USPS, one of the most well-known and popular delivery services, has been facing steep competition from Stamps.com recently. While Stamps has recently been gaining in popularity, USPS has no intention of throwing in the towel. They are now offering special deals to keep customers loyal and aren’t afraid to meet the competition head-on by offering new perks and bonuses that the competition doesn’t.
The Rivalry
When dissecting the Stamps com vs USPS rivalry, it’s necessary to take a closer look at both sides and what they offer that the other doesn’t. One of the most important facts to understand is that Stamps.com could be regarded as a premium version of USPS service with a monthly subscription fee of $15.99 per month. The rewards for that investment are quite substantial. They allow postage to be printed for all mail classes and the ability to directly import data from an Amazon, PayPal or eBay accounts into Stamp. Thus, the process of shipping merchandise and receiving payment is far more efficient.
On the other hand, USPS still requires users to fill out the same information every time for every transaction. Shipping labels are also automatically exported back to the seller’s account, and Stamps allows one to cut/paste entire recipients address at once, where USPS requires fields to be filled out every time. Stamps pushes for full integration with a large number of online sellers. That makes it the perfect choice for small businesses and online retailers.
The Response
On the other end of Stamps com vs USPS, the carrier has gone out of its way to offer its own perks to keep customers loyal, with reasonable success. USPS offers steep discounts for purchasing postage online. They offer discounts for a client printing their own stamps and shipping labels as well. They also provide letter mailers with a one cent discount on First Class Mail. USPS Priority Mail has also consistently held the top position in delivery speed compared to FedEx and UPS.
Stamps’ subscription fee is justified by the fact they specialize in business, where such a fee would be a minor expense. However, for the individual, there’s not much reason to pay extra for service that will see little use. USPS does also offer a priority mail service called ‘Click-N-Snip’ but is much more limited, available only to Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express. However, Priority Mail is USPS’ biggest draw in the first place and improving upon it seems the most logical use of resources. USPS is doubling down by offering the best in service centered around the individual, the market where Stamps has much less of a hold on.
Conclusion
The battle of Stamps com vs USPS seems far from over. The latter is determined to stay relevant by appealing to a different demographic than Stamps. The decision of which to use is clear-cut and based entirely on the client’s needs, and as long as there’s a consumer base, neither one appears to be dying off any time soon and USPS will likely be around for a good while.
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