Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The kiwi, a new philatelic currency

On 7 September 2009, New Zealand Post revolutionarised its definitive stamps and its nationwide postage rate system, creating by communication a new philatelic currency: the kiwi...
The ten first KiwiStamps (stuff.co.nz news site).

Sold in booklets of ten, sheets of fifty or rolls of one hundred, these typical pictures of the life in New Zealand bear the name of the country, New Zealand Post's silver fern and the new KiwiStamp calling.

Already, some issues praised the kiwi's particularities, from the fruit to the bird passing through the European descent of the inhabitants themselves.

Known by many countries, the non denominated stamp is enough for a basic letter. One for the standard service, that is 0.50 New Zealand dollar (around 0.24 euro or 0.36 dollar of the United states). Two for a speeder service, that is 1 dollar (around 0.48 euro or 0.72 dollar). This system extended to many dimensions and weights like in Belgium, in a more simple way.

The new WikiStamp rate system (New Zealand Post website).

To each cover format, the size, thickness or weight limites so that you can conclude the postage expressed in a number of KiwiStamps.

Like in Belgium, a client can wonder where the trap is: would not the larger or heavier mail be exponantially more expensive at each point's value increase?

In the New Zealand case, I see that the first weigh level is quite large: up to five hundred grams for a simple letter whose speed delivery is quite reasonable in price. Even up to one kilogram in case of unregular shapes.

To the client to choose: to mail many things inside a reduced size that can be economic in hand and machine sorting and energy consumption. Or post less but in any wished form but more expensive at the first grams.

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