How To Mail Anything Without Leaving Home
If you're like most people you dread having to go to the post office. Long lines, byzantine rules, confusing paperwork plus less than helpful (and sometimes rude) counter staff. Well the goods news is with a little planning and organization you can virtually eliminate any need to visit the post office ever again.
You can mail everything from a simple letter to a large package without ever having to set foot in a post office. And in most cases you won't have to leave the comfort of your home or office. No more endless lines, no more time wasting trips across town and no more bureaucratic red tape.
The first step to this postage nirvana is deciding how much and what kind of mail you will be sending. If you just need to post the occasional letter you set-up will be very simple. If you plan on shipping letters, packages and overnight items you will need more planning and preparation.
The Basics: Let's start with the basics. For the occasional letter we suggest you order a packet of 'Forever Stamps' from the
USPS web site. The Forever stamp is always valid for First–Class postage on standard envelopes weighing one ounce or less, regardless of any subsequent increases in the First–Class rate. In other words you can use these stamps at any time in the future without worrying about postal rate hikes. They're valid forever. The packet contains 100 stamps. Put them in a safe place so you'll have them handy for future use.
OK, so mailing letters are taken care of. But what if you have to mail a package?
Small Packages: If you plan on mailing packages in addition to letters you have two problems to overcome. The first is determining the weight of your package. The second is calculating and printing the required postage.
Weigh Package: To accurately calculate weight we recommend a
digital postal scale, preferably with a USB connection, that has at least a 10lb capacity. A scale without a USB connection will work just fine also but will require that you manually enter the weight into your computer.
USB scales can display the weight directly on your computer screen (depending on the software you're using). If buying a dedicated postal scale seems like overkill to you a good quality
digital kitchen scale can do double duty in a pinch.
Print Postage: Now that we have the package weight we're ready to print our shipping label. To do this we are going to use a little known feature available from PayPal called 'ShipNow'. (If you don't have a PayPal account they are free and easy to set up).
Logon to your PayPal account as normal and then click on this link:
Pay Pal - Ship Now This will take you to the PayPal ShipNow screen. Select USPS as the carrier and enter the required information. You can print your shipping label using plain paper or better yet a self adhesive label.
The labels print on standard 8.5 X 11 inch paper using your existing inkjet or laser printer. The actual shipping label is 6X4 inches, so be sure your package is big enough to accept this. You can print a dummy sample label first to check that your printer is working correctly. PayPal also lets you void a label within 48 hours if you need to.
Unlike regular postage stamps ShipNow postage labels are only valid for the date specified. So be sure to mail your package by the specified ship date. You can specify a ship date up to three days in advance at the time you create your label.
ShipNow will allow you to ship your package internationally, but you are restricted to Express and Priority mail classes.
