The Benefits of Electronic Postage
Most business services constantly embrace new technology, but postage technology has remained the same for decades. Nearly 80 years ago, Pitney Bowes introduced the first mechanical postage meter — and the last major change in how businesses buy postage. To this day, many small businesses use an even more time-honored postage technology: the adhesive stamp.
All of that has changed. In August 1998, the U.S. Postal Service approved the sale of electronic postage over the Internet. For millions of businesses, this essential — but frequently annoying and time consuming — task is now much easier to handle.
E-Postage: How It Works
Buying postage online is relatively simple. Stamps.com allows anyone with an Internet connection to purchase and download electronic postage. Customers give the vendor their credit card or bank account information and select the amount of postage to download. Software on the customers' computers allow them to select the amount of postage to print, checks each address and ZIP code for accuracy, and deducts the postage from their accounts.
Stamps.com is entirely Internet-based; customers access their account information over the Web and their desktop software validates addresses against a database stored on the Stamps.com Web site. Customers don't have to install any special hardware, but they do need to be online when they print postage.
The postage itself is both easy to create and highly secure. Instead of a standard meter mark, electronic postage uses a Postal Service-approved bar code format called an "Information-Based Indicium," which contains the postage amount, destination ZIP code, and other information in encrypted form. The postage is highly secure and nearly impossible to counterfeit, but customers can print it from any standard inkjet or laser printer.
Worth the Price
Electronic postage offers some clear advantages. Customers get the convenience of a mechanical meter without having to rent or buy expensive hardware. Customers won't have to wait in line at the post office for stamps or use too much postage because they don't have the right increments. Electronic postage vendors provide software that integrates with most common word processing and contact management programs, allowing customers to print postage on pre-addressed envelopes or labels. Customers can also track their online postage use, allowing them to monitor and control their mailing costs.
Electronic postage vendors charge a fee for their services — usually about 10 percent of the cost of the postage, up to a maximum fee of $20 to $25 per month. Judging from the initial response, however, most businesses — and even many consumers — are more than willing to pay for the service. That's probably no surprise if you've ever dealt with a broken postage meter or walked into a post office on a Friday at lunchtime with an armload of unstamped mail.
