Why I Love Online Postage

People always complain about government agencies, but when US citizens began demanding online postage, the U.S. Postal Service did something unique: they actually listened and implemented the service!  And although it is easy to pick on the US Post Office, and they are often the butt of some pretty cruel jokes, they certainly hit a homerun with their new online postage service.

The new service gives regular citizens the opportunity to print their own postage at home from the comfort of their own living room (or wherever their home computer happens to be located).  Consumers can buy postage online at the official US Postal Service web site, or from one of many other authorized retailers that sell postage online.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Post Office caught up with the rest of the world when it comes to technology.  The Internet has transformed the way we live, research information, locate and buy products, purchase music, and a million other day-to-day activities.  But until the USPS got their act together and initiated the online postage service, buying stamps and posting letters and packages was still very much an "old world" practice.

Thankfully, these days the need to make a trip to the post office every time you need stamps or postage to mail a letter or package is gone.  The process of printing your own postage with your home computer and printer is easy enough that anyone can do it, and it is easily one of the most time-saving advancements of the past few years.

But using the post office’s online postage service saves more than time.  Printing your own postage at home helps to eliminate waste, and makes it easy to purchase and print out only the amount of postage you require at any given time.  Obviously, this can save a great deal of money over the long run.

And when you consider that it wasn't so many years ago that only large corporations were allowed to print their own postage, the concept of making the same option available to everyday citizens seems like an enormous step forward in the right direction.  After all, why should big corporations have rights or privileges that regular citizens do not?

Having the ability to print your own online postage levels the playing field, and gives everyone the same opportunity.  This means that even small and home-based businesses can now take advantage of the same convenient postage printing options that only Fortune 500 companies had just a few years ago.

And speaking of small businesses, printing your own online postage is practically a must these days for companies of any size -- even single employee home-based companies.  Think of the amount of time and money saved by a business over the course of the year when they don't have to dedicate employee time, effort or resources to making trips to the post office for stamps or other postage.

Businesses that regularly ship orders will benefit the most from this new development, but any type of small business or family can save money and operate more efficiently by taking advantage of USPS online postage.