abusing the photo-stamps – submitting photos of serial killers and Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress, among other things – so Stamps.com now only allows photos of kids, pets, and “nature.” No photos of adults or teens.
We went to the website, and they still had examples of wedding photo and graduation photo stamps. We ordered enough for our invitations immediately. (This was at 11:30 or so last night.) This morning, all the example stamps on the website are pictures of babies and puppies and there is a notice announcing the new policy. I don’t know if our order made it in before the new policy, or if I’m just waiting for the e-mail telling me our photo was rejected.
On the plus side, we did get one sheet, so we may be among the very few adults in the country to have legal stamps with our own photo on them. How exclusive. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Keep the sheet intact - it may be worth something someday. It would like nice in a floating frame, too.
Oh, and at stupid idiots who ruin it for the rest of us.
Dagonee
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Never heard of this before -- custom-made stamps for a wedding.
You're really going all-out on this thing, aren't you?
FG
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
The sheet is already not intact. Part of the trial run was to mail out a few and see if anyone noticed them.
Maybe I could cut out a square of 4 or 9 that would look good in a frame, though.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Farmgirl, it’s a brand new thing – they were in their trial run. Bob heard about it on NPR and we both thought it would be a quirky fun thing to do.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Seems like they could just charge more for a higher degree of active control. Allow you to submit official documentation that you are who you say you are. And if you lie, you can't order anymore.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*thinks* If it doesn't come through, you could photoshop pictures of yourselves as babies into one picture and have those printed. Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
kat, you're brilliant. Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*happy dance* dkw thinks I'm brilliant. </off topic>
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
You gonna use the one of you nekkid in the tub?
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
I don't see why the people who ordered those stamps are stupid idiots, nor do I see how they were 'abusing' the service. Can someone explain this to me?
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
No. I don't want to fight this morning.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
i'm with AE on this one. in what way had they abused the system?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
“Stupid idiots” is a technical term that means “I’m pouting because I don’t get what I want.” Sheesh.
However, they admit that they were trying to get the service cancelled by submitting controversial images and then publicizing it. They aren’t planning on using their “offensive” stamps, they only did it to make a point.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Which was? Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Strange as it sounds, I was actually responding to Dagonee's post which, despite quoting you verbatim, seemed to mean it in a different sense. This is also known as 'me not thinking'.
What point were they trying to make?
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
That would be so fun to have stamps with you two featured in it! I hope it can still work out.
I find myself wondering, though, if Stamp.com couldn't just simply deny service to people submitting inappropriate photos. Seems like this should be a non-issue.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
From the link:
quote:This was just an exercise to point out that the only people truly worthy of stamps are statesmen (George Washington, Benjamin Franklin), civil rights leaders (Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall), and cartoon characters (Wile E. Coyote, Jiminy Cricket).
Edit: Bev, they already had that policy. But some folks decided to try to push the limits and see what they could get through. Some of their stamps were rejected, but the "screeners" missed some, so now the tighter policy.
Edit again: And you can't really blame the screeners. I wouldn't have recognized Ted Kazinski's high school yearbook photo either.
[ September 14, 2004, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: dkw ]
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I really can't imagine any cartoon characters as more worthy of stamps than dkw and Bob...
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Hmmm, that's too bad. Seems like such a cool idea. Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
Ummm... why does stamps.com care if people are submitting stamps with serial killers on them? It might be bad taste, but I don't see why it's a problem the company needs to rectify.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Awww, thanks blacwolve.
I think the discussion question here is – does having something on a stamp automatically mean it’s being honored? Even if it’s known that the stamps are personalized, not officially chosen photos? Because any of those controversial photos could have been printed on a postcard and the post office would deliver them. The ones that got through the screening weren’t offensive images in thenselves, they were only offensive if you recognized the people and thought they weren’t “worthy” of being on a stamp.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Yes, but I think the general population as a whole still thinks of stamps as being "endorsed" by the USPS - and the government. I doubt most people even know this private company can now legally do this. So I can see the USPS being upset that their reputation of "honoring" people with stamps might be questioned by having unsavory characters on the stamps. It would be a reflection on them (for those who didn't know what was going on)
Farmgirl
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
There's also rights issues to be worried about.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Could you clarify, Dag?
edit: I assume that you mean I have a right to not have my picture on a stamp if I don't want it there.
Question: Assuming that's the case, do I have a right to not have my picture on a postcard? On a poster? In the newspaper?
edit #2: This is not rhetorical. I really don't know the answer to these questions.
[ September 14, 2004, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I would think the rights issue would be covered under existing laws. If people are using images that don’t belong to them, they could be sued in the same way they would if they used them in any other unauthorized way.
Technically, anyone using professional baby portraits is probably violating this one, and those are still allowed by Stamps.com.
Technically, anyone using professional engagement portraits was probably over that line too. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I meant both the rights of the person pictured and copyright for images not created by the people submitting these photos.
The rules are very murky on the first aspect. A public figure likely has no case; a more "private" person might.
dkw, you're right that the same types of issues exist with other pictures.
Dagonee Edit: And we made sure we had unlimited rights to our wedding photos. It's well worth it just to be able to use new technologies such as this.
[ September 14, 2004, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: Dagonee ]
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
That's definitely on the list for wedding photos. If we and the photographer ever get around to negotiating. (Oh, maaaaaack . . .)
But I completely didn't think about it when we ordered the stamps.
[ September 14, 2004, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: dkw ]
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:I really can't imagine any cartoon characters as more worthy of stamps than dkw and Bob...
Zing! <rimshot>
Good one, blacwolve.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Oooo! Ooo, Ooo, Ooo! We could have Ryuko draw a cartoon version of us! This is going to work out one way or another.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Dana, I might try my hand at it just for fun. And I won't be offended if you don't use it. I'm not the best artist, but I like an excuse to actually do art.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
bev, I'd love to see what you'd come up with. Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Stupid smart people circumventing the idiots trying to stop you from having fun.
*shakes fist*
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Dana, I tried just now to pull up foobonic and it isn't working! I will try again later. Or, feel free to email me any pics you would like me to use as inspiration. I may use one or a combination of several.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
<Surprised not to see Dobie entitled "Stupid idiots running for everything" yet.>
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I was in Foobonic a little bit ago, Bev, looking at your Arwen drawing, so it would seem that it's back up.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Ok, I give up. I am trying to find the pics of Dana and Bob on foobonic and I have failed thus far.
*feels stupid*
Anyone else feel like they have trouble finding what they are looking for on foobonic?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
*feels even more stupid*
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
BTW, rough copy finished! ^_^
It is a pencil drawing. I think I will ink it. I hope I don't ruin it....
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Bev, that's so cool. Can't wait to see it.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Maybe the people protesting the service are people who in the past have competed for art competitions to be on stamps and didn't win. My grandma is passed on, so I know it wasn't her. And to be frank, I didn't think much of her entry. Though she did have a lot of other paintings that would make cool stamps.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I just looked at the pictures.
*dies*
You are so beautiful together. You glow.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*confused*
Doesn't U.S. Law prohibit using images of living people on stamps or currency? Dagonee?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:PhotoStamps fall under the postal regulations for metered mail, so they are exempt from regular-stamps rules such as no living people can be featured and those dead must be gone for 10 years (except for historic and presidential stamps).
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Oh, good!
*cancels hit*
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Bob and Dana, I haven't been able to get back to it since I last posted an update, but I could try to scan in what I have so far for opinion before I try to go to the "next step". That way, if it *does* get ruined, you still have something. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
<drums fingers impatiently>
Oh, bev, make me look thin.
Thanks!
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Soooooo have you heard back from them yet? You would think, if they weren't going to process your order they'd tell you as much.
btw, Mother is planning a photoshopped baby picture entry, I think. She said something about having baby pics of both of you, and you know how she loves to manipulate pictures...
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
"We have received your order and it is currently being processed"
They say to allow 5-7 business days for processing. So we should know by the end of the week.
*glum*
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
quote:you know how she loves to manipulate
Oooh! I'm telling!
Look what ElJay said about her own mother!!! Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
quote:Oooh! I'm telling!
You sound just like dad. He always tries to tell mom on me when I swear. Bet you get the same response he does.
(Plus, Dana linked her to this thread, so she'll see what I really wrote anyway. )
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Not if she only reads this page!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
OK, I admit it, I skimmed this thread. Did anyone mention that it would be darned cute to have young DKWs and Bobs on stamps?
I hope they come through. What a cool idea.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote: Oh, bev, make me look thin.
Now, now, Bob, what fun would that be? This is, after all, a cartoon. Not a characature, mind you, but a cartoon.
What is the best way to get this to you?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
e-mail, probably. Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Dana, did you get my previous email? The only address I have for either of you is the hotmail one on Dana's account. Is that where I should send this?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Noooo, send it to ElJay @ hotmail.com! Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
It's all ready to go, just waitin'. (This is the rough draft--I haven't done the "finished" one yet.)
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Aw, come on! I'll forward it on, I promise. To the whooooooooole family.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
ah well, worth a try. Is your email in your profile? I'll send you her regular addy...
Edit: On its way.
[ September 16, 2004, 12:20 AM: Message edited by: ElJay ]
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
I haven't heard anything back yet--Dana, did you receive the email with the portrait attached?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Yes, thank you! I'm sorry, I meant to reply to it and got distracted.
Bob does kind of look like a hobbit, but a very Bobbish hobbit, which is cool. I don't think I look like me, but then I don't think most photos of me look like me either, so it's probably very good and I just don't know what I look like.
It's very Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
See, I told you you should just send it to me... I at least would respond to you.
Oh, and Bob.... Mommy laughed at you.
Edit: Drat, she's here too. Ah well.
[ September 16, 2004, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: ElJay ]
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Yay! Now I just need to get around to doing the second and third steps.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Laughed at or with? Hmm...
Well, no matter, as long as she's laughing. I'll take it!
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Uh oh. When I went to check the order status it said “you have no previous orders.” Which means not only is the unfilled order gone, but the record of our first order is gone, too.
I sent an inquiry.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Oh no! Good luck!
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Huh. No answer to my e-mail, though the site promises that they answer all customer service questions within 24 hours.
But the orders are both back on the "your order history" page, and the more recent one again says "We have received your order and it is currently being processed."
*twiddles thumbs*
[ September 21, 2004, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: dkw ]
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
A very bobbish hobbit.
I like that.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Have they actually taken the money out of your account yet?
AJ
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
The credit card was charged. I assume if the image is rejected it will be credited.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
"Your order has been fulfilled and shipped to you on 09 23 2004"
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Yay!
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Stamps! Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Wow! Cool! Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
Those are so precious. Wow! I am so glad you and Bob got them, dkw. What a way to capture such a special occasion. You both look tres jolie and tres, tres cool.
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