BeePost: a new star in the firmament

On several occasions information has appeared in our Newsletter about issues by the Stamperija (Stampera) company. Although I strongly believe that these are harmful issues, there are members who think otherwise. This is partly because the issues are also listed in the authoritative catalogues (Michel, Yvert et cetera).
But many, if not all, stamps issued by them are not recognised by the UPU (Universal Postal Union). That they are nevertheless included in catalogues may be a money issue.

Stamperija is an agent for several African countries, and is therefore entitled to arrange the stamp issuance for those countries.
"All postage stamp issues must be authorized by postal administrations. Stamperija is a philatelic agent enjoying excellent long-term relations with 10+ postal administrations and responsible for their stamp issuing policies, the design, the production and the international distribution of stamps and other philatelic products."

But in addition, they also provide personal stamps issued under the name of one of the countries they represent.
"Except rare exceptions, we can facilitate an authorization for your stamp issue by one of our represented postal administrations."
The italicised comments are from the stampera.eu website, and then the "Personalised Stamps" link at the bottom of the page.

The issuing policy of the countries provided by Stamperija is at least rather enthusiastic. Many stamps and blocks, perforated and imperforate, and subjects that often have totally no relation with the issuing country.

Take for example the Solomon islands:

"Another example is the Solomon Islands, a former British protectorate in the Pacific. They are trying to recover from a civil conflict that brought the country to the brink of collapse. The World Bank says the Solomon Islands, one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, has been hit by successive global food, fuel and financial crises. You may wonder why the approximately 600,000 residents of the Solomon Islands need 500 different stamps and 150 different stamp sheets per year (2013 and 2014)."

Or another example, the issue by Stamperija for Sierra Leone:

"Collectors calculated that Sierra Leone, with a population of 7.6 million and a barely functioning postal service, issued 1566 different stamps in 2016 with the help of Stamperija, compared to 268 issued by Great Britain and 139 by India."

Second example from this country, issued 21 December 2015:

"What context exists between Sierra Leone and the 2015 Tour de France? Probably none: the Tour has never passed through this country and a participant from Sierra Leone in the 2015 Tour does not exist either. Isn't it strange that there is such a long period between the event in July and the issue date of the stamp in December? It is certainly not a "real" issue - as claimed by Stamperija/Stampera.
It is doubtful whether it was even possible to buy this stamp in Sierra Leone - or have you ever seen a real mailed letter with the above stamp? Most likely not. By the way: on 21 December 2015 Sierra Leone issued another 98 stamps - a total of 867 stamps in the year 2015 (all included in the Michel catalogue). More than two stamps per day - Sundays and public holidays included."
(The above texts in italics come from  https://bicyclestamps.de/)

The company Stamperija/Stampera is located in Lithuania. At the same address also the firm Topicalstamps.eu is located, where you can buy the stamps issued by Stamperija.

But recently there is a "new" star in the firmament: BeePost.

If we look for some more information about this provider on their website, we see under the conditions:
"Bank Transfers must be bank-fee prepaid and payable to: STAMPERIJA LTD Account IBAN # LT21"
It is not unreasonable to say that BeePost is part of the Stamperija company.

About itself BeePost says:
"BeePost is an internationally registered private brand uniting several companies with plans to become a private international postal service and to start the delivery of the correspondence from Estonia, Finland and Lithuania and other countries around the world. In the meanwhile, our mail is delivered by other postal carriers or transport companies. BeePost’s offices are located in Helsinki, Tallinn and Vilnius. More about BeePost’s products and service can be found at www.beepost.shop
The mission of BeePost project is to enrich the collectors’ mail sent by traditional postal carriers by original and attractive collectables.
BeePost collectables carry authentic and original designs so they cannot be confused with the stamps or other philatelic products of AB “Lietuvos paštas”, Omniva (ex-AS Eesti Post), Posti Group Oyj (ex-Itella, ex-Suomen Posti), etc.
BeePost collectables cannot be directly used to pay the postal or other services provided by AB “Lietuvos paštas”, Omniva (ex-Eesti Post), Posti Group Oyj (ex-Itella, ex-Suomen Posti), etc.
Apart from focusing on the unique BeePost brand collectables, our web-shop www.beepost.shop also presents a wide and attractive range of postage stamps from various countries at competitive prices.  Happy Collection with BeePost!"

In short, BeePost stamps are not yet valid for the national postal services in the countries for which they are issued. Any postage stamped with these stamps will be delivered by private delivery services.

Stamps for Estonia (EE), Finland (FI) and Lithuania (LT) are offered on the website of Topicalstamps.eu, part of Stamperija.
Here some examples of stamps provided by BeePost:

Estonia: FDC with stamp series Myths and Legends, offfered for… 43,56 euro

Glory to Ukraine, costs 3 euro.
Note the country code for Estonia: EE

Finland: has the country code FI. This series is offered for 17.60 euro, but with the disclaimer:
"BeePost collectables cannot be directly used to pay the postal or other services provided by Suomen Posti."

FDC Underwater Fauna and Flora, with in the lower left corner of the stamps the country code FI. Offered for only 22 euro.

And finally Lithuania: country code LT. Seaside Regional Park in the series
Underwater Flora and Fauna from Lithuania. Offered to you for 14.00 euro.

Below a nice stamp from 2022 in the series Events. This time an image of Queen Elisabeth.

Single stamp 10.00 euro

FDC with a block of 4 stamps, costs excluding shipment 42.40 euro

We also see postal stationery. Postcards with imprinted and prepaid postage.

The observant reader will immediately see that this Postal Stationery was issued for Lithuania LT.

Finally let's check if there are any offers for our collection area? Fortunately. Result: No Products.

Let's hope it stays that way, as we already have enough money ripped off our pockets by all sorts of shady providers.

BeePost is sometimes compared to PostNord. This is also a partnership that provides postal services in the Nordic countries. However, unlike BeePost, which is a private initiative, PostNord was started by the Swedish and Danish Post.
"PostNord AB is a provider of postal services operating mainly in the Nordic countries. The company was formed on 24 June 2009, under the name Posten Norden, as the holding company in a merger between the Danish and Swedish postal service providers Post Danmark A/S and Posten AB. In 2011, the name of the company was changed to PostNord.
The owners of PostNord Group are the state of Sweden (60 percent) and the state of Denmark (40 percent). The voting rights are, however, split equally (50/50) between the two owners, and the respective owners name equal numbers of corporate board members."
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostNord)

The countries affiliated with PostNord will continue to issue their own stamps. The devaluation of the stamps is done with cancelations of PostNord.

The comparison with city post services is also flawed. City posts are indeed a private initiative, but in addition to providing its own stamps, a city post service provides collection points and the delivery of city post in its own area. If the mail crosses areas, it is delivered by a fellow city post service. If this is not possible, for example in the Netherlands, delivery is provided by the national postal service PostNL.
BeePost has one office in each of the three countries. Delivery, not only locally in the three places concerned but throughout the country, is outsourced to a third service, other than the national postal service.

Also in our field of collecting several city post stamps are known.

It is possible to obtain mailed items with motorcycle stamps. But try to find a mailed item with BeePost stamps...

I understand that within our club there is a need to mention all new issues as far as possible. There are members who do not feel bound by the criteria that other philatelists impose on themselves, but simply go for the pretty picture. Imagine being a Honda fan, and one of the so-called unofficial countries just issues a stamp with a Honda that is still unknown to you.

Everyone is free to buy whatever he or she wants, but instead of spending a lot of money on these "stamps" or "postal stationery" there are so many more beautiful pieces to be found that will enrich your collection.

Nico Helling

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