Response to a Question About Online shipping Services and Label Printing

Update: I have revised the part about stamps.com to more accurately represent the services they offer and added notes at the bottom.

Here’s the original email:

Hi Kevin,
I saw your (very informative and helpful!) video on poster packaging and shipping and after seeing that label printer I’m extremely jealous of the time and amount of tape I would be able to save if I got one. I went to the link you provided for Endicia and kind of became curious. Is there a free version of this program that ONLY prints labels or do I have to pay a monthly fee to do it?
I’m asking because I finally just launched my first poster and cutting out all of these labels by hand is really annoying hahah

Thanks
Andrew

My response:
Hey Andrew,
Endicia (endicia.com) has been really helpful to me by saving me time and materials, but it can add up if you don’t ship regularly. I’d say if you send out at least 50 orders a month, you should sign up. Before you do, please let me know, they have a referral system that I want to take advantage of.

Currently, the only services that do not charge a monthly fee are printing labels from usps.com (https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do ) or from paypal (assuming people are paying you through paypal). They all work on the basic principle of pay as you go (you pay the postage for each label you print) as opposed to a service like Endicia that charges as you go and charges a monthly fee. The monthly fee is due to other great services they offer that really help my business needs and customer service. Another great alternative that some of my poster buddies use is Stamps.com (http://stamps.com/welcome/ ).

Labels printed through any of those services (USPS, Paypal, Endicia, stamps.com) can be set up to be printed through any printer you have specified, though label printers are optimal. The labels in those services (when not using a label printer) are best printed on 8.5 x 11 paper, which it prints on one half and you fold it in half and tape it on. You can try precutting paper and loading it in, but I always have had problems with alignment and jamming.

However you do your shipping, do yourself a favor and use some sort of prepaid system (USPS, Paypal, Endicia.com, Stamps.com) to save yourself trips to the post office and having to wait in line. With an online service, mistakes are less frequent, orders can be more easily tracked, and overall, things are more efficient.

I hope this information helps. If you don’t mind, I’d like to post this question on my blog someday soon and include your first name, just so others can see this info if they need it.

Wordage, best of luck to you.

Kevin

Please take some time to consider using the services of Endicia or Stamps.com. Both offer helpful solutions to businesses and it comes down to choosing which works best for you. The plans are different, so make sure sure you read the details.

http://stamps.com/postage-online/how-it-works/