Is Stamps.com a Scam? - Comments Page 1

Yes, I have used Stamps.com about a year ago while they were still in their infancy.

I would suggest using this service for special occasions only as it is just too expensive otherwise. In my case, I ordered 12 sheets of a stamp that depicted an 1850s log cabin and mailed it affixed to Christmas cards for all the descendants of the immigrant family that used to live in it. I was very satisfied with their service.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Glad you liked it. But the service has been around for about ten years...

I have used Stamps.com for several years and love its convenience. I usually have a supply of priority mail boxes and envelopes and can thus put whatever postage I need on them without having to drive to the post office, find a place to park, wait in line, etc. etc. To me the convenience is worth the monthly charge. I also use it to print just stamps -- and, if you're like me, you usually have some old stamps around that lack a few cents as compared to the rates we now pay. So, if I have a 42 cent stamp, I can use it, print a 2 cent one and viola, I have the correct postage. If all one is trying to do is to save money, stamps.com doesn't do that, but it is wonderful for convenience.

Our small business used it during the trial period several years ago. It was great, but the cost was not. Have since gone to another service that does not charge a monthly fee, but does charge for the labels. Not near as expensive and still have the convenience of not going to the post office.

EDITOR'S NOTE: What's the name of the other service?

A better deal for most of us could be the package of 100 "forever stamps" at COSTCO. You pay a few cents less than the current first class rate and the stamp are good until they are gone. Although the postage rate will go up every year your cost won't until you use all the stamps and need to purchase more. In today's "do as much as possible on line our supply will last several years.

Dymo Stamps is a free service offered by endicia.com. You can print out stamps on a roll or a sheet. To use the roll stamps, have have to purchase a Dymo LabelWriter printer, but you can use it to print out address labels or any type of roll label. You have to pay for the cost of the postage of course, but there is no monthly fee. Again, you have to pay for the blank roll of stamps, but I think it is worth the modest cost.

This is not a service for individual home users who don't do a lot of mailing. I chose stamps.com over Pitney Bowes (mail meter) when I worked in a small law office. Comparatively speaking, it was convenient and economical. For mailing on a large scale, I think a meter is the better way to go, but for what we were doing, it was perfect (except for the scale, which could've been better quality).

I've been using stamps.com for a number of years. The company I work for pays for it, but they're charging us $15.99 a month. And I'm wondering, if I threaten to quit, will they offer me the $9.99 "basic service"? I thought I was getting the basic service.
It's convenient, although my local post office gives me a hard time (they didn't know there was a discount when you use certain kinds of labels), and wants me to stand around for a receipt, which kind of defeats the purpose. One postal clerk gave me a hard time about dropping a priority mail package in the outside box, pointing to the label on the postal mailbox that says stamped packages are limited to 13 ounces. She didn't quite understand that it was not a *stamped* package.
Anyway, you can print package labels for free using the U.S. Postal Service's own "Click'n'Ship" service. All you need is a credit card. And they give you a discount on your postage. But your choices with Click'n'Ship are limited to priority mail or express mail, no stamps, parcel post, media mail, etc.
Stamps.com also offers a "group" rate, but I think all of the people using it have to be in the same postal zone. I'm not sure why *everyone* in the office couldn't use the basic service, though.

Pitney Bowes charges you like $25 a month to rent a basic postage meter and scale, and has all sorts of other incidentals, plus when you want to cancel, you have to pack up the meter and ship it back (although they will send you a postpaid box for that).

My dad uses stamps.com for his home business and likes the convenience. I think their fee is a little high, but AFAIK they do not get a discount on the postage from the U.S.P.S., so the fees and supply sales are the only way they make money.

OTOH, the whole thing where they try to keep you from cancelling with a cheaper rate... If they could have been giving me this rate all along, then it's just an admission that they were ripping me off before. Why would I want to stay with a company like that?

Hate to say it but reality IS reality. While large operations are far more knowledgeable of the postage system and all its ins and outs, 99% of complaints are from average folks that don't need a lot of confusing mumbo jumbo to buy 10 or 100 stamps. It is therein where many of us end up getting ripped off. Therefore, like that TV person used to say "don't piddle on my leg and try to tell me its raining". There would not be so many complaints if the USPO explained its policy in plain and simple words to understand clearly. What they do is on purpose. They know it is confusing in their favor. Every innocent taxpayer in the US should start a boycot. Any other business would of already been cited for misleading with intent to defraud.

Thanks for checking it out Bob.
I too received the advertisement. I saw the monthly charge and felt the scale wasn't large enough to handle what I had to ship.
I didn't know about the "free" postage scam however.
I decided the $100 hook wasn't "all" they advertised, and not enough for all the aggravation it might take to cancel, so I threw the advertisement into the garbage where I thought it belonged.
Anyway, FedEx (ground) is a lot cheaper than the USPS and I can track my packages.
Again, there isn't any thing free about a free lunch!
I appreciate your efforts in verifying this "free" offer.

Not only can you get free print postage software from the USPS, you can order regular postage stamps on the web with a $1 p&h charge; there's no need to go to the post office to get stamps.

There is no "discount" on the so-called forever stamps when you buy them; you buy them so that you don't have to have the make-up stamps when the rate changes.

I signed up for stamps.com a long time ago. I ended up trying to print a priority mail postage amount for 10$ and the printer jammed.. they wouldnt credit me the postage . I ended up cancelling it because of it.

10 years ago, I used Stamps.com for my small business. For the short time that it worked, it was convenient. Then it stopped working. When I sent an email about it, I was told that I needed to create a new subscription. I then asked, again by email, would the several dollars remaining in my account be restored? The answer was simply, "Check the FAQs." (Lost account balances are so common that they'd be covered in the FAQs?) Stamps.com lost my business forever. They can promise me anything they'd like, but it's worthless air. In my opinion, they are a scam, have always been a scam, and always will be a scam. There is no way to hold them accountable except for some badmouthing on the internet. For what that's worth.

Bob, I'm an engineering prof, not an English Prof, so please feel free to edit for clarity.

the usps.com site (http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm) states:

4.1.4 Authorized PC Postage Providers

The following providers are authorized:

ENDICIA.COM (PSI SYSTEMS INC)
247 HIGH ST
PALO ALTO CA 94301-1099
800-576-3279 x140
www.endicia.com

PITNEY BOWES INC
1 ELMCROFT RD
STAMFORD CT 06926-0700
800-322-8000
www.pitneybowes.com

STAMPS.COM
12959 CORAL TREE PLACE
LOS ANGELES CA 90066-7020
888-434-0055
www.stamps.com

So there are only 3 providers having a contract with USPS...Dymo has a business arrangement with endicia.com, for a no monthly fee option, but endicia certainly offers packagesthat go up to 99 bucks monthly...plus they also offer directly a no monthly fee option, as well....The interesting part here is the asterisk on both sites..It basically states Endicia reserves the right to terminate the free service at anytime....So I would tread carefully before purchasing the 250 buck package, which includes a Dymo printer and a usb scale...

There is another option where can order sheets of blank labels, which contain peel and stick spaces for 24 stamps to a sheet, starting at 21 bucks, for eight sheets. that works out to be a premium of about 10.5 cents upcharge per stamp..with no monthly charge...

bottom line...if you are not spending at least 200 bucks a month stay away from this stuff...As others have stated, USPS offers essentially the same level of service at a discount on the postage and no overhead!...That's what I do, and I believe it's the best option for me to continue.

I have used Stamps.com to purchase the customized stamps you mentioned. We order these stamps with our desginated pictures to give as xmas gifts to family. It's a bit pricey for postage stamps, but the novelty and personalization of the gift delights our family members so it's worth the once a year expense. So far, we haven't experienced problems with ordering, having the correct picture printed, or delivery. I recommend these custom stamps as a practical and personal gift for those folks, like parents, who are hard to buy for.
ta,

I have been using Stamps.com for several years and when printing with a Dymo label printer it works great. Also, the basic subscription is only $7.99 a month which isn't a bad deal in my opinion. Nice to have the ability to print postage as you need it for both letters and packages (which the US Postal Service will pick up).

My biggest complaint is that the "free" digital scale will not work without the subscription. Therefore it is not free either. And the rebates were almost impossible to get. I canceled and decided it was just a costly lesson.

If you need stamps, just go to the post office and pickup their Stamps by mail envelopes.
I did that years ago and now when I need envelopes, I just ask for them when I order stamps. Granted I did have to buy my own scale, but, this whole thing is free. I order rolls of stamps and have a collection for overweight, but, I put the envelope in my mailbox with a check one day and it ususally is there the next with stamps.
Always by the second day.. I think just as good as these programs at no cost.

I think you'll find that the trial version of Stamps.com is automatically converted to a regular account without question or notice. I was lax in checking my credit card account for several months and as a result had several months of charges to deal with. Getting the account closed and a refund for the charges (not agreed to) was quite a task. I'm not too sure "scam" is a misused nown.

We use Stamps.com here at work. We really like it. I don't know about the digital scale, we have one but may have had it previously. Their cheap (We use Stamps.com here at work. We really like it. I don't know about the digital scale, we have one but may have had it previously. Their cheap (