Stamps as Personal or Corporate Gifts
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Personalized stamps feature favorite photos and messages

Gift-giving is the ritual of transferring something to another person without expecting any form of payment.  The expectation of reciprocity however is quite common although it is not absolute.  Some people simply revel in the joy of gift-giving  and those who disallow it in their lives whether for practicality or some other reason may just be losing out on an important aspect of establishing personal and business relationships.

A Gift is Something Personal

Gift-giving is a very personal activity especially if the recipients are close to our hearts such as family and close friends.  Choosing a gift forces us to think of the intended recipients in the aspect of what they like and not based on what we want.  Real gift-giving makes us want to give something as a gift because we think that our loved ones will be happy when they receive it and not the other way around.

When we give gifts, we always try to make it appear that the selection has been made with careful thought of the recipient.  This is probably the reason why personalized gifts became popular.  Nothing can be more personal than having a gift bear the name or photo of the recipient.  Ditto with a quote or message special to the recipient.

Almost any item can be personalized either through printing, engraving, or embroidering.  A fairly new entrant into the personalized gift choice options is the personalized stamp.  Stamps as a personal gift is something that will not only be appreciated by stamp collectors.  Personalized stamps are postage stamps containing pictures and photographs not regularly related to the common designs or topics of official issuers of stamps such as the faces of any member of the public.

It has to be made clear however that personalized postage stamps are still issued by official stamp-issuing entities.  Some of the countries that have allowed personalisation of postage stamps or allowed the use of a personal label beside the stamp include Aland, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States.  The United Nations likewise permits personalisation of labels adjoining its stamps.

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Stamps in various presentations and packaging are seen as ideal corporate gifts

Stamps as Corporate Gifts

Stamps and its various presentations are increasingly being considered as ideal corporate gifts by many business organizations to their associates and clients.  The gift-giving idea is not merely limited to giving stamps as a gift.  Because of the many possibilities offered by stamp designs in terms of topic, gift-giving can still be personalized to pertain to a specific interest or line of business such as stamps featuring tourist attractions for travel companies.  Singapore Post is one of the few entities that regularly comes up with suggested corporate gifts bearing stamp themes.

The choice of stamps as a gift not only establishes goodwill because of the very act of gift-giving.  It can also help establish business identity and recall. Most of all, it also offers usefulness.

My Say

Gift-giving has its acknowledged social value.  Giving for many has become a lifestyle or at least a part of it.  The people included in our permanent gift list are usually the ones who matter most to us.  While there are obvious benefits derived by a recipient in receiving gifts, there are likewise benefits derived by the giver from the exercise.  The psychology of gift-giving says that givers reinforce their belief in themselves in relation to their capacity to care and feel effective about it when they give gifts to others. Stamps as personal or corporate gifts should be considered by those who are giving and receiving gifts.

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