If you like going to the post office raise your hand.
....
Anyone?...
I'm right there with you. I work full-time, which means that I have very limited hours to get to the post office. If I wanted to pay about $3-4 more and not use the media mail system, I could print postage online, but I'm not willing to pay that much extra.
Well, it turns out that you CAN print media mail postage from your home computer, slap it on a book, and stick it in your mailbox.
Here's how:
Stamps.com
If you are doing a huge amount of mailing, a service like stamps.com may work for you. For a monthly fee, you get to print postage at a slightly discounted rate, get free delivery confirmation, and it comes with a scale.
Endicia.com
This is pretty much the same deal as stamps.com, except they do have a no-fee option. However, it doesn't include media mail.
Don't want to pay a service fee? Here is the secret option number three:
Paypal.com
This requires a PayPal account, but those are completely free, so it's no extra monthly charge. I don't know how to access the shipping section from the main PayPal website, but the link above works just fine, and Media Mail is an option. Delivery confirmation is only 19 cents.
You can print the shipping label on a regular piece of paper and tape that to whatever packaging material you have. It's about as easy as it gets.
What do you need to know about shipping through Media Mail?
Media Mail rates are done by the pound. So, if your book weighs less than a pound, choose the 1 lb. rate. If you are mailing more than one book, or a rather heavy hardcover book, choose a 2 lb rate or heavier. You don't need to have a postal scale to weigh it, just a regular bathroom scale will work.
You can only mail books and other media items through this method. Also, if you are mailing something that is less than 4 oz, it is cheaper and faster to send it through First Class mail.
Now you are prepared to go forth and mail all your packages from the comfort of your own home. Of course, this will cut down on the time you could be spending reading in the line at the Post Office.
