The Train has Left

As the day ended yesterday, there were stacks of parcels, Pos Laju, Pos Ekspres, Pos Daftar and normal mail heading to Sabah! Never before will Pos Malaysia see such a huge shipment in a day to the Land Below the Wind! It was quite a typhoon in many of the post offices here! Hmmm interesting, trains taking flight!

Anyway the question still remain… is it rare, is it highly in demand, what was it?

Here is a clue from the press release information sheet:

A total of 30,000 pieces were printed. This is quite a normal quantity. Most of the stocks were sent to Kota Kinabalu for redistribution. News from the smaller Philatelic Branches in Sabah was that there were enough MS except of course Kota Kinabalu where the collectors and all others went to get their stocks.

The Peninsular East Coast, Johor and Ipoh reported similar situation of sufficient stocks.

The hot bed of Penang and Klang Valley (except Shah Alam and the Subang Jaya area) reported high demand. Surprisingly Sungai Petani was also sold out (even the sheets of stamps). Kuching was also sold out from news from some of my friends (anyone there to update us??). I do not have reports from Alor Star, Seremban nor Melaka. Again, anyone with information, feel free to share.

Thus the main issue was the allocation of stocks in each location. The sudden shortage of stocks in the GPO caused a secondary cascade effect of the resellers calling their friends to hit the post offices around Malaysia to snap up the stocks. Bear in mind that there are a lot of FDC collectors in Malaysia and the main aim is to make MS FDC.

The third demand comes from resellers trying to fulfill international orders for special effect Miniature Sheets. This group of collectors focus mainly on “special effect” and the curved cutting fits some of these collectors’ bill.

The fourth demand came from the thematics. This issue fits 2 themes: Trains and History. In addition there is also the fifth demand from Sabah being tied to the state in a big way. It links up many locations in Sabah and you cannot help but feel a local connection.

It is also a very well designed issue. The images are crisp and clear. The information leaflet is well written. This is the sixth issue on rail in Malaysia:

1. 1985 100 Years KTM
2. 1997 LRT
3. 1998 Rail Transport
4. 2002 Express Rail Link
5. 2010 125 Years KTM
6. 2015 Trains in Sabah

Except for the 1998 and 2002 issues, the others were very well received in particular KTM. Malaysian collectors tend to snap up national railway issues!

By day’s end, the MS were sold out in the major towns and cities.

How does the Miniature Sheet stack up? Will it become another classic like the 1985 KTM?

Judging from the stocks disparity and the SODA stocks which has not been released, I think it is a far stretch for the MS to jump up in price like the 1985 KTM. The selling prices have been subdued, though the international prices continues to be high but then bear in mind the seller’s fees to PayPal will reduce the margins. The reallocated stocks being shipped from East Coast will dampen the prices. Quantity wise, it is in the normal range. The MS FDC will continue to be scarcer than the Mint MS.

So the question is… where did all the stocks go???

Feel free to share your ideas or thoughts on this stamp issue.

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