Mailing Equipment and Supplies

Everything you need to mail or ship your products efficiently

Whether you run an assembly-line operation shipping thousands of products daily or are a solo consultant who mails one or two items a week, having the right mailing equipment and supplies at the ready can save you both time and money.

Nearly every small business should considering investing in a:

1. Postage meter
2. Postage scale
3. Folding machine
4. Letter opener

A never-ending supply of stamps

Don't waste time driving to the post office to stock up on stamps or to refill the office postage meter — there's no need. You can now order stamps online and refill your postage meter by hooking it up to a phone line.

An end to guessing at the proper postage

Rather than throwing on a few extra stamps, or overestimating the weight of a shipment to ensure a piece reaches its destination — which the USPS estimates costs us up to 20 percent more than necessary — lease a postage scale to determine the proper weight of a package.

Direct mail dynamo

If your business relies heavily on direct mail, a letter folder will speed that process along. You first need to decide between a friction (most common) or air-fed machine, taking into account the equipment's speed, paper sizes and weights accepted, types of folds made, and whether it has an auto-feed mechanism.

Consider used mailing equipment

Buying pre-owned equipment can often save you considerable cash, especially on larger machines.

Speed up you mail opening

Companies with lots of incoming mail will benefit from commercial letter openers, also called slitters.

Box and packaging sources

Don't wait until the last minute to discover you're out of boxes for the shipment you have to get out today. Instead, stock up on boxes, packing material, padded envelopes and other supplies you use regularly.

• There's really no need to go to the post office when you can order U.S. Postal Service (USPS) supplies such as stamps, forms, Priority and Express Mail envelopes and boxes online at The Postal Store.
• By shipping via Priority or Express Mail, you'll save money on boxes, since the USPS provides them to you for free.

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