Stamps.com
Encyclopedia
Stamps.com is a Los Angeles, California
-based company that provides Internet-based mailing and shipping services. Stamps.com is a public company
and trades on the NYSE exchange under the symbol STMP.
postage system, aimed at providing digitally encoded postage franks or stamps
via the Internet. At the launch in 1998, the Postmaster General
at that time, Marvin T. Runyon
, described his vision of postage being "available, on call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Founded in 1996, Stamps.com is the brainchild of Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg and Jeff Green. E-Stamp was the first company to get USPS approval for beta testing and successfully brought internet postage to market, but the company did not survive the bursting of the dot-com bubble
in 2000. In 2001 its domain and patents were bought by a fellow early entrant in the digital postage market, Stamps.com.
In the fall of 2003, Microsoft
released a beta version of its office productivity suite
of programs, which includes an electronic postage capacity through Stamps.com.
In August 2004, Stamps.com introduced PhotoStamps
. This service allows computer users to upload their own photos or graphics, which Stamps.com then prints on custom postage stamps(personalised stamps). This had been preceded by Stamps.com having various pictures on its E-stamps, including U.S. presidents Jefferson, Kennedy, Lincoln, TR and Washington, people playing various sports, and world landmarks.
There was considerable negative publicity immediately after the inception of PhotoStamps, when investigative website The Smoking Gun
publicized various stamp designs they had successfully ordered featuring images of Jimmy Hoffa
, spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and the DNA
-stained blue dress of Monica Lewinsky
. Stamps.com's current policy prohibits images of world leaders or "any material that is vintage in appearance or depicts images from an older era."
There are approximately 1,100 complaints, going back to 2006, filed under Stamps.com's registered Los Angeles Better Business Bureau
account.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
-based company that provides Internet-based mailing and shipping services. Stamps.com is a public company
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
and trades on the NYSE exchange under the symbol STMP.
History
On April 13, 1998, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the E-Stamp Corporation unveiled for beta testing the E-Stamp InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
postage system, aimed at providing digitally encoded postage franks or stamps
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
via the Internet. At the launch in 1998, the Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
at that time, Marvin T. Runyon
Marvin T. Runyon
Marvin Travis Runyon was an American business executive.He was a 1942 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas. The school inducted him into its alumni Hall of Fame in 1999....
, described his vision of postage being "available, on call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Founded in 1996, Stamps.com is the brainchild of Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg and Jeff Green. E-Stamp was the first company to get USPS approval for beta testing and successfully brought internet postage to market, but the company did not survive the bursting of the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
in 2000. In 2001 its domain and patents were bought by a fellow early entrant in the digital postage market, Stamps.com.
In the fall of 2003, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
released a beta version of its office productivity suite
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
of programs, which includes an electronic postage capacity through Stamps.com.
In August 2004, Stamps.com introduced PhotoStamps
PhotoStamps
PhotoStamps, a product of Stamps.com, are custom postage stamps. The stamps are valid U.S. postage, bearing a custom photo or graphic provided by the purchaser...
. This service allows computer users to upload their own photos or graphics, which Stamps.com then prints on custom postage stamps(personalised stamps). This had been preceded by Stamps.com having various pictures on its E-stamps, including U.S. presidents Jefferson, Kennedy, Lincoln, TR and Washington, people playing various sports, and world landmarks.
There was considerable negative publicity immediately after the inception of PhotoStamps, when investigative website The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is damning, shocking, outrageous, or amazing, yet also somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources...
publicized various stamp designs they had successfully ordered featuring images of Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and the DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
-stained blue dress of Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
. Stamps.com's current policy prohibits images of world leaders or "any material that is vintage in appearance or depicts images from an older era."
Consumer Concerns
Registration for Stamps.com occurs online at the company's website where customers initiate the multi-step account creation process. Stamps.com offers Monthly Service Plan and Term Service Plans. Customers start their plans under a 4-Week No-Risk Trial, after which time they are billed a non-usage based subscription fee that pays for access to the account and software. Account cancellation is handled over the phone by the Phone Support Team.There are approximately 1,100 complaints, going back to 2006, filed under Stamps.com's registered Los Angeles Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
account.