U.S. Postal Service Answers Customers' Demands to 'Hang 10' with Aloha Shirt Stamps

Hawaiian-influenced Stamps Already One of 2012's Most Popular

News provided by

Jun 02, 2012, 12:16 ET

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Due to incredible demand, the five First-Class Aloha Shirt stamps celebrating Hawaii's stamp on fashion are now offered in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 10 stamps. Available nationwide today, the stamps can be purchased online at usps.com/shop, by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724) or by visiting Post Offices.

"The Aloha Shirt stamps have been a popular addition to the U.S. stamp landscape since their release earlier this year," said Stephen Kearney, U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services manager. "Aloha shirts are fantastic icons, colorful garments that will brighten up postcards sent from anywhere in the U.S."

The stamps were first unveiled in January at a ceremony in Honolulu in sheets of 20 and coils of 100, and sold more than 50 million in April alone.

Two of the five classic shirts depicted in the stamp art showcase surfers and their boards; one shows fossil fish, shells, and sea stars; another shows a tropical flower known as the bird of paradise; and one shows Kilauea, a volcano on the southeastern edge of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Customers may view the Aloha Shirts Forever stamps, as well as many of this year's other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service's online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Aloha Shirts Stamp
McLean West Branch
1544 Springhill Road
McLean, VA 22102-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by August 23, 2012.

How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog, online at usps.com/shop or by calling 1-800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 1-800-782-6724 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue:

688263*, First Day Cover Set of 5, $5.40.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow the Postal Service on www.twitter.com/USPSstamps and at www.facebook.com/USPSSTAMPS

To obtain a high-resolution image of these stamps for media use only, email [email protected] Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service