European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A philatelists dream come Trueby Carrie Figdor associated press shortly after it declared Independence last june Croatia took a classic step toward proclaiming National sovereignty. It issued Stamps. Some of the Stamps did no to have glue and had to be Cut apart with scissors. One series commemorated airmail routes established when the resulting civil War interrupted surface mail delivery. They were the first croatian Stamps since world War ii a sort of. Because Croatia s Independence was not established they were used Quot More or less out of Pride Quot next to yugoslav Stamps says Ekrem Spahich executive Secretary of the croatian philatelic society in Borger Texas. But the desire for physical proof of Independence was there As it has been in the former soviet republics the Baltic and other new or reborn nations. As the real world changes the stamp world follows suit. For example a in october Moscow issued a Quot Victory of democratic forces Quot series commemorating the three men who died in the failed August coup. They were among the last soviet Stamps and the first since czarist times to show the russian Flag. A Armenia s first stamp since it became part of the soviet Union in 1922 is expected to Honor a multinational corporation the United states based american Telephone amp Telegraph co., which installed Telephone switching equipment in the capital Yerevan last october. A a january 1991 shipment of lithuanian Stamps printed in Leipzig Germany was impounded at the lithuanian Border by soviet officials until the soviet Union recognized the Baltic state in september. None of the new Stamps approaches in value the jewels of the philatelic world valued at More than $1 million each. These include an 1856 Penny Magenta British Guiana stamp an 1855 swedish stamp printed in the wrong color Yellowish instead of Blue Greenland an 1840 Black British Penny stamp pasted on the inverse Side of a Mulready envelope a an envelope with the postage printed on it. Rarity is one of the prime determinants of stamp value. In general Stamps Are issued today in quantities that prevent their prices from rising above face value. Philately has never quite recovered from the Boom and bust Market of the late 1970 s and Early 1980�?Ts, when non philatelists investors saw Stamps As a Good Short term investment and inflation hedge. Prices zoomed when they entered the to Terr. ? a Croatia began issuing its own Stamps imme Latley after declaring Independence in june. Market and plunged when they left. But the new issues while not raising stamp prices Are giving new life to philately As a Hobby. Quot people will collect the new Stamps and then go Back for the old ones Quot says Keith Wagner executive director of the american philatelic society. The society estimates there Are some 250,000 serious stamp collectors in the United states. The major Industrial nations a Britain Germany France and Japan in particular a also have Many collectors. Most philatelists collect Stamps from their own country or that of their forebears. But anything is fair game. At least one . Philatelists collects Stamps from Memel an area in Lithuania that was briefly autonomous Between the world wars. Quot Stamps Are Little pieces of paper with historic and geographic significance. You get to possess a chunk of history Quot says Michael Schrieber of Linn s stamp news the leading . Philatelic weekly. The history displayed can be both symbolic and deceptive. Glasnost brought with it soviet Stamps commemorating former non persons Andrei Sakharov and Boris Pasternak and British double agent Kim Philby. But East Germany ignored its merger with West Germany on oct. 3, 1990. The Day before the merger it issued Stamps that celebrated International aeronautics and the 100th anniversary of the death of Heinrich Schliemann who found the ancient City of Troy. Yugoslavia also looked the other Way As it was falling apart. While Croatia issued stamped envelopes that displayed the plea Quot Stop the War in Croatia in English yugoslav Stamps showed Birds Flowers and olympic events. Now with International recognition of slovenian and croatian Independence Stamps from those states Are being used it i Ino Olow  action line commissary admits pricing inequities q a in iwo separate visits Over the last two months my wife and i have noticed that the Price of beef is about $1.20 per Pound More for Steak and 40-60 cents More for ground beef at our local Worms commissary than at Ramstein. If All commissaries Are now under deca defense commissary Agency management Why Are prices so disparate Between Large Quot showcase Quot commissaries and the smaller Community ones i know the Worms commissary is a fraction of the size but As a percentage of All items stocked we seem to have relatively few  Are smaller commissaries profits used to subsidize larger ones Price Breaks or what maj. Al Mundt Worms Germany la Charles a. Wlker director defense commissary Agency european Region replies first we would like to set the record straight by stating that commissaries do not make a profit. Commissaries Are an important part of the non pay compensation Benefit package because customers can buy groceries and other household items at the Price it Cost the commissary system to Purchase them from suppliers. There is no markup and the purchases Are tax free although a 5 percent surcharge is added. But the surcharge is not a profit. Surcharge funds Benefit All customers because they pay for new construction and improvements to existing facilities. Surcharge Money is also used for the Purchase of automated data processing equipment electronic Cash registers scanning systems forklifts supplies such As shelf labels Cash Register tape safety glasses cleaning material grocery bags and maintenance and services such As equipment maintenance and repair and laundry of uniforms. Commissary pricing policies Are guided by two principles merchandise is sold at Cost and the Stock fund must be replenished so that adequate funds Are available to Purchase new merchandise. This is the reason that prices in your commissary May change and vary slightly from commissary to commissary. The pricing method used is called Quot receipt pricing Quot which Means customers pay the most recent delivery Price. When merchandise is received at a commissary warehouse the Price of any of the same merchandise still in the warehouse and on the commissary shelves is adjusted to reflect the Price of the newly received merchandise. Prices May increase or decrease so that no More and no less than the amount of Money needed to replace the merchandise is recouped. If a new lot with a new Price is received in one commissary before another a Price difference Between the two stores will occur. The Price of merchandise sold to the commissary in other than Dollar amounts also fluctuates. These products Are priced by converting the foreign currency Price to dollars using an Exchange rate that is established monthly. We Are however moving to a Central distribution Center cd method of support for our commissaries. Cacs Are essentially huge warehouses that support a network of stores. By frequently supplying commissaries through them we expect to significantly reduce the amount of time Between order and receipt As Well As the number of Price disparities among stores. We Call a product that is on Quot special Quot voluntary Price reduction apr because we can Only offer Price reductions if they have been voluntarily provided by the manufacturers or their sales representatives. Many of these prs May be offered to All commissaries that Stock the product but sometimes sales representatives visit an individual store to provide them with prs. Support to smaller stores is not always what we would like it to be since it is less profitable but we have begun working closely with the Industry to encourage More frequent visits to these stores. Although meat is sold at Cost determining the Price per Pound of various cuts is a More complicated matter. Meat prices Are established after a processing test in the commissary is completed. This test reveals How much wastage can be expected to occur when the product is prepared for Sale to customers. Pricing is also adjusted based on the demand or movement of specific meat cuts and items of produce. For example in summer when the demand for steaks is High roast prices must be lowered to create demand and facilitate the movement of the entire carcass of beef. In Winter months roast demand goes up As does the Price per Pound Steak prices however become lower. The demographics of a Community also play a part in establishing prices. For instance a Community with More High income personnel will have a higher demand for steaks than ones with fewer. These factors and the status of the account Are considered when prices for fresh meat and produce Are established. Adjustments Are made As frequently As new merchandise arrives which in most cases is at least once a week. After receiving your letter on Jan. 31, we surveyed the prices of beef at several commissaries including Worms and found that the prices of various cuts varied More than they should from store to store. We recognize the need for More equitable pricing and Are taking Steps to Institute this in our commissaries. We expect to implement these procedures this Spring. We Hope that this information has helped to clarify the situation for you and our other valued  write us readers action line is the readers a court of last resort striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or quest bus about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday March 13, 1992