USPS alternative - open Q

Graham

Having spent the last hour trying to print postage with clik and ship - seems the sites broken (again) today.

Rather than quit selling international first class, I know there are several alternatives to print first class international on-line, who do you use? stamps.com? endicia? or other?

Like to know which is best and best value AND how much it costs after the "free trial"

Thanks in advance

DagsBricks

I found both stamps.com and endicia to be user hostile. They were only concerned with keeping me as a customer. I had to say cancel 3x and then make them go off script before I got a true cancellation.

Brian

DadsAfol

Endicia is awesome. $15.95.mo. Benefits: postage is always discounted "commercial base", delivery confirmation is free on everything, including many first class international, access to all mail classes (first class, media, priority, express, parcel), access to commercial only "regional rate" priority boxes, and included customs forms for both the low value simple form and high value multi-page form.

Best reason: I haven't been to the post office in months.

You will need to invest in a label printer - make sure you get a 4x6 one - and labels. You can find second-hand printers on eBay if price is a concern. But it is a business expense you can deduct it off your taxes.

Best way to measure the return is figure the cost of your trips to the post office each month. How many miles is that in total back and forth? You can use the $.52/mi tax rate, or you can just figure your car's gas mileage. Then count your time at $10/hr or something you feel appropriate. I expect that you will come up with a cost far higher than service, printer amortization, and label costs.

DagsBricks

During my free trial on Endicia and stamps.com, I had no problem using my Lexmark 8.5x11 printer. No need for the extra investment of a label printer.

USPS.com offers everything that Endicia and Stamps.com offer, even regional rate priority. The only important exception I found is that you can send first class international large letter through the two paid services. But I only make about three 4 mile roundtrips a month to the PO for those types of packages. Usually with other errands.

For all else, Paypal and usps.com have worked fine. Except when they don't.

Loremonger

Perhaps I'm missing it, but I can't send First Class Domestic packages from USPS.com.

When PayPal Shipping went offline last week, I found Stamps.com. I agree that they are user hostile. You have to read quite a bit before you even get to the part that explains that it is a fee-based subscription service.

Perhaps when I'm doing more like 10 orders a day instead of 10 a week, some type of automation and integration via Brick Owl API will make more sense. For now, I'm cancelling my membership and (hopefully) going back to PayPal Shipping.

alltrightbricks

Graham,
Click and ship was broken for me yesterday too, but I restarted my computer and that did the trick (after all that waiting for it to load I wish I'd done it earlier). Didn't make sense to me as every other page on usps loaded quick and easy.

Loremonger
You shouldn't have any trouble printing domestic first class with click and ship. When I go to print a label, the default country is US. Is there a reason you don't want to use paypal? If your payments are coming in by paypal it is easier to use that as you don't have to fill the info. If you are talking about payments that aren't paypal, or even personal packages, you can create those when you do multi-order shipping. Just click on create, and you can add a package very easily.
Or you can type in "ship now" in the search bar, and it will give you an option to do a single package.

Katie

Loremonger

I think you may have misread my post. I usually use PayPal. I only sought alternatives when the site wasn't working properly.

Enoch

alltrightbricks

My bad, I need to take more time to respond. I have sent myself numerous packages through usps, but when I got to thinking about it, they were all priority mail. Looking at the site I see what you mean. When they redid their website it wasn't showing an option for first class going international until you selected get rates and then went back and selected service type a second time. But I am not seeing a way to send first class domestic no matter what I do.
Sorry for the confusion on my part.
Katie

Badlove

Stamps.com has been a huge boon for me. Just like DadsAFOL says about endica. Same pros and very few cons. Batch printing is great once you get it set up to automatically import from paypal (wish I could figure out how to do the same for Stripe) it only takes a few clicks to send however many packages you have.
James

Plastic-Paradise

USPS.com offers everything that Endicia and Stamps.com offer, even regional rate priority.

I have to completely disagree with you on so many levels. I have used both Stamps.com and Endicia for years. I started on Stamps and switched to Endicia after a couple years due to extra savings. To start with the insurance alone when you use it is more than half of that the USPS offers and nearly 3 times less for a domestic package under 100.00. You can ship all forms of Post with Endicia including your First Class International as well as First Class Domestic. You can also print your own stamps directly onto your envelopes.

As Dads said above I have not been to the PO in at least 4 years to ship a package. I can print the postage, package it, and schedule it for a pick up right at home.

The one thing I will agree with is it may not be worth it for a store that only ships a few orders a week. But for stores such as myself that is shipping more than 100 orders on any given week it is a must.

PP

DagsBricks

Thanks for the info. I use Shipsurance/Insurepost for postal insurance. The cost is $1.05 domestic and $1.50 international per $100 of value. My understanding is that the USPS does not always pay out full declared value for whatever reason. With the 3rd party provider, you can declare postage and insurance costs as part of your package value. I've never heard any bad reviews about them.

First class international large envelope is the only thing I can't print from Paypal and/or USPS.com. That's the only thing I go to the PO for, and that's rarely. If I didn't offer that service at my discretion I'd never need to go to the PO either.

When I get to shipping 30+ packages a week, I'll be curious to see if Paypal and/or USPS.com can still take care of my needs. I'm not sure what will change other than volume. But I'm happy to get tidbits of info from the larger sellers.

Thankfully I have a delivery carrier who is happy to take as many packages as I give him, no scheduling necessary. Then again, I don't know what postal service is like in other parts of the country. Maybe I'm just not clear enough yet on the advantages of Endicia/stamps.com. All I know is that during my one month trial of each I was unimpressed. And trying to cancel was a nightmare.

Brian

Plastic-Paradise

I have the same luxury with the carrier. Many times I forget to schedule I can just leave them on the porch and she grabs them. I forgot too add I to use PayPal Multi Order shipping for all domestic orders as the address is already inputted and ready to go. That is except for lately with Brick Owl orders as there is a system error somewhere allowing the full state to be added to the address instead of the abbreviation causing PayPal to treat it as a international order. Aside from that I use Endicia for all International orders and anything out of the ordinary such as insurance requests, printing stamps, etc... Also, although I am planning on getting a label printer I only use a HP P3015 Laser Printer and it works well. I put 4 labels on each sheet to save costs.

PP

Graham

Thanks for all the info folks - I think I might give Endicia a try

@alltrightbricks I would have never thought that "turning it off and turning it back on again" would work!

When they work PayPal's direct integration makes it so easy - except 1st class International - which is when I go click and ship - whne it works… Granted both usually do - Friday was a pain as I now have 2 international orders that I cant ship till Tuesday

@DadsAFoL is their integration between PayPal and Endicia or does everything need to be entered manually via keyboard?

Thanks much - oh and totally off subject - seeing there are quite a few computor savy here - the line in quotes above is from "The IT Crowd" which is a hilarious comedy from over the pond…

cheers Graham

Plastic-Paradise

@Graham,

I just use Endicia manually as in I copy and paste the address directly from PayPal and input it into Endicia than I select my shipping options, customs form, etc... It takes literally 30 seconds to do a label. I am not sure how integration works but I do know you can use PayPal's API for things such as this. Endicia also has partner programs that work well with Endicia and will import from PayPal. I have not used them more than just trials as I cant justify spending the monthly for Endicia as well as another shipping program when PayPal multi order shipping works so well and it is free to use.

PP

DadsAfol

@Graham, we wrote our own integration from BO to Endicia using the APIs for both. But copy/paste is almost just as fast, so you don't really lose much productivity but not having that step automated.

Graham

OK thanks all - I guess I'm going to have learn things API ! - I'll bet theres a "for dummies" book out there LoL!

I guess my problem is only needing it for 1st class international, as everything else can be done thru PayPal.

The copy and paste thing gets tedious and then the cost also.

USPS is still broken - AND it hasn't worked right since the rate hike - UK you can't select the full postcode (its now a drop down menu), which I recomend adding in full to an address line and France you need to be aware of the regions - which FYI is the first 2 numbers of the "Zip" equivalent