Stick some stamps on top of my head/I'm gonna mail myself to you
May 25, 2010 1:01 PM Subscribe
I am a lazy butt and hate going out of my way to mail things. USPS ClickNShip works perfectly for my needs, but now that I'm doing BookMooch I want to use a cheaper postage method, like media mail. What can I do?
I work in a university office, so I have access to the scales, mail carriers (handing packages over a pound directly to the carrier), tape, all that. But because I am not a terrible person, I can't just go using our postage meter willynilly for my personal packages. ClickNShip has been a godsend to me in the past, but it requires that I use Priority Mail, and that's twice as much as I want to spend.
I don't like going to the post office because it's out of my way at a time when I just want to get in and get out, and I never know if it's going to take forever. It usually does.
The majority of the packages will be either $2.38 or $2.77 (media mail for packages less than one and two pounds, respectively). I've looked into services like Endicia or Stamps.com, but most of them seem to want to charge a monthly fee in addition to the postage. I'm not willing to pay $12 a month extra to mail out, say, one book a week.
And yes, I could just buy stamps, but I hate coming up with various combinations of stamps and having to go back and buy booklets all the time. (I told you I was lazy!)
Thoughts?
I work in a university office, so I have access to the scales, mail carriers (handing packages over a pound directly to the carrier), tape, all that. But because I am not a terrible person, I can't just go using our postage meter willynilly for my personal packages. ClickNShip has been a godsend to me in the past, but it requires that I use Priority Mail, and that's twice as much as I want to spend.
I don't like going to the post office because it's out of my way at a time when I just want to get in and get out, and I never know if it's going to take forever. It usually does.
The majority of the packages will be either $2.38 or $2.77 (media mail for packages less than one and two pounds, respectively). I've looked into services like Endicia or Stamps.com, but most of them seem to want to charge a monthly fee in addition to the postage. I'm not willing to pay $12 a month extra to mail out, say, one book a week.
And yes, I could just buy stamps, but I hate coming up with various combinations of stamps and having to go back and buy booklets all the time. (I told you I was lazy!)
Thoughts?
According to a previous post, you can do this through Paypal.
Personally, I order a bunch of stamps online from usps.com and just keep a lot of denominations on hand. On the plus side, I can use cute puppy stamps on my books.
posted by mrsshotglass at 1:12 PM on May 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Personally, I order a bunch of stamps online from usps.com and just keep a lot of denominations on hand. On the plus side, I can use cute puppy stamps on my books.
posted by mrsshotglass at 1:12 PM on May 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Have you considered using the automatic postal machine? It can print custom amounts of postage for media mail and you don't have to deal with the lines. There is a post in the archives somewhere that details how to do this but I can't find it right now.
You can also avail yourself of the free trials (there is a coupon code for Endicia that extends your trial to two months) that the postage services offer, but I understand how that would be a hassle to keep track of.
posted by calistasm at 1:36 PM on May 25, 2010
You can also avail yourself of the free trials (there is a coupon code for Endicia that extends your trial to two months) that the postage services offer, but I understand how that would be a hassle to keep track of.
posted by calistasm at 1:36 PM on May 25, 2010
Go to the automated machine and buy a bunch in the 'name your stamp' price.
posted by k8t at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2010
posted by k8t at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2010
Response by poster: D'oh -- thought I'd searched much better than that! (Though the USPS page itself touts a Piutney Bowes ervice that expired three years ago, so I can't be faulted too much for wanting a more current answer...)
Thank so much for the PayPal suggestion; I had no idea!
posted by Madamina at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2010
Thank so much for the PayPal suggestion; I had no idea!
posted by Madamina at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ferociouskitty at 1:12 PM on May 25, 2010 [4 favorites]