Personalized stamps canceled
U.S. Postal Service refuses to extend Stamps.com's PhotoStamps customized stamp service.
The company will stop taking orders for the service Thursday night as per Postal Service directions, it said. The service was launched in August for a limited period, and Stamps.com's request for an extension has been rejected.
About 100,000 sheets, or 2 million individual stamps, were ordered since the service was launched seven weeks ago, the company said. The service ran into trouble, however, when pranksters got a little inventive with the program, printing up stamps with pictures of people including Ted Kaczynski, Jimmy Hoffa and Slobodan Milosevic.
"We are disappointed with this outcome, as it puts the PhotoStamps program into a state of limbo as the holiday season approaches. However, we acknowledge the Postal Service's request to evaluate the program before additional orders are taken," Stamps.com CEO Ken McBride said in a statement. "By all reasonable measures, we think this program has been overwhelmingly successful. The customers have voted loud and clear with their orders--now it is up to the USPS."