A Guide to Postage Meter Rentals for Shipping Packages
The USPS ships over 7.3 billion pieces of mail and packages every year. Businesses rely on them to send purchases and branding messages to customers.
Shipping packages is essential, but it can also be difficult. What do you do if the post office isn’t open, you don’t have the right amount of postage, or you write the wrong address?
Renting a postage meter is one of the best ways to avoid all of these issues. They automatically print the necessary postage for your packages so that you can send them off in a convenient, efficient manner.
Read on to learn how you can skip the post office by using a postage meter for your packages.
The Postage Meter Rental Process
A postage meter is a machine that directly prints the amount of postage onto your mail. You can then take it off of the metered tape and send it off.
No one is legally allowed to own a postage meter due to regulations for the USPS. You are allowed to rent one for use in your business.
The postage meter rental process is fairly simple but has several steps. You’ll need to apply for a permit, find a licensed postage meter rental provider, and pay a $4 per day security deposit. They’ll set it up for you and return it whenever you need them to complete maintenance tasks.
A USPS postage meter has several components. The feeder counts and stores your letters, and the stacker catches envelopes, placing them on a stack or conveyor belt. The scale weights your packages to determine how much postage you need, and the printer prints your postage.
Types of Postage Meters
There is more than one type of postage meter to choose from. They differ based on the capacity they can handle and the process they use to ship out packages.
Low-capacity meters can handle 16-20 letters per minute and have a 2-25 pound scale. Medium capacity meters can handle 20-85 letters per minute and have a 15-35 pound scale. High-capacity meters can handle 85-175 letters per minute and use a dynamic scale that can handle more weight.
Digital meters use inkjet cartridges and 2D barcodes. They’re one of the most traditional types on the market today.
Internet meters let you print from a computer and pay for postage online. Stamp-based meters print directly from the machine.
Deciding between these types requires considering several factors. You’ll need to think about the volume of mail you send and how much you can afford to pay per month.
Postage Meter Costs
The average cost for postage meter rental is $200 per month. Digital meters cost $10-$200 per month. Stamp and internet meters both cost $15-$30 per month. The actual amount you’ll pay depends on your postage meter usage, how much postage you print, which model you choose, and other factors.
The cost to ship a package depends on its size, weight, and whether or not it’s sent first-class. Compare it with the cost of renting your meter to ensure you’re getting a high return on your investment.
Benefits of Skipping the Post Office
Once you know how to rent and use a postage meter, the next step is to find out why. The rental costs can be high, but they’re worth it for several reasons.
One of the best parts of postage meter rental is that you won’t have to rely on the post office as much. This saves your business time and money that it can dedicate to more important tasks.
A postage meter can print postage and send out packages 24/7. You won’t have to rush to the post office to ship your packages within the confines of its strict hours again.
Each package you send costs less as well. You’ll save approximately $0.05 each for packages weighing 3.5 ounces or less. Packages that weigh an ounce or less will only cost you $0.50 to send first-class.
These savings are partially the result of the way postage meters accurately calculate the amount of postage you need for each package you send. This ensures you won’t overpay on postage or not have enough, a problem that occurs too often with the post office.
Other Benefits of a Postage Meter
Postage meters do more than allow you to skip the post office. Having one in the office has several benefits of its own, including reduced staffing costs, higher earnings, better branding, and professional tracking.
Postage meters reduce your staffing costs. You won’t have to pay for employees who’ll spend most of their day going back and forth from your business to the post office.
Meters don’t only help you save money; they help you make it by serving as a powerful marketing tool. Direct mail advertising is not dead. At $38.5 billion, it accounts for the largest portion of the US advertising market.
This spending is legitimized by a high return on investment. 62% of consumers respond to direct mail by making a purchase, and 39% purchase from a business for the first time after receiving mail from them.
Sending mail with a postage meter helps increase brand awareness and revenue. Be sure to customize messages and add branding images such as logos to every package you send.
Postage meters also make your packages look more professional. They create clean text and ensure you have the right name and address.
Postage meters track every piece of mail you send, an essential benefit when 1.7 million packages get lost or stolen every day. You’ll have peace of mind because you’ll know when they’ve arrived at the post office and reached their destination.
Choosing a Postage Meter for Shipping Packages
Shipping packages is a necessary but expensive and time-intensive process for any business. Using the post office is one option, but a postage meter is a worthwhile alternative.
Renting these useful tools is simple and provides several benefits. It lets you avoid post office pitfalls such as inaccurate postage and lost packages, saves you time and money, and helps you grow your brand.
Postage Meter Rental can help you find the right machine for all of your mailing needs. Get a quote today.
Leave a Reply