🇲🇻 The multi-postal administration new issue service, WOPA, a division of the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Ltd., has announced that the stamp issues of "Maldives" will now be available through the agency's good offices. Up until now WOPA has always dealt with respectable, almost entirely European, postal administrations so including the "stamps" of Maldives among the products with which it deals is a new departure for it in many ways.
Unlike most of the postal administrations which use WOPA's services, Maldives Post is not named by WOPA as being a client so one can only presume that these products are actually coming straight from Stamperija possibly the most despised of philatelic agencies among collectors of new issues.
WOPA has issues from 2015 and 2016 which are inscribed "Maldives" listed on its website and these number 69 issues for 2015 and 91 for 2016 - a grand total of 150, most of which have little or no relevance in subject matter to the Indian Ocean republic whose name is printed on the items. I do not think that a newly joining territory has ever had so many "issues" for sale on the WOPA site before. As these probably come straight from Stamperija one must speculate as to whether Stamperija's other client postal administrations will also soon feature on the WOPA site - the likes of Guinea Bissau, Solomon Islands, St. Thomas and Prince, Mozambique and Togo.
This will do nothing for WOPA's reputation and is probably an attempt by Stamperija to improve its reputation by having its products sold through a previously reputable organisation. This is a bad move by WOPA - if you lie down with dogs you're bound to catch fleas.
Most of the Dutch islands in the Caribbean also joined WOPA. (Their agent joined I think.) They mostly issue expensive thematic stuff like Stamperija, but not as much. Only a few issues a year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stewie1911. Yes it's interesting that what started off as a very good idea seems to be becoming a Trojan horse for more exploitative agencies to get the attention of general new issue buyers and particularly thematic collectors.
DeleteThanks for the feedback above. WOPA will see how it can improve its service and will take all your comments into consideration.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehi all, i am the MD and co-founder of WOPA. i appreciate your comments/opinions and have read this with keen interest. feedback is always good and here is my personal email glendon@wopa-stamps.com if you wish to send me further comments. WOPA was designed to offer collectors a place to buy securely and at face value stamps from postal administrations worldwide. Maldives philatelic office (Maldives Post) and not a 3rd party asked to join WOPA and we in principle had no problem with this believing it would be an opportunity for thematic collectors to purchase stamps from the source. After all the negative comments, it has been decided to remove temporarily from WOPA until the situation is assessed. Once again thanks for your comments and feel free to email me with either good or bad feedback as feedback is always appreciated. By the way our new site launches in couple of weeks and promises new features such as loyalty points, mobile site, new issue app and much more as we continue investing to offer our customers the best available service. Yours in philately Glendon
ReplyDeleteHi all. I posted a comment yesterday on this very subject of Maldives joining WOPA and for some reason it disappeared. I have also written to WOPA stating my surprise that they would have accepted Maldives as a client. I received a very nice letter back from Glendon and which he has covered in his above post. I like WOPA and have bought through them on many occasions. It's a shame that dubious content is starting to creep into what is generally a very good service.
ReplyDeleteDear Glendon and John,
DeleteThank you both for your comments. I am not sure what happened to previous comments as they do not appear to have turned up here but Blogger can be a devil at times, I find, to actually get what you thought you wrote to actually appear where you expected it to be though that may just be my own incompetence with computers.
WOPA has proven to be an excellent means in the pas for the ordinary collector to obtain new stamp issues at face value and has certainly been a very welcome and appreciated service for many collectors.
It is interesting to read that Maldives Post asked WOPA to allow it to join the service. The announcement about the stamps of Maldives becoming available through the WOPA service did not, as far as I could see, mention Maldives Post itself though WOPA usually does identify to collectors the philatelic/postal service whose stamps are being offered.
Maldives Post does acknowledge that all the items sold through its agent, Stamperija, are official philatelic issues of Maldives Post but collectors familiar with such issues frequently feel that the number of issues released by this agency in the name of Maldives are excessive in the extreme though, at the same time, these items are clearly acceptable to some collectors who may wish to add them to thematic collections. It does not seem controversial to say that a list of 150 issues over a 2 year period is excessive in the extreme - imagine collectors' reactions if the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau had released 150 sets in just 24 months.
I agree with John that I too like WOPA and the services it provides. It may well be that some collectors would appreciate being able to obtain these Maldives items at face value since they are expensive enough as it is and it isn't for one lot of collectors to dictate to others what they should or should not spend their money on. However it is worth pointing out that Stanley Gibbons Catalogue does not usually include these products in its Catalogue listing and the weight of opinion of most, if not all, informed collectors is highly disapproving of the sale of these items.
It's likely that these items featured in the Maldives listing on the WOPA site are not available in Maldives post offices to the Maldives public for use on ordinary mail but are set aside solely for sale as collectibles for stamp enthusiasts. However ultimately they are recognised by Maldives Post as postage stamps produced on its behalf even if they do not serve the purpose for which the postage stamp was invented - as a receipt for the pre-postage of mail.
During 2016 there were a number of postage stamps produced which had local usage in Maldives but nine of these appear among the items in the list of 150 issues appearing on the WOPA site.
I feel that informed collectors are generally highly supportive of and grateful for and satisfied with the services provided by WOPA and that if a genuine postal administration approaches WOPA about joining it then clearly thought should be given to accepting the approach but it may well be worth providing an additional service to collectors by being discerning about the sort of items involved.
It's a tricky balance. One thing I learned in 30+ years of working in a service which dealt with the general public is that you can't please all the people all the time no matter how much you would like to.
Third paragraph from the end of my comment should read "...none of these appear..." (not "nine of these appear....").
DeleteDear White Knight, Thank you ever so much for your detailed explanations and additional information about the Maldives. Thanks also to John for your comment confirming our email communication about the subject yesterday.
ReplyDeleteWe have deactivated the link from WOPA whilst we continue to evaluate our position. Here at WOPA we believe in philately and are working hard to promote it.
It is true that WOPA tries and continues to try to partner with major administrations and we continue doing so despite our efforts at times being met with refusals, but I suppose one has to continue trying until it is successful and I am hopeful that the launch of the new site next month plus increase investment in philatelic promotions during 2017 will help.
We promise our customers that we will continue trying to improve the website and features and of course the selection of countries and it is there where I personally ask you all to kindly help us attract new countries by either 1) recommending them to join WOPA or 2) sending me a list by email of those countries that you all ideally would like to see represented on WOPA. Maybe a blog or vote that I could sponsor and I assure you all of these countries will be personally contacted by WOPA.
In the meantime rest assured that WOPA will not fall into the trap of adding countries recklessly or just for short term financial gain if it is detrimental to the hobby. As a business, we occasionally make wrong decisions so feedback (negative and positive) will always be welcome – the same with blogs – negative ones and maybe once in a blue moon a positive one would be appreciated :)
Have a lovely Easter break – Yours in philately Glendon glendon@wopa-stamps.com
Dear Glendon,
DeleteThank you for your further comment. You appear to have posted it while I was writing and publishing Blog no. 948.
I believe, from comments I have previously seen from other collectors, that WOPA has been set up to be immensely helpful to collectors and is successful in its goal and as such is respected by and much appreciated by collectors who wish to obtain new issues. I would be very keen personally to see Cyprus Post and An Post join WOPA and will write to them to suggest that they do so. I had thought of WOPA as being a mainly European service but I think it would be marvellous if other respectable Commonwealth postal services took advantage of what you have to offer.
Best wishes in your continuing endeavours.
Well done WK for bringing this to the attention of the world's collectors. I was going to mention it yesterday on Stampboards and forgot: now I will have to give it greater prominence!
ReplyDeleteDear Ian,
DeleteThank you. I have written a fuller reply on Blog 948.
Best wishes.
Please Ian, or WK, mention it on Stampboards. All collectors have to know about this.
ReplyDeleteDown with Stamperija! :)
Done - http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=76603
ReplyDeleteDear White Knight, I was as surprised as you when reading the WOPA email announcement on Maldives stamps. From this post, I see quite gladly that comments from you and other collectors have drawn attention of WOPA, and the WOPA co-founder even traced back to your post here and shared his thoughts with us. Your blog has a powerful voice on behalf of collectors of newly issued stamps！ I am also a happy customer of WOPA and I look forward to it holding an online vote for us collectors to participate in the decision process of signing up new postal authorities. Thank you for voicing out for all of us.
ReplyDeleteDear west16, Thank you very much for your message. It is wonderful how so many collectors who love their hobby have expressed their opinions about WOPA's (well-meant) decision to work with "Maldives" and how WOPA took notice and responded to collectors' initial concerns and disappointment. It seems collectors can sometimes change worrying developments in our hobby. Well done to everyone who expressed their opinions to WOPA.
DeleteMany thanks,
Best wishes, WK.