 The postman’s creed about putting on a brave face where rain, sleet, or snow is concerned is the stuff of legends. That doesn’t mean the rest of us are expected to live up to the same standard where matters of the U.S. Postal Service are concerned. In fact, it’s possible today to avoid the outdoors entirely and still purchase postage. With an Internet connection, software, and standard desktop printer, you can do anything from buy postage for a letter to print authorized shipping labels for packages to clients of your home office-based business. Further, you can insure those packages at discounted rates, track packages, and more—all from your home day or night.
We’ll explore the advantages of doing postage-related business online, both through services the U.S. Postal Service offers and services that approved, third-party vendors operate based on the USPS’ PC Postage technology. We’ll also detail special equipment available for handling more extensive postal tasks and features that go beyond simply buying stamps.
 Postage Paid, Web-Style
Three years of research and testing went into PC Postage, a trademarked technology the USPS launched in 1999. Since then, PC Postage has proven a godsend for consumers and small-business owners who can’t afford standing in lines at the post office or spending time manually addressing packages. At its simplest, PC Postage services involve consumers using software to manage postage needs. Postage is typically printable using special label printers or standard laser or inkjet desktop printers and contains indicia, or digital markings, that resemble a barcode that’s printed directly to envelopes, shipping labels, or customized labels consumers can create. | 
Although you can use a standard inkjet or laser printer to print postage and shipping labels, special printers, such as DYMO’s LabelWriter 400, are also available. |
Third-party vendors that have been approved to offer PC Postage services, including selling postage from their own Web sites, must first meet governmental requirements related to security and finances. Third-party vendors tout the ability to save customers time as well as offering features aimed at managing postal tasks, including everything from accessing online address books to tracking postage purchases over time.
The first companies granted PC Postage approval were Stamps.com and E-Stamp in 1999. (In 2001, Stamps.com purchased E-Stamp’s trademarks and patents.) In the first year after PC Postage’s launch, more than 200,000 people reportedly registered for online postal services. Additionally, small- or home offices spent an estimated $8 million during PC Postage’s initial months. In 2002, the USPS began selling postage and other services online through its own portal called Click-N-Ship (sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do). Besides Stamps.com and Click-N-Ship, other PC Postage-approved companies operating today include Endicia.com, Pitney Bowes (www.pb.com), and eBay.
On eBay, users can use PayPal accounts to buy shipping labels that they can print from home. Unlike other online postage services, eBay doesn’t charge additional fees or monthly subscription plans to buy shipping labels. Users can buy up to $500 insurance with delivery confirmation included for domestic First-Class Mail Parcels, Express Mail, Media Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, and Parcel Post Mail. Additionally, users can print Express Mail International and Priority Mail International labels and fill out customs forms online. Further, a Carrier Pickup feature can arrange for a USPS carrier to pick up packages without added charges.
While Click-N-Ship offers similar services, Stamps.com and Endicia.com offer even more features to consumers and small-business owners who have more extensive mailing needs. The following is a glimpse at each service.
Click-N-Ship. After registering for a free account at Click-N-Ship, you can store up to three credit card numbers at the Web site to expedite checkouts, access a personal Address Book online with up to 3,000 addresses, file online domestic insurance claims, view six months’ worth of shipping history, print up to 10 shipping labels at once, use an automated Ship Notification email for recipients, and use SCAN (Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice) forms. Click-N-Ship also offers a 3% discount off the retail price for domestic Express Mail and up to 11% off for domestic Priority Mail.
To print shipping labels, you can use standard 8.5- x 11-inch white paper and use home or postage scales, which the USPS sells online, along with self-adhesive shipping labels and other postal supplies. Using Click-N-Ship requires running Windows 98 or above or Mac OS 10.x or above. Additionally, you need a laser or high-quality inkjet printer, as thermal printers aren’t supported. The site’s free USPS Shipping Assistant (tinyurl.com/y2ybun), meanwhile, provides software aimed at businesses to create and print domestic and international shipping labels, calculate postage prices and delivery times, verify sent and delivery information, arrange carrier pickup services, and more. | 
Stamps.com was one of the first two companies approved by the USPS to sell online postage and other postal services in 1999. |
Endicia.com. Using Endicia.com involves signing up for a monthly plan which includes Standard ($9.95 per month), Premium ($15.95 per month), and Professional ($34.95 per month). It also offers a Starter Kit that bundles 12 months Standard/seven months Premium/four months Professional service with a DYMO LabelWriter 400 printer ($119.95 value), USB-based 10-pound Pelouze scale ($79.95 value), and nearly $30 of DYMO-based printer labels for $249.95.
Features in the Standard plan include calculating and printing exact postage; delivery and signature confirmation options; up to 52% savings on insurance; online management of expenses and transactions; email notifications; customized postage options through PictureItPostage (www.pictureitpostage.com) using photos, logos, etc.; address book integration with Microsoft Outlook; and more. The service’s Premium plan adds options for Stealth Postage (which hides shipping and handling info), return shipping labels, and business reply mail. The Professional plan adds Bulk Acceptance Scans, which provides proof that the USPS has picked up packages.
Endicia.com also powers DYMO’s free Stamps service that DYMO includes with its LabelWriter 400 Turbo ($139.99), Twin Turbo ($189.99; prints both labels and digital stamps), and Duo ($209.99) printers for outputting First Class, Priority, Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope, International, and postcard postage. Endicia.com supports any Windows PC, but an Endicia for Mac plan ($15.95 per month) is also available. Beyond the DYMO printer bundles, Endicia.com also sells a Zebra (www.zebra.com) printer bundle ($474.95; Zebra LP2844 label printer included), labels, scales, postage rolls and sheets, various management software, and certified forms. Stamps.com. Citing more than 400,000 registered users and $1 billion in postage printed to date, Stamps.com operates on a flat $17.99 a month fee for home users. For small business and enterprise users there are the Premier ($24.99) and Enterprise ($39.99 per location) plans. You can cancel a subscription at any time, and Stamps.com also offers a four-week trial (a credit card is required to register). The trial period includes a package valued at $80 that gives you $25 in postage, a 5-pound digital scale, $5 in supplies, and coupons worth $20 in postage redeemable following the trial. After downloading Stamps.com’s free software, you can do everything at the site from print postage directly to envelopes with delivery and return addresses verified through the USPS Address Matching System to print shipping labels to 8.5- x 11-inch white paper or self-adhesive labels. | 
Endicia.com’s online postal features include PictureItPostage, which lets you create stamps using your own photos and other graphics. |
Stamps.com’s NetStamps service, meanwhile, is designed to be a postal stamp alternative for buyers by offering five-, 50-, and 250-sheet packs good for domestic and international mail. Other Stamps.com features include free delivery confirmation on Priority Mail; 21% off on select FedEx service rates for Premier users; a 3% discount on Express Mail; 1 to 11% discounts on Priority Mail; a 6% discount on Priority Mail International; 8% discount on Express Mail International rates; and 10% discount on insuring packages. Additionally, Stamps.com offers support for printing Certified Mail and Return Receipt forms, email notifications to recipients, automated records of postage printed, one-click tracking, and the ability to print sheets of customized stamps via the service’s PhotoStamps (photo.stamps.com) store using your own photos, company logs, and other graphical features.
Stamps.com only supports systems running Windows 98 or newer, meaning Mac users must have an Intel-based system with Windows installed or use Windows-emulation software. Integrated support is in place for importing addresses from versions of Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Organizer and Notes, and other clients. Additionally, support for direct integration into versions of Word, Office, Lotus Word Pro, Corel WordPerfect, and Microsoft Works is also supported. A higher-tier Enterprise plan, meanwhile, gives companies with networked offices support for multiple users to use one account.
It’s In The Mail
Choosing which online postage service to use depends on your shipping needs. If you own a small- or home office business, for example, the options at services such as Stamps.com and Endicia.com are definitely worth exploring. If you consistently send packages through eBay, that site’s service is likely more convenient. If you want to avoid monthly fees, the USPS’ Click-N-Ship offers the basics and more.
by Blaine Flamig
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