United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-05-25 monographic deposited born digital 16 p. GA 1.13:T-GGD-00-137 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137 P0b002ee18037784a f:gg00137t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137 T-GGD-00-137 Breast cancer Cancer research Cost analysis Postal service Postal rates USPS Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Program Germany Netherlands Belgium New Zealand Austria Canada United Kingdom Sweden Testimony GGD The breast cancer research stamp was the first stamp ever issued by the Postal Service to raise money for a nonpostal purpose--in this case medical research on breast cancer. The stamp is a "blockbuster" commemorative stamp that costs 40 cents, or seven cents above the cost of a regular first-class postage stamp. The Postal Service is authorized to deduct from the seven-cent surcharge its costs to print, sell, and distribute the stamp. GAO found that it is unclear how much it cost to develop and sell the stamp because the Postal Service did not track these expenses. Postal officials said that these costs were inconsequential or immaterial and it would have been too expensive to track them. In March, the Postal Service reported that the bulk of its costs to develop and sell the stamp through the end of 1999 was $5.9 million. About $5.4 million of these costs were recovered through the 33-cent first-class portion of the stamp, and the remaining $482,000 had been recouped from the surcharge revenues. GAO was concerned that the Postal Service had not formalized its criteria for determining what costs would be recouped from the surcharge revenue and was not consistently applying its informal criteria, which changed over time. In response to GAO's recommendation, the Postal Service indicated that it would formalize and consistently apply its cost recovery criteria. The Postal Service plans to recoup costs from the surcharge revenue that were over and above the costs normally incurred with a "blockbuster" commemorative stamp issue or a new postal product. The U.S. Mint's experiences offer lessons that may be applicable to semipostals, because there are many similarities between the two. In the mid-1990s, GAO reviewed the commemorative coin program and found that some coins were unpopular and did not sell well. GAO also found that as the number of commemorative coins proliferated, the market became saturated and sales fell. As sales fell, the U.S. Mint was unable to cover its costs on some commemorative coin programs. This testimony summarizes the April 2000 report, GAO/GGD-00-80. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137/html/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137.pdf GAO/T-GGD-00-137 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-00-137 Testimony GAO/T-GGD-00-137; Breast Cancer Research Stamp: Millions Raised for; Breast cancer Cancer research Cost analysis Postal service Postal rates USPS Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Program Germany Netherlands Belgium New Zealand Austria Canada United Kingdom Sweden