Stamps.com is for Suckers like You.
Written: Mar 23 '00 (Updated Apr 03 '00)
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I just cancelled my stamps.com account after taking them up on their free trial period. Stamps.com is one of a growing list of three private corporations licensed by the US Postal Service to distribute "Internet Postage," also known as "Information-Based Indicia" (IBI). IBI is just a fancy term for a special kind of bar code the Post Office uses instead of traditional stamps.
You can see first-generation implementation of the technology when you go to mail something at the Post Office and the clerk prints an ugly looking stamp sticker to put on your package.
I'll walk you through the stamps.com experience, and then I'll tell you why it's probably a rip-off.
First you sign up at their website, and download the software (alternately, you can wait for their Welcome Kit to arrive with the software on a CD. I've been waiting five weeks for that kit, and it hasn't arrived). Then you wait between an hour and a business day for the Post Office to accept your application. Technically, you're applying to the government for a postage meter license.
When you're approved, Stamps.com activates your software and sends you an e-mail notification. Then you're asked for your credit card so you can buy postage, unless you're a free trial user.
Congrats, sucker, you're now an official Stamps.com junkie.
Now all you need to do is print your postage whenever you have a letter to mail. You accomplish this by turning on the software, typing in the destination address, putting your envelope into the printer, and clicking "print postage." The Stamps.com people did a great job in designing the software; it works beautifully with most printers, and it's fairly easy to use.
Obviously, you can't stick a box through your printer, so packages have to have their stamps printed on special Avery Dennison brand labels, which are then stuck on the package. (Hint: though technically a no-no, you can purchase generic Avery Dennison-style labels to use instead. Office Depot conveniently places their own brand of cheaper, generic labels right next to the A-D packages. You'll want to take advantage of this, as a decent sized package of Avery Dennison labels can cost upwards of THIRTY DOLLARS!)
So that's how stamps.com works.
Here's why it probably won't work for you:
--First, it's expensive. The minimum charge is $2 per month, if you purchase $20 worth of stamps or less. As mentioned, however, the labels you need to send packages, or windowed envelopes, are ridiculously expensive and very difficult to find anywhere but on Stamps.com's own website. You won't find these labels at your local stationary store.. heck, most warehouse office supply stores don't carry them all, either!
Another huge cost is in printer ink. Stamps.com prints postage at your printer's highest quality setting. You can easily bleed your printer dry using this service, especially if you use an inkjet printer rather than a laser. What? Stamps.com also sells printer ink through their website? Gee, I say sarcastically, how nice of them.
--Secondly, it's domestic. You cannot use IBI postage to mail letters internationally. Don't even try.
--Thirdly, it's destination specific. You can keep a regularly stamped envelope in your desk drawer and use it to send mail anywhere. Once printed, stamps.com postage is only good for a specific address. Keep that in mind. (Stamps.com's more expensive rival, e-stamp, offers IBI stamps that aren't address specific, but those expire sooner.)
--Fourthly, it's government welfare! You read that right, the US Postal Service is ripping you off.
The IBI system utilizes a multi-dimensional barcode that looks like static from a TV. This barcode includes information about you, and the destination address. What this does is allow the postal service to use barcode scanners to sort your mail and package it for delivery. By automating the mail sorting process, the USPS can potentially save jillions of gazillions of dollars.
Trust me, like the Zip and Zip + 4 systems that preceded it, IBI is meant to make mail more convenient for the Postal Service. Your convenience is incidental.
Since you pay for materials (paper, labels, and printer ink) the postal service doesn't have to spend any of the money printing stamps, or paying for tellers to sell stamps to you. They've shifted responsibility for stamps from themselves, to you. Welcome to stage one of suckerhood.
Also, by having your information registered with the USPS, their postal inspectors can track you down easily, should they ever suspect you of breaking the law. Big Brother now knows how much mail you send, when you send it, and with whom you correspond. At the risk of seeming paranoid, this is stage two of suckerhood.
Well, you might ask, if using IBI is saving the Post Office so much money, why is it so expensive?
The answer is two-fold. First, the Postal Service didn't want to actually design the Internet Postage software, so it contracted other companies (stamps.com, e-stamp, etc.) to do the dirty work for them. When you use Internet Postage, these middlemen get to charge you an extra fee.
(Some might say it's better for the USPS to have private companies do the software engineering, because the USPS would get bogged down with red tape. Not so! Ever since the USPS was cut off from taxpayer dollars, some 20 or so years ago, it has been forced to streamline in order to survive. Contrary to what you might expect, the USPS is a lean, mean, efficient mailing machine. Their use of private contractors here is nothing more than laziness. If FedEx and UPS can do it, why can't the much more powerful USPS?)
The second reason for the higher prices is that the USPS charges normal rates for Internet Postage. They don't give anyone a discount, even though they don't have to pay for stamp printing costs. Basically, they figure you won't notice that they're ripping you off.
And they're right. Just as Tom Sawyer convinced his pals to pay for the "privilege" of painting his fence, the USPS has convinced consumers that presorting mail is so much fun, it should carry a monthly fee.
Suckers.
I believe the only people who should use a service like stamps.com are folks who mail packages heavier than one pound on a regular basis. Since the IBI contains the "Big Brother" information discussed above, the USPS allows you to drop these packages off at a collection box rather than deliver them in person to a postal clerk. Unfortunately, even users who mail packages often should probably avoid Stamps.com, because they don't offer Standard or Parcel Post rates. You'll have to ship everything via the Priority Mail system, which can cost up to three times as much.
Stamps.com is a good idea, but suffers from serious practical, economic, and ethical problems. Do yourself a favor and just buy a packet of stamps at the post office vending machine. The little pictures look nicer, anyway.
Recommended:
No
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