March 26, 2005

Curious George - Automated labels and postage? Ok. I got the final pricing in and have started the printing of the T shirts. They should be done in a week or two. I'm gonna need all the LA monkey's help doing a "t shirt envelope stuffing meetup" soon. Which leads me to my question. Does anyone have experience in doing a mass mailing of this nature?

Tracy provided me with a spreadsheet with all the pertinent info, but I'd love it if I could automate the process of the labeling and postage. Does anyone out there have any experience with either the postal service's automated postage and labeling system or an equivalent? How do they work? Any suggestions are welcome.

posted by squidranch 19 years ago
  • a more important question... how's the head?
  • anyway, the topic - mass mailing packages and letters is a big part of my job, but we always do it the old-fashioned way... and I work for a pretty snazzy financial services company. all i know is, there must be an easier way. not that that's much help...
  • If you can get access to someone with their own computerized postal meter and printer, that'd be an easy way to do it. Weigh the envelope and the shirt, add extra for bulk if necessary, then just start running postage labels through the machine. You'd have them printed in no time. Recalculating for non-US mailings, of course. You could also just take a stuffed envelope and a list of destinations to the post office and have them give you a list of prices, then start sticking stamps, but you'll probably wind up overpaying for postage that way.
  • The head is, cold.
  • I just tried going on the Post Office's website and attempted a test label with postage. The problem is that I have to enter the address manually instead of importing it from the existing spreadsheet. I think what I am going to do is export the info into MS word, print the labels from there and then use the post office's flat rate priorty envelopes at $3.85 to anywhere in the US. I might have to use slow ground shipping for international orders, otherwise the postage will kill us.
  • As far as packaging goes, use Dupont Tyvek envelopes. They're light, flexible, cheap, water-proof and won't ever tear. I usually get them at Staples, but most office stores should have them.
  • Also, as far as postage goes, your best bet is probably standard first class mail. It'll be about $2 and get it there in 3-7 days (1-3 days in-state). Depending on the weight and size of the shirts, two might put you over the weight restriction, forcing you to go priority mail, which is only a few cents more expensive. Think $5 at the very most for two XLs. For international deliveries, don't forget to fill out a customs form -- they'll have them at the post office, they're green. Pick airmail, and expect to pay about $7. I think I remember that being a 7-14 day delivery, obviously depending on where in the world it's going. For domestic shipping, I always use the automated shipping center at the post office. It's a touch-screen system with a scale that weighs your package and prints out a stamp with exact postage, and puts it all on your card. One tip: Pick "credit", not "debit/ATM" when you put your card in to pay for the first one, and it'll save you from having to put the card in for each stamp it prints. If you have international stuff, you'll have to wait in line anyway beacuse of the deal with the customs forms, so it's best just to hand them everything at once.
  • I've got space, work surfaces, food and tunes (also dogs, tho they're not much use) if you'd like to bring the project over here, squidranch. Also, the post office is a block down.
  • Don't you need some money? I am ready and waiting to ping some in the right direction.
  • Can the post office handle this if you are doing a bulk mailing? Do they have a service which will do similar bulk mailing? Whenever I mail packages, I just address them, take it to the PO address them, and let them handle the rest - they print a lable for the exact dollars and cents. But then I don't think I would show up with several hundred parcels unannounced.
  • Aha, I see there is another thread for this subject. Is there an ETA on shirts? Was this postage problem ever solved? Curios Georges (read: planetfour) want to know!