I'm A Raving Fan Of Stamps.com

Shipping can be complicated, or it can be easy. In my eBay book business, it used to be complicated. I used to create shipping labels through eBay which then connects you to PayPal, which opens up some other windows and. . . it used to take a long time. Opening all those windows, moving from one program to the next on every label is just silly. To ship 20 items, it used to take close to 1.5 hours. I did this for too long and needed to find a better way. So, I asked at the Post Office and they had someone contact me and discuss my shipping needs. They sent me some information which included some third party vendors. I checked out their offers and decided to go with Stamps.com.

What a monumental decision that was! I could not believe how much time it saved me. I now created labels in about 15 minutes instead of 1.5 hours! Multiply that time savings time 340 days a year. Huge.

Stamps.com has a great offer where you get $25 free postage, an electronic scale and more (see the link on the left of our blog page, or you can go to www.stamps.com. The offer is for real. It's an $80 value. The scale is good up to 5 lbs. I need a bigger scale than this though. Mine goes to 75 lbs. I have the pro service and pay $15.95 a month for the service and if I buy their insurance, they bill me monthly for the insurance fees. For someone who does a good deal of shipping, that is an incredible bargain.

The big companies have automated software and complete shipping departments, so stamps.com makes no sense to them, but for the rest of us, the benefits are great.

• I print all my own shipping labels with a receipt of the transaction.
• I use inexpensive labels, so I need no tape.
• I can print my own postage stamps if I like, including ones with photos of my choice.
• Their software program is a piece of cake to use. It loads in seconds and I'm in and out in just a few minutes!
• I buy postage in lumps as I need it.
• I can save addresses in an address book for those that I ship to often.
• The labels make me look very professional. (I bought my labels on eBay for a very small amount of money. Be aware that the price varies dramatically!)
• Anything I can ship through the Post Office, I can print labels in my office. I can even print Express mail postage labels and Priority labels for overseas shipments!
• Service is excellent when there was a rare occasion to find out.

If you do shipping through the Post Office, consider Stamps.com. You can print the labels and have the Post Office pick up your packages no charge, or just drop them on the counter at the Post Office and you're done. Wonderfully easy, quick and cost effective. Try it and see for yourself.