Businessman Tiit Pruuli first brought news of the Minu Mark service ending to public attention on social media, saying that the Go [Group] stamps he ordered last week are likely the last custom-designed stamps to be printed.

"Omniva is steadily and systematically killing off philately in Estonia step by step. The latest development, which they have tried to handle very quietly, is that as of this week it is no longer possible to order Minu Mark, or a self-designed stamp," Pruuli wrote.

According to Pruuli, Omniva has also stopped ordering all philatelic supplies.

"Collectors have used one type of album for decades that was sold by Eesti Post. Now go see for yourself what you can still find and where. Longtime stamp specialists have been laid off, not to mention stamp prices, which are the highest in Europe, and the closing of post offices," Pruuli said.

Postal service is not only a business but also part of culture, Pruuli said. "There does not seem to be even the slightest understanding of that in this company or in the political party responsible for the field." (Omniva is overseen by the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, headed by Hendrik Johannes Terras of Eesti 200.)

Pruuli said that a stamp is not simply a means of payment, a collector's item or a small work of art. "Even in the internet age, it is one of the symbols of the state. Omniva's current management does not seem to understand that," he said.

Collector Indrek Ilomets, who has 30 years of experience in philately, agrees with Pruuli.

"Omniva seems more concerned with letting philately die out. Modern and contemporary means putting everything online and doing things digitally, but there is no longer any thought given to philately," Ilomets told ERR.

Ilomets criticized Omniva for becoming too cost-driven and placing too little value on something culturally important like stamps. "Stamps are seen as an expense, but a national postal service should think more broadly about life in Estonia," Ilomets said.

Ilomets said that he himself had used the Minu Mark service many times, for example to make stamps for friends' milestone birthdays or to order New Year's stamps for sending holiday greetings.

He was also bothered that Omniva eliminated the Minu Mark service almost in secret, with no warning appearing on the company's website. "Apparently people like me are not important — from Omniva's point of view, we are an expense," Ilomets said. "They could at least have announced it a month in advance," he added.

Philately as a whole is no longer important to Omniva, Ilomets said. "The issuing of stamps should be thought through from a philatelic perspective so that the stamps are valued internationally as well, but Omniva has no initiative and is not looking for solutions," Ilomets said.

"The issue is that philately is part of culture, but Omniva does not deal with it because its keywords are cost and profit," the stamp collector said.

Ilomets agreed that philately is mainly an interest of the older generation. "The philatelists' gathering in Tallinn on Sunday was mostly a gathering of elderly people, but there were also some young boys there," he added.

Omniva: We are concentrating on services that create value

Omniva confirmed Ilomets' criticism: the Minu Mark service had become an unnecessary expense for the company. However, the state-owned postal company rejected the claim that philately is no longer important to it.

"Minu Mark was created as an innovative service about 20 years ago. At the time, it was popular and widely used, but today its use has fallen significantly. Last year, stamps worth only around €2,700 were ordered, amounting to approximately 50 orders over the course of the year," said Omniva postal services manager Katri Laanela.

Laanela said that Omniva is now focusing on services that customers value, see as necessary and that create value.

"We have to direct our resources and look at what we spend them on. That is why we decided to close the service," she added.

According to Laanela, it is not true that philately-related issues have been taken off the table at Omniva.

"We are investing heavily in this field. This year, a total of 46 different stamps will be issued on very important topics. Through issuing stamps, we want to tell stories that are important to Estonia. A stamp featuring native red berries was just released and it turned out to be unexpectedly popular — even social media influencers shared it and said people should start buying stamps," Laanela said.

Laanela said that a stamp dedicated to the Paralympics was also very popular and had never been done before.

"We unveiled it when the athletes were sent off. Later this week, a stamp marking the 150th anniversary of Georg Lurich's birth will be released. There will also be stamps related to trees and birds, a flora and fauna series and a stamp dedicated to the teaching profession. A stamp will also be issued to mark the anniversary of the Estonian Academic Women's Association," Laanela listed.

"We have looked for important themes related to Estonian history and culture so they will endure and be preserved. We are trying to create a positive image of philately," she said.

Print runs vary by stamp, starting at 30,000 copies. "It depends on how much interest we expect there to be in a particular stamp," Laanela explained.

Laanela rejected criticism that everyone working with stamps had been laid off at Omniva. "We have a product manager who handles stamp issuance and organizes presentations. In fact, we have two people: a product manager and someone in the marketing department who work on promoting stamps," Laanela said.

Omniva introduces each new stamp on its website, in the media and on social media. "As a rule, we also hold a stamp presentation with our partners, featuring a first-day cover and a cancellation stamp. These are very important issues for philatelists and we will continue to deal with them," Laanela said.

Omniva launched the Minu Mark service in 2007. Minu Mark could be ordered online by sending Omniva the digital photo needed for the design. The finished stamps were then mailed to the customer. The minimum order quantity was one sheet of stamps containing 20 stamps. The completed Minu Mark consisted of the customer's custom-designed section and information about the stamp's denomination.

The government has begun the privatization of Omniva.

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