Maybe I’m behind the curve, but I was blown away to learn I can print labels online directly from USPS. Thank God, as i was really hesitant in trying to buy enough stamps to cover about 45 auctions I have running on Ebay…Anyway, a couple of questions came to mind, that of which the USPS’s site doesn’t seem to address (based on what I’ve found).
Does it matter what I print the labels to? I only have standard non-sticky paper; can I just tape them on?
How big are the labels?
Does it cost more/less to print them online than going to a store?
Actually, the labels are 1/2 of an 8.5" x 11" page. In other words 8.5" by 5.5". The other half of the page is taken up by order confirmation details, so it takes one full sheet to print a single label.
You can buy Internet Shipping Labels (Avery 8126 or equivalent) at any office supply store. They are perforated in the middle and adhesive backed, so you can just peel off the label and stick it on your package.
I’ve been doing this a few years. Very convenient.
You can print them on plain paper and tape them on. Either use clear tape, or make sure you don’t obscure the bar code. Or as someone said you can buy labels that are the correct size.
1/2 of an 8½x11 sheet of paper.
Same price, but cheaper since you don’t have to go to the PO!
If you use the post office’s one-price envelopes/boxes, you can get a supply of them delivered to your home, too!
The labels are significantly smaller than half a sheet of paper. I know this because I have to cut about 1" off the edges of the UPS labels I use for USPS shipping to rid them of the UPS logo
A little hint to save on paper, especially if you buy sticky labels. When you get to the Paypal page when printing postage, click on preferences and turn off the receipt option. If you don’t you will print a receipt that is not needed. You can also buy the sticky labels from sellers on eBay for a lot lot less than regular retailers. I bought 200 for about $10, you would be lucky to get 20 for that much at Staples.
Just to add onto what others have said, you can use plain paper and then tape them on the package. Be careful not to cover up any barcodes, though, as it could theoretically cause some troubles for the automated machines that scan the labels due to the glossiness. I bought a pack of these labels to ship a few packages and they worked great with the online shipping labels.
By the way, this has been going on in one form or another since the late 1990s, when stamps.com and estamps made (and presumably lost) several fortunes.
If you will doing a lot in the future, check out endicia.com. We get a small discount on international mail simply by doing it through them; not sure if you get the same discount directly at usps.com. Also free delivery confirmation on Priority Mail, “stealth” postage so that the amount isn’t shown on the label.
