Terms for the sale of a philatelic subscription of postage stamps, postcards and postal stationery, first day covers (FDCs), imprints of commemorative cancellations and miniature sheets of postage stamps via the Online Store of Poczta Polska S.A.

I. General provisions

1. This document, hereinafter the “Rules”, sets out the rules for placing orders for a philatelic subscription of postage stamps, postal cards and envelopes with a printed postal payment mark, First Day Covers (FDC), impressions of special postmarks, and stamp mini sheets, and for the sale of philatelic items under such subscription via the Online Store of Poczta Polska S.A. 

2. In matters concerning philatelic subscription orders, please contact the seller at: sklep@poczta-polska.pl.

§ 2

The terms used herein have the following meaning:

1) philatelic subscription (subscription) – a set of philatelic items within a given subscription group indicated in § 3(1), fulfilled quarterly;

2) premium subscription – an extended form of the philatelic subscription, including the right of first refusal or automatic reservation of special, unique, and limited editions not covered by the standard subscription offer;

3) subscriber – a natural person, legal person, or organisational unit without legal personality who has placed an order for a philatelic subscription;

4) stamp mini sheet – a publishing form of postage stamps (cancelled or mint), containing 5 to 16 stamps of the basic issue, regardless of their mutual arrangement;

5) special postmark – a decorative occasional postmark with a short text and a graphic element, used to cancel stamps and prepare FDC envelopes dated with the First Day of Issue;

6) business days – calendar days except for public holidays (as defined by applicable regulations);

7) definitives – postage stamps issued by the seller in repeating multi million print runs;

8) subscription unit – philatelic items issued by the seller in a calendar year within the given subscription group indicated in § 3(1), excluding special editions;

9) FDC envelope – an envelope with graphics thematically related to the stamp affixed, bearing the wording “Pierwszy Dzień Obiegu FDC” (First Day of Issue), with an affixed stamp cancelled with the special postmark on the first day of issue (FDC);

10) subscription fee – a flat fee charged for maintaining documentation and segregating subscription units;

11) issue plan – the annual list (defined by the minister responsible for communications) of stamp themes, their release sequence and counts, published on the website of Poczta Polska: poczta polska.pl; 

12) subscription specification – the list, for a given subscription group in § 3(1), of postage stamps, postal cards and envelopes with printed postal payment mark, FDC envelopes, and stamp mini sheets introduced into circulation in a specific quarter of a given calendar year, published on the website poczta polska.pl;

13) philatelic items – postage stamps, postal cards or envelopes with printed postal payment mark, FDC envelopes, impressions of special postmarks, and stamp mini sheets issued by the seller in line with the issue plan of the given calendar year;

14) special edition – a publishing form of a given stamp issue from the annual issue plan (e.g., black print, reprint, philatelic folder, proof, imperforate edition and other special editions). 

II. Placing Orders for the Philatelic Subscription

§ 3

1. Orders are accepted in the following subscription groups:

1) A – mint (uncancelled) stamps; 

2) E – cancelled stamps; 

3) C – postal cards and envelopes with printed postal payment mark (entires); 

4) S – First Day Covers (FDC); 

5) D – impressions of special postmarks; 

6) KA – mint stamp mini sheets; 

7) KE – cancelled stamp mini sheets.

2. Within a given subscription group, the unit of sale is deemed to be: a single stamp (or its basic publishing form), a postal card or envelope with printed postal payment mark, an FDC envelope, an impression of a postmark on a stamp affixed to a card, or a stamp mini sheet. 

3. The philatelic subscription does not include stamps and mini sheets issued as special editions or withdrawn from circulation. 

4. The KA and KE groups include:

1) a pool of 1,000 stamp mini sheets introduced into postal circulation in the given calendar year;

2) full publishing forms for the given issue, as defined by the seller in the subscription specification, without the possibility to order a single stamp.

5. Under the premium subscription, the subscriber receives the right to purchase one piece of each special edition issued in the given calendar year, as set out in § 5

1. Orders for the philatelic subscription are accepted from 2 January:

1) for groups A, E, C, S, D: 

(a) via the Online Store; 

(b) at postal outlets;

2) for groups KA and KE: via the Online Store. 

2. The rules for placing orders at postal outlets in groups A, E, C, S, D are set out in the relevant Subscription Sales Regulations available at poczta polska.pl.

3. Orders for groups A, E, C, S, D are accepted for a half year or full year:

1) full year subscription (Q1–Q4) — until 30 June of the given year;

2) from 1 July to 31 December — orders may be placed for the second half year (Q3–Q4).

4. Orders for groups KA and KE are accepted for a full year, until the pool indicated in § 3(4)(1) is exhausted.

5. The subscriber may resign from receiving stamps and FDC envelopes for definitive issues. This request must be submitted before the order is fulfilled.

6. The order must include: subscriber’s address data, shipping address, chosen subscription group(s) per § 3(1), and the number of subscription units.

7. After placing the order, the subscriber automatically receives an e mail stating the order number, ordered groups, quantity of units, subscription fee, and payment details. Payment is a condition for accepting the order for fulfilment.

§ 5

1. The seller charges a subscription fee for accepting a philatelic subscription order for fulfilment. 

2. The subscription fee for handling the philatelic subscription is non refundable, does not include the price of philatelic items, is not a prepayment, and amounts to PLN 4.92 gross per each subscription unit, subject to sections 3–4 and withdrawal regulations.

3. The subscriber is exempt from the subscription fee if:

1) they place an order covering all subscription units issued in the calendar year, in a quantity of at least 10 units from group:

a) A – mint stamps, or

b) KA – mint mini sheets; and

2) they collect the ordered subscription units.

4. Upon meeting the conditions in section 3, each additional subscription order, regardless of the group and number of units, is also fee exempt 

5. A subscriber exempt from the subscription fee receives:

1) stamps in sheets or sheet fragments;

2) FDC envelopes, postal cards and envelopes with printed postal payment mark as non assembled items.

6. If the subscriber resigns from part of the units indicated in section 3, the due subscription fee will be settled in the subscription statement for the next quarter. 

7. If the subscriber resigns from part of the subscription qualifying for fee exemption, the subscriber receives segregated subscription units. 

8. A subscriber opting to extend their subscription with the premium subscription option must pay an additional one off annual fee of PLN 19.00 gross.

9. The premium subscription fee is non refundable and is a prerequisite for accessing special editions.

10. Premium subscription may be purchased for groups A, E, C, S, D, KA, KE. 

11. Orders with premium subscription are accepted and fulfilled under the existing rules, with guaranteed right of first refusal or reservation of special, unique and limited editions not included in the standard subscription. 

12.mPremium subscription entitles the subscriber to purchase one piece of each special edition or other philatelic item designated by the seller as unique, limited or special, not forming part of standard subscription units.

13. Premium subscription grants the subscriber priority right of purchase for the special editions referred to in section 12. This priority includes a reservation of one piece of the special edition for the period specified in section 15. Exercising the priority right is optional and does not oblige the subscriber to purchase each special edition.

14. The seller notifies the subscriber of the availability of a special edition or other designated philatelic item by sending a notice to the e mail address assigned to the subscriber’s account in the Online Store. The subscriber must keep the e mail address up to date.

15. The priority right of purchase is valid for 5 business days from sending the notification referred to in section 14; after that, it expires. 

16. Purchase of a special edition or other designated philatelic item by a premium subscriber is made via the Online Store, after logging into the subscriber account and paying the price valid on the day of sale. 

17. In the event of a system error or obvious pricing mistake, the seller reserves the right to cancel the reservation of a special edition while refunding any payment made.

18. Premium subscription is valid for the calendar year covered by the subscription order and does not renew automatically for subsequent years.

§ 6

1. A subscriber who has met the exemption conditions in § 5(3) receives a 5% discount on the value of purchased philatelic items from groups A, C, S, D

2. The discount also applies to all additional subscription orders placed by that subscriber, covering the full groups listed in section 1.

III. Delivery or collection of the philatelic subscription

§ 7

1. Shipment of philatelic subscriptions is carried out in four quarterly stages, after the end of each quarter, with respect to philatelic items issued in that quarter. 

2. Fulfilment of the subscription for the current quarter is possible only after the subscription for the previous quarter has been fully purchased. 

3. No later than 30 business days after the end of each quarter, the seller provides the subscriber with information concerning the subscription for that quarter. 

4. In exceptional cases not attributable to the seller, the subscription fulfilment deadline may be delayed; the new deadline will be publicly announced via notices at postal outlets and on the Online Store website. 

§ 8

1. Fees for the philatelic items delivered to the subscriber are determined according to the following rules:

1) for the subscription of mint postage stamps (group A) – the fee corresponds to the nominal value of the stamps received;

2) for the subscription of cancelled postage stamps (group E) – the fee corresponds to 60% of the nominal value of the mint stamps plus the applicable VAT at the rate effective on the date the subscription is collected; 

3) for the subscription of First Day Covers (group S) – the fee corresponds to the price established for these issues plus the applicable VAT at the rate effective on the date the subscription is collected; 

4) for the subscription of postal cards and envelopes with a printed postal payment mark (group C) – the fee corresponds to the price established for these issues; 

5) for the subscription of impressions of special postmarks (group D) – the fee corresponds to the value of the items cancelled with these postmarks plus the applicable VAT at the rate effective on the date the subscription is collected;

6) for the subscription of mint stamp mini sheets – the fee corresponds to the nominal value of the postage stamps contained in the mini sheet;

7) for the subscription of cancelled stamp mini sheets – the fee corresponds to 60% of the nominal value of the postage stamps contained in the mini sheet plus the applicable VAT at the rate effective on the date the subscription is collected.

2. The nominal value of postage stamps whose denomination is expressed in a form other than Arabic numerals (non denominated stamps) corresponds to the fee for the appropriate letter item according to the Price List of universal postal services in domestic and international traffic on the day the stamp is introduced into circulation.

3. Orders for impressions of special postmarks are fulfilled under the following rules:

1) impressions of special postmarks are placed on:

• postal cards with a printed postal payment mark,

• postal cards with an affixed postage stamp,

• envelopes with a printed postal payment mark of a denomination corresponding to the minimum fee for an unregistered economy letter in format S, up to 500 g, according to the applicable Price List of universal postal services; postal cards and envelopes with a printed postal payment mark are settled according to their sales price;

2) in justified cases, it is permissible to affix to occasional cards postage stamps of a denomination different from that indicated above, provided that they are thematically consistent with the special postmark used.

The conditions for order fulfilment are published on the Online Store in the “Delivery and payment” section.

Within 5 business days from the date the bank account of Poczta Polska S.A. is credited with the due payment, the seller ships the philatelic items to the address indicated by the subscriber.