Don’t get caught sending a Valentine to a loved one at the very last minute!  Use Stamps.com to make Valentine’s Day special by sending a beautiful note or gift to that special person in your life.

Customize Your Valentine’s Day Cards with Stamps.com
For your Valentine, you will mostly likely use an envelope that is not a size #10.  That’s okay!  We’ve got you covered.  In the Stamps.com software, select “Envelopes” as your mailpiece and then under the “Printing On” drop-down menu, select “More…”.  Choose from the various sizes available, including Envelope sizes #9, #11, and #12, the Personal (3 5/8 x 6 1/2) and Monarch (3 7/8 x 7 1/2), and the NCR Greeting Card Envelope (8 3/4 x 5 3/4).

If your envelope is not any of these sizes, you can use Stamps.com’s Custom Layout Designer feature to create a template for a non-standard sized envelope.  Click on “Envelopes” in the left navigation bar and   look for the envelope icon next to the “Printing On” drop-down list.  Simply start designing your irregularly-sized envelope and give it a name!  Enter the measurements of your envelope and print a sample to ensure that the postage is being printed correctly onto your custom envelope.

Make Your Cards Extra Special with Love NetStamps
At Stamps.com we believe in the power of love so much that we’ve created a separate category of our popular NetStamps product!  Our Love NetStamps catalogue includes more than fifteen separate designs ranging from hearts and candies to tandem bicycles and “matching pairs”!  You can order these fun designs in various quantities!  Once you receive them, you can add various postage amounts to your sheets, either one at a time or on a full sheet if you heart is extra full!

Easily Send Valentine’s Day Packages with Stamps.com
A card isn’t enough?  Use Stamps.com to send packages to your loved ones.  Print shipping labels on plain paper or use an adhesive label like Stamps.com label SDC-1200.  For peace of mind, track your mailpiece to make sure it arrives by the 14^th!

Remember that if, you are sending chocolates, you’ll want to prevent content shifting and damage by wrapping them in insulated bubble wrap.  To keep them from melting, refrigerate or freeze them beforehand.  Sending flowers?  Use Priority Mail Express to ensure they arrive in time and looking fresh!

Planning a wedding can be stressful, especially when you’re on a budget.  One of the essential tasks during wedding planning is selecting and sending out invitations to your guests.  Keep your stress levels low and be prepared by learning how much you’ll need to spend on postage to mail out your wedding invitations!

What You Need To Know About First Class Mail Postage
A standard First Class Mail envelope measures between 5” and 11.5” in length, between 3.5″ and 6.125” in height and between .007” and 0.25” in thickness with a maximum weight of up to 3.5 oz.

Postage for your First Class Mail wedding invitation is determined by how much the envelope weighs.  You get a 1% metered mail discount if you use online postage with Stamps.com.

Extra Fee for Square and Odd Shaped Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations (and even holiday greeting cards) may not always comply with the USPS standards for First Class Mail.  If your custom invites are square, odd-shaped, or have non-standard closures like clamps or strings, the USPS will charge a $0.22 surcharge per mail piece.  The additional surcharge fee can add up quickly if you are sending invitations to a large group of guests.  Often times, square shaped wedding and greeting cards are discounted, but if you don’t want to pay the additional surcharge fee, stick to the standard envelope size for First Class Mail!

How To Mail Wedding Invitations With Stamps.com
To make things easier, you can weigh your sample wedding invitation using your Stamps.com digital scale.  This way you’ll also know exactly how much it’ll cost to mail all your invitations.

As a finishing touch, you can even customize your mail piece by using one of Stamps.com’s wedding-themed NetStamps or by creating personalized PhotoStamps.

Save money and eliminate trips to the Post Office by printing postage for your wedding invitations right from your computer using Stamps.com.

Use USPS Certified Mail To File Your Taxes

Mailing in your tax return this year?  Use USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt!  Why?  When you use Certified Mail with Return Receipt, you get a receipt showing when your tax return was delivered or when delivery was attempted.  You also receive an electronic or physical delivery record showing who signed for your tax return.  This feature is extremely helpful in the event of any dispute around mailing dates.  Remember, the IRS considers your return filed on time, if it is postmarked by April 15th!

Use Stamps.com To Print Certified Mail

Stamps.com makes it very easy to print Certified Mail postage online.  All Stamps.com customers can print postage for Certified Mail and fill out the standard USPS Certified Mail and Return Receipt forms.

Stamps.com Premier members can use our automated Certified Mail forms that allow you to print postage, address information and all Certified Mail requirements (including a mailing receipt or Return Receipt) in one simple step.

If you are not a Premier member, you will need to fill out and attach USPS form 3800.

Tax Time Tips

#1.  Sufficient Postage:  Make sure the envelope with your tax returns includes sufficient postage!  Any tax returns without enough postage will be returned.  Stamps.com customers need not worry since the software always calculates the exact amount of postage you need.

#2.  Write legibly:  To avoid any delays or confusion, make sure to clearly write the destination and return addresses on the envelope that includes your tax return.  If you are a Stamps.com customer you are covered, since the software will print the address information for you.

#3.  Post Offices with extended hours:  Certain Post Offices may be open late on April 15th to postmark your tax return.  Find a Post Office near you here.

Did you know Stamps.com can automatically save the delivery addresses you enter onto an envelope or shipping label when you print postage? With just a few steps, you can set up the Address Book to auto-save addresses into our system.

Steps to Automatically Save Address in Address Book

1. From inside Stamps.com software, select “File” in the top navigation and then “Preferences”
2. Once the “Preferences” dialog box opens, select the “Addresses” tab and then select the “Automatically save manually entered delivery address to the address book” check box.
3. Lastly, click OK.

Just like that, you no longer have to manually input delivery addresses every time you print postage.

The U.S. Postal Service recently announced their 2013 mailing deadlines to ensure delivery by December 25.  If you are planning to use the USPS to send any mail or packages this Holiday season, be sure to mail by these deadlines.

USPS Holiday Mailing Facts!
The USPS is expecting to deliver 15 BILLION letters and packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve in 2013.

• Busiest delivery day for letters will be Wednesday, December 18
• Busiest delivery day for packages will be Thursday, December 19