How-To: Ship FIRST-CLASS & MEDIA-MAIL for FREE
Written: Aug 11 '05
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If you didn't already know ClickStamp NO LONGER EXISTS. I wish Epinions would update their site more often. FYI ClickStamp only exists for people who signed up before they switched over to their $18.99 a month for ShipStream Manager software
Another Note: THIS IS NOT OFF-TOPIC. Pitney Bowes powers Paypal's shipping service and is EXACTLY THE SAME as ClickStamp (when it existed). Thus this review & how-to is relevant to anyone interested in using ClickStamp.
Now for the Review
If you are like me, and sell a LOT of stuff on ebay all of the time, you probably have used online shipping services.
I don't know about you, but I think its downright disgusting the prices some of these online shipping services charge these days. $15+ a month just to print USPS labels online? WHY? If you are an individual just selling a bunch of stuff you have lying around the house (like me), why pay a price that businesses have to pay?
Here's a Quick Run-down of your options
I've used stamps.com, USPS.com e-click and Pitney Bowes, and I've done much research on the other services that are out there. If you ship lots of smaller stuff and wish to save money, you NEED To ship First-Class and/or Media Mail.
USPS.com's e-click service ONLY allows you to purchase priority mail postage or express mail postage online. I also found it more confusing to use their javascript-based software as it doesn't charge your card until you print the label out, and the help features are also confusing and lacking.
ClickStamp, when it existed, was pretty much the best way to go. $4.99 a month and you can print First-Class postage with $.13 delivery confirmation, Media Mail with $.13 delivery confirmation and Priority and Express mail, along with using UPS if you wish
Other services I've researched are at least $15 a month and some require you to buy supplies from them like special labels that only work with their software or digital scales. Making shipping a huge pain.
So How do I ship using Pitney Bowes for FREE????
Simple....you probably have a Paypal account right? If so you've probably used their shipping when you sell stuff. But what about those outside-of-ebay-or-paypal purchases?? (Like ones on half.com or amazon.com?).
Its quite simple. Using your Paypal Account all you have to do is log in, and use this link: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now
If you aren't particularly computer-saavy, you are probably wonder why this allows you to ship stuff without having received a payment. Simple...if you click the "ship" button in your account, you'll notice this exact link, but with a &info=somecrazymessofletters&numbers. That &info is the pre-filled out form information that allows it to fill out the address for you. By removing it, it simply doesn't fill it out and allows you to fill it out manually.
It works perfectly and bills through your paypal account. You can select it to take the payment from your paypal balance, a credit card or a bank account (if you are trustworthy enough to add one).
Pro's & Con's to this "Free" way of shipping
PRO:
1: Now you can ship all of your First-Class and Media-Mail stuff WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY SOME NONSENSE MONTHLY FEE!
2: You don't have to use USPS.com's confusing & chaotic website to ship Priority Mail & Express Mail
3: Easy-to-use Paypal interface doesn't require special software or sticker-labels. Just shove a peice of paper in your printer and it prints fine, no issues!
NEUTRAL (could be a pro or con, depends on you):
1: You HAVE to pay a $.13 delivery confirmation fee for First-class & Media-Mail, its required. In my eyes, this is a benefit since I would purchase it anyways from the post office. You never know what kind of people try to BS you and say they never received the item you shipped them. Thus using delivery confirmation can prevent someone from defrauding you. At the US Post Office it costs 55 cents to buy delivery confirmation for media mail or first-class mail, so 13 cents is a real savings!
CON:
1: You can't ship to Canada, UK, etc, only within the United States :( This means you'll still have to wait in line at the post office when you have to ship outside of the US.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
groharlem
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Location: Arnold, Maryland
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Majoring in Computer Sciences at Frostburg State in Western Maryland
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