Wes Cutshall

I usually use FedEx for shipping but have the occasional need to send regular mail. Stamps are a pain to keep around (never have them when I need them) so I looked into Stamps.com. It turns out to be a pretty awesome product. I ship “media kits” for Fido Finder / Tabby Tracker which include t-shirts and business cards, and sometimes counter-top displays, and FedEx had been my main method of shipping. With Stamps.com I can print sticker labels to put on boxes that I drop off at the Post Office. I haven’t compared apples to apples but some of the remote locations that I ship to can get expensive for a small 3 pound box, and I know that USPS can get it there cheaper (since I’m never in a rush). The use of FedEx was always a marketing thing, as people consider FedEx packages more important, but for customer-requested mail outs I plan on switching to using Stamps.com.

Stamps.com run as an application on your PC. You can purchase and print stamps right from your desktop. You can print directly onto envelopes or you can print onto special label sheets. If you order label sheets and print your stamps on them, then you’ll be paying more than the price of stamp, but the convenience can save you enough time that most people won’t ever miss the few bucks they lose on purchasing stamp sheets. The sheets come in a variety of kinds, which is one of the most interesting features of Stamps.com. The simplest sheet just prints slightly larger than normal stamps. Plain black and white with a 3D barcode. Then there are special sheets where you can get custom graphics for your stamp. Even better than those is the label and stamp combination sheet that comes with a shipping label sticker and return sticker / stamp. Print all 3 on one page and remove the stickers to place on your package.

The software is well (enough) done and easy to figure out. The sheets come with Serial Numbers to aid in printing the right stamps and you purchase stamps via the application. I was really impressed with the application and what it could do for me even though I rarely mail. Maybe if I mailed more it wouldn’t be so fun, but it works great for those of us that don’t like to run to the grocery store just to mail in a bill or send out a handful of 1099′s.