The USPS has found a willing partner in Disney for its “affinity” tie-ins. Disney is all about cross-promotion: All of its product lines help promote all of its product lines. I was at ABC News when the “final trilogy” (HA!) of “Star Wars” movies were released. Disney owns ABC. The anchors on several programs wore Star Wars costumes! No Disney event would ever go unmentioned in the newscasts.

Was this ordered From Above? I don’t know. After a while, a smart manager knows what the employers want and often delivers it without being asked. I’m pretty sure renting the costumes didn’t come out of our show’s meager budget.

I caught a promo the other night on ABC-TV for some sort of an “event” involving ABC Sports anchors and the Muppets. I think it was happening at Disneyland or Disney World or Disney Empire. Certainly somewhere in the Disney Empire!

The UPSPS loves announcing and issuing stamps at related events. If a pop-culture icon’s manufacturer offered an opportunity, I’m sure the USPS would jump at it. It’s all about publicity for the Postal Service (what I call “Hey! Look at me! We’re still relevant!” stamps, of which the USPS is not the greatest offender) and selling stamps and “philatelic products” at the event.

“Star Wars” by the way, for which the U.S. issued stamps in 2021 and the U.K. issued stamps in 2017, is part of the Disney empire.

Will the Buzz Lightyear stamps sell well? Yes. Will they sell well to philatelists? Who cares. We are a small part of the market.

With a little extra work, the USPS could use these affinity issues to help create more stamp collectors, who would eventually branch out into other parts of philately. That would pay off down the road. But that payoff might come after the current postal management is gone, so it’s not considered.

Meanwhile, “serious” stamp collectors turn up their noses at Buzz and Droids and Hot Wheels and the Hogwarts crowd, as did our grandparents when the first commemoratives were issued in 1892.