Paul Morris

Two large candy canes flank the entrance of the North Pole Post Office on Santa Claus Lane, in Alaska’s interior. A mule train carrying mail for the USPS can be spotted in the village of Supai, Arizona, which lies within a branch of the Grand Canyon. Mail boats on the Rogue River bring letters and […]

What if you could receive a digital image of a letter before it even arrives at your doorstep? Informed Delivery, a pilot program offered by the USPS, makes that possible! Just imagine: if you’re on the road, at work or in the middle of a vacation, you can see black-and-white images of the exterior and […]

You’ve probably already realized that not every mailpiece is going to be a perfect cube or rectangle.  Sometimes an item you need to send is going to have an irregular shape: a fishing pole, a tire, a hatbox.  How do you measure irregularly shaped items so that you remain compliant with USPS regulations and add […]

Can you attach postage to a rose and send it with no packaging? How about a feather duster? Or a golf club? The answer is: the USPS would strongly recommend boxing or at least wrapping all of these items to prevent denting or scratching during transit. Regulations regarding certain items do apply, such as perishable […]

You may have noticed the extra appendage of numbers added to a ZIP code called the plus-four, ZIP + 4, or add-on code. What is it for? The USPS considers the five-digit ZIP plus those additional four digits to be the most complete kind of delivery code. Introduced in 1983, the plus-four is a helpful […]

Last year, 12 billion postage stamps were sold to customers across the United States. These billions of stamps bear a wide variety of images, ranging from seashells and coastal birds to Jimi Hendrix and Wonder Woman. Ever wonder how images are selected for use on postage stamps? Ever hope that your art could appear someday […]

You have a package that needs to go to San Juan, Bayamón or Ponce. Not to worry: Stamps.com can offer you guidance on how to best format your addresses for mailpieces headed to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican addresses are considered domestic addresses with the state code of “PR.”  You can use the Domestic options within […]

You’re tracking a mailpiece and the status shows “Delivered/Parcel Locker.” What does that mean?  This could mean that your recipient is using a cluster box unit (CBU) or an outdoor parcel locker (OPL). You’ve probably seen CBUs in your neighborhood, either in a free-standing, pedestal-mounted configuration outside of a building, or mounted on the wall […]

You’re in Arizona and interested in sending a cactus to a friend in New York. Or you’re in Minnesota and want to send a Japanese maple to your mother in Oregon. Can you do this? You can mail certain plants within the United States. However, keep in mind that when mailing plants, flowers, roots, seeds, […]

  New Year’s resolutions are all about self-improvement. Why not start with your mailing and shipping setup? With Stamps.com, you have the power to transform your home office into an efficient and powerful mailing and shipping center! Here are some tips to get started.   Keep Supplies Organized and Available   Boxes and supplies can create […]

Sometimes a record-setting snowstorm can cause the closing of schools, banks, state offices, businesses, highways and roads. However, as a Stamps.com user, you can help reduce further disruptions by preparing your home and business for USPS Pickups during wintertime. Safety and accessibility are key issues for the USPS, so remember to keep your driveways and […]

Here’s something to keep in mind as we approach the busy holiday season—did you know you can receive a $2 discount off the flat rate of a Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box? As a Stamps.com customer you already receive the discounted Commercial Base rate of $16.35 for the Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box […]

This year, Halloween falls on a Monday, but don’t let that get you down. Halloween can still be celebrated in style with Stamps.com’s mailing and shipping features! Halloween NetStamps! Throwing a Halloween party? Just want to say “Boo!” to a friend? We offer 15 different NetStamps Halloween designs ranging from pumpkin heads to zombies! The […]

Uh oh!  You’ve shipped out your merchandise to a customer, but you’ve received notice that it went to an incorrect address. The good news is that you might be able to redirect or intercept the package if it has entered the mailstream but hasn’t been delivered yet thanks to the USPS® Package Intercept process. Package […]

The holiday season is quickly approaching! We know you’ll want to maximize profit and protection for your shipments. Stamps.com’s 50 Ship Boxes can help! What are they? These boxes are designed to fit within USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate® Envelopes and Legal Flat Rate Envelope and are the only USPS®-approved boxes you can use with […]

You may have spotted a box called “HS Tariff” in the Stamps.com International Shipping Label’s Customs Information section. What is it and what is it used for? The Harmonized System, or HS, Tariff code is used to classify physical goods and traded products for export to another country. In the Stamps.com software, you have the […]

Sometimes historical forces will affect what and where you’ll be able to mail.  In 1963, mail service was cancelled between the U.S. and Cuba, and mail was sent indirectly through countries such as Mexico and Canada. However, direct mail service has been restored officially by the USPS as of March 16, 2016, thanks to the […]

You have a Priority Mail International® Small Flat Rate Priced Box ready to be shipped to the country of Antigua and Barbuda. It weighs 5 pounds, but you’re not seeing an option for Small Flat Rate Priced Boxes in the Stamps.com drop-down mailpiece menu. What’s going on? The answer: the maximum weight for a Priority […]

Not sure what price group to use for a flat rate envelope to Switzerland?  Check out the table below to determine shipping zones for your shipments for each country. Changes to USPS International Flat Rate Products As of January 17th, 2016, all Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International Flat Rate products moved from […]

Items like posters, blueprints and important documents etc. will sometimes need to be rolled and packed into a triangular shipping tube.  These are a great option if you need a space-saving mailer that won’t roll around – but how do you add postage to them using Stamps.com? Selecting USPS Triangular Tubes In Stamps.com Like traditional […]