Many years ago, I lived in a tiny town in central Illinois where there was not home mail delivery. Everyone in town would go the small post office to collect their mail or send out letters and packages. Most of us just walked to the post office since the town was that small and there wasn’t even really parking for postal patrons. Of course, there were always a few farmers who had to mail big packages, but most of us just did our shipping and mailing on a small scale, in person, at the counter in the cramped little office front. I have to admit that was the only time in my life I have actually enjoyed going to the post office! Now, I find that is possible to run a small home business and do all the postage-buying, shipping, etc. without ever leaving my house and going to the post office.
The web site is www.usps.com and it is possible to not just order and buy stamps, but also all sorts of shipping supplies, purchase and print shipping labels for larger packages, look up addresses and zip codes, etc. I think this can make a home business operation incredibly efficient since a person does not have to make daily or weekly trips to the post office and you may even be able to keep better tabs on your shipping and mailing expenses by having it all centralized on your work computer.
While my home business does not require me to ship a lot of products and packages, so I cannot give a firsthand testimonial about how well that works from the web site, I do find it extremely convenient to purchase stamps and some basic mailing supplies, as well as look up correct addresses and zip codes on the postal service web site. Anyone out there who uses the site for mailing and shipping who can share some good advice? I imagine that one still needs to have a scale in order to get an accurate weight of packages in order to purchase and order the right amount on a shipping label, and one needs the correct label size to print on. Still, saving that trip to the physical post office could save you time and transportation expense.
Also: Going Postal