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Buying Postage Online - How Small Businesses Can Lower Their Mailing Costs
from:There once was a time when office mail rooms used bulky,
inefficient and expensive meter machines to stamp their outgoing
mail. The machines dispensed postage, all right, but they ran
down, causing postal inspectors or company representatives to
have to come to a stalled office to reset and recharge the
meter. Once ink ran out, the same rep had to be called in to
sell a proprietary ink that would invariably be the only one
that worked in the meter - for a hefty fee. The meters were so
inflexible that all they did was stamp postage - you needed a
separate machine for addressing.
And yet there are still mail rooms that use meters - in the new
digital age, that's tantamount to driving a horse and buggy down
the freeway!
Fortunately, thanks to
software, commonly referred to as PC Postage, the day of the
postage meter is coming to an end. With PC Postage, you buy your
postage online direct from the United States Postal Service or
one of its selected partners (such as Stamps.com), and print
your postage out right onto your envelope using an ordinary
inkjet or laserjet printer.
What is PC Postage?
PC Postage is a program originated by the United States Postal
Service which allows customers to print official US Postage
directly onto envelopes or mailing labels after being bought
over the Internet. Unlike traditional postage meters, postage
can be bought "A la carte" as needed as opposed to being bought
in large block as with a meter. Therefore, your mailroom is not
saddled with enormous amounts of paid-for postage that you might
not need all at once.
PC Postage is offered through a number of partner vendors, among
them Stamps.com, Endicia, and Pitney Bowes' Shipstream. Each
offers PC postage services for nearly all mail classes, as well
as support for nearly all mailpieces, from postcards up to the
maximum 70-pound parcels allowable via the USPS.
Why use PC Postage? Why not just lease a meter?
PC Postage offers you several benefits over the traditional
postage meter by empowering you to run your mailroom the way YOU
want to, not the way the meter allows you to.
-- PC Postage is easy to set up. Register for an account,
install the software, and you're ready to go.
-- No additional equipment to purchase - an internet connection,
computer and printer is all you need. Many of the leading PC
Postage vendors such as Stamps.com even provide you with a free
scale as a startup incentive.
-- No long-term contracts and no hidden fees - With postage
meters, you can be on the hook for three years to pay the
month-to-month charge of up to $70 just for the lease or payment
on the machine.
Postage Meter Contracts Contain Tons of Hidden Costs
Additionally, postage meters include many different hidden costs that can increase their
total operating expenses dramatically. Whiles these costs vary,
here are the four most common hidden costs found in a postage
meter contract:
1. Most meters have special blends of proprietary inks, or inks
in containers engineered to fit only the machine - obtainable,
of course, only from the meter's service representative. Either
way, the ink alone can cost you upwards of $0.10 per print - for
a meter that can usually make around 800 prints per ink fill,
that's an outlay of $80 each time the ink needs recharging.
2. When you "reset" your meter, either by buying more postage
over the phone or having a representative come and recharge the
postage inside, the meter company charges an additional fee. You
are not charged a recharge fee (which can run as much as $25 per
recharge) as a PC Postage customer.
3. PC Postage gives your business more flexibility in its
mailings. You can print postage, address, and tracking in one
single print, giving your mailings a professional, polished
look. This includes support for postcards and tri-fold mailings.
4. In the unfortunate event of a misprint or other mistake,
refunds can be handled right through the PC Postage vendor
client, saving you time and money.
PC Postage: the logical evolution of postal technology. Erase
the headaches that come with the old postal meter - try PC
Postage today!
About the author:
Patrick Payne has been employed with Stamps.com since 2005,
focusing his attention on postage solutions. For more info on PC
postage solutions for your business, please visit www.Stamps.com.
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