Melissa Anderson is the Postal Manager at The Glen in Victoria. Managing one of Australia Post’s most successful philatelic outlets, Melissa, alongside her colleague Connie Zammit, has been working with dedicated and passionate stamp and coin collectors during her more than two decades with Australia Post. In this article, the second in our ‘meet the team’ series, Melissa talks to us about her role and the day to day running of The Glen’s philatelic operations.
As soon as you walk into The Glen Post Office, you very quickly notice the array of philatelic products displayed in various areas throughout the outlet. And it isn’t just by coincidence. Melissa has been the Postal Manager here for four and a half years, and she has worked hard to build and maintain the outlet’s reputation as the ‘go to’ place for members of the philatelic community.
Of The Glen’s philatelic success she said “the team are very proud to be in the top three Australia Post outlets in the country for philatelic sales."
“Over time we have worked hard to build a reputation for both having and keeping stocks of stamps for the full six months of issue. Not many other outlets are able to do this. Collectors know that if they want product we are usually the best place to find it! We always re order stocks if we run out, because we know there will be demand. In many cases if we could get our hands on more stock we would, as there are collectors out there who would want it."
“Our customers also like to deal with people they know and trust. Connie has been working at The Glen for over 20 years and has always worked with our many long-standing philatelic regulars, giving them truly personal service and ensuring they get what they need.”
Melissa, Connie and the team manage over 84 standing orders from philatelic collectors, who are keen to get their sought-after products for each new stamp issue.
“Most of our standing order customers have been on the books for a number of years. They hate to miss out on any new releases. Whilst over the years perhaps for some people the range of products ordered has changed, they all still have a certain number of preferred products that are ordered for each and every issue,” Melissa said.
But it’s not just standing order customers who benefit from The Glen’s services:
“People also travel to us directly from all over the state and beyond, to ensure they get what they want for their collections. They aren’t locals but they know the trip will be worth their while. It isn’t unusual on the first day of issue to have collectors waiting outside before 9am!"
“We are also one of only a few Post Offices to be open seven days a week, which really helps to ensure that all collectors have the chance to get to us and pick up the products they want.”
With so much philatelic traffic visiting The Glen, product display is really important: “We keep our display area full and up to date at all times, it is a very important feature for us,” Melissa said.
“It’s really important people can see exactly what we have on offer and what will fit into their collection. All new and current stamp release products are on display, and we also have two stocked coin cabinets, which house the last 12 months’ issues.
“We find the displays also prove of interest to non-collectors. For example, both children and adults regularly pick up many of the novelty or licensed products as a one-off piece because they like or collect pieces relating to the featured characters."
“We also enjoy the issues that come with great retail display items. Last year’s stamp collecting month issue, Our Solar System, was supported with a wonderful window display which was loved by staff, customers and passing shoppers!”
When asked what is most popular with collectors Melissa replied, “We always have fans of all the Monarchy and Royal issues. We expect the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration this year will be hugely sought after.”
“The recent Lunar New Year product also proved to be in demand. We sold our stock of 100 PNCs (a postal and numismatic cover bearing a stamp and containing a coin) in just four days!”
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