This year, Easter falls on Sunday, March 27, and Stamps.com can help you celebrate in style! Easter egg hunts are fun, but hunting for information on mailing options isn’t.  We want to make the process easy for you!

Customize Your Easter Cards with Stamps.com
Easter is a great time to send a card to a loved one or friend.  Everyone likes getting mail!  If you want to send a card or letter, you can print postage on various envelope sizes, including 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”).  You can also use our Custom Layout Designer to create custom envelopes and postcards of non-standard sizes.  Click on “Envelopes” in the left navigation bar and look for the envelope icon next to the “Printing On” drop-down list.

Make Your Easter Cards Extra Special with NetStamps
For Easter, we offer two fun designs: Easter Thoughts NetStamps and Easter Basket NetStamps.  You can order these fun designs in various quantities!  Once you receive them, you can add postage amounts to your sheets, either one at a time or on a full sheet.  Want to be prepared for other upcoming holidays?  Check out our other themed labels in the same category.

Easily Send Easter Care Packages with Stamps.com

Sometimes distance separates loved ones, but we can help!  Want to send decorated or blank eggs to a loved one or friend in the US?  Remember to individually cushion each one and pack them with plenty of padding.  With our Shipping Label option under our Packages section, you can easily print a trackable label on plain paper or on one of our self-adhesive labels, such as SDC-1200.  Another fun idea is to send plastic-eggs filled with candy or chocolate.  If you’re sending chocolate, refrigerate or freeze them beforehand to keep them from melting.

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!

Whether you’re sending a package to Puerto Rico or a flat to Guam, Stamps.com makes it easy for you to send your mail to all U.S. Territories!

The first thing to remember is that U.S. Territories are considered domestic mail, so you would use the Stamps.com domestic sections for sending mail to these locations.  Due to USPS requirements regarding tracking barcodes, we recommend using the “Packages” option within the Stamps.com software if the thickness of your mail piece is over 3/4″.

Like U.S. states, territories and possessions have two-letter codes and each address will be matched and cleansed according to USPS mailing standards.  The codes are:

AS – American Samoa
GU – Guam
MP – Northern Mariana Islands
PR – Puerto Rico
VI – Virgin Islands
UM – U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

Do I need customs forms? 
This will vary according to the location.  You do not generally need a customs form for mail headed to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.  See below for all other U.S. Territories.

Preparing your Customs Forms and Shipping Labels
You will always need a customs form for all the other U.S. territories.  Stamps.com takes the guesswork out of this process.  When printing a shipping label, the Stamps.com software will automatically alert you or convert the label into the appropriate Shipping Label/Customs Form when you enter a territorial address!

Alternatively, you can manually select Stamps.com’s Online Customs Form (2976-A).  This form for Priority Mail combines postage and customs forms into one convenient label and you can print this on plain paper!  You can fill out the required customs form information electronically on our software.  How?  Follow the simple steps below:

– Select your content type.
– Enter your itemized package content details and click on “Add Item” for each separate type of product/article you are shipping.
– Enter an ITN number if your package’s total value exceeds $2,500 or if your particular goods require an export license.

Stamps.com’s Online Customs Form (2976-A) option can be found under the software’s Packages and Batch sections.  Once you enter an address for a U.S. territory, you’ll see “Plain Paper 2976-A 3 sheets per label” appear on the drop-down Printing On menu.    

Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands   
Wait, aren’t the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands independent countries?  Yes, but they have a special arrangement with the United States known as the Compact of Free Association, and use USPS domestic mail service.  They also use 2-letter state codes:

FM – Federated States of Micronesia
MH – Marshall Islands
PW – Palau

To send mail to these countries, you may use the Domestic options within the Stamps.com software.

Shipping your packages to U.S. Territories with Stamps.com    
So you have your label and package ready to ship.  What’s next?  In the Stamps.com software, you can schedule a pickup for these mailpieces if your request includes at least one or more Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express mailpieces.

After sending out your packages, just keep in mind that shipment times to destinations outside of the contiguous United States may be longer than normal.  While delivery time is never guaranteed, your Priority Mail package to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands may take up to 3 days to reach its destination, whereas it would have taken only 2 days to reach a destination within the contiguous states.

If you need to send a manuscript, set of reports, or sheaf of bills, you’re going to need something a bit larger than a normal letter-sized envelope. The USPS recognizes a category of Flats which can comfortably house numerous sheets of paper, magazines, journals, books or other material, without needing to fold the items.

The key thing to remember is that flats must always be flexible and uniformly even and smooth with no large bumps.  Are you sending a license plate in an envelope?  Is your envelope wrapped so tightly in plastic that it can’t even bend anymore?  Are you sending a box or parcel?  Then none of these mailpieces would be considered flats.

The USPS maintains a consisting standard to determine whether something is considered flexible or not.  The official “flexibility test” states that a mailpiece is considered flexible “if both ends can bend at least 1 inch vertically without being damaged.”  The USPS has a useful guide that shows you how you can perform your own Flex Test.

The official definition of a flat is that it must have a minimum height of 6-1/8″ and a maximum height of 12″, and a minimum length of 11-1/2″ and a maximum length of 15″.  The minimum thickness is ¼” and the maximum thickness is ¾”.  Anything exceeding these measurements will be bumped up to the next mailpiece of Thick Envelope/Parcel.

Besides the standards by which there is a minimum and maximum thickness for flats, there are two other regulations to consider:

– The ¼ Protuberance Rule
¾ of an inch thick is the maximum thickness for flats, but keep in mind that there is an additional and separate regulation regarding uniform thickness.  Your flat has to be uniformly thick, so it can’t have any bumps, protrusions, or bulges that cause more than a ¼-inch variance in thickness.  Even if your flat is less than ¾ inch thick, it may not always be a flat.  If it contains an item inside of it that is creating a bump that is more than ¼ inch thick, then the mailpiece would not be considered a flat.  Therefore, the key thing to prevent is from the mailpiece becoming nonuniformly thick with bumps, bulges, lumps, and prominences.

– Content Shifting
Because of these thickness and protuberance rules, flats are best used for sending documents, but if you want to use flats for non-paper contents, you should secure the items to prevent shifting.  This is because there is an additional postal rule that states that non-paper contents cannot move inside the flat to such a degree that they would create a bump or protrusion, or cause the items to burst out of the flat.  The official maximum for content shifting is 2 inches, so your items cannot move inside the flat for more than that distance.    

Sending Flats With Stamps.com
Stamps.com makes it easy to send to flats!  You can print postage for flats in a number of different ways depending on how much information you want on your label.

#1. Need just a stamp? 
In your Stamps.com software, select “Stamps” on the left side of the screen and then select “Large Envelopes and Flats” under the drop-down Mailpiece menu.  You can then select your mail class as First Class (up to 13 oz.).

#2. Want to print postage for a Flat with the delivery and return addresses included? 
In your Stamps.com software, select “Envelopes” on the left side of the screen and then select “Large Envelopes and Flats” under the drop-down Mailpiece menu.  You can print to a wide variety of labels, such as SDC-3110 or Avery labels like Avery 32403.

#3. Printing First Class, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express Shipping Labels for Flats?
Find these mail class options under the “Packages” option on the left side of the screen.  Just look for the mailpiece called “Large Envelope/Flat.”  These can be printed on plain paper, Stamps.com labels such as the SDC-1200, or Avery labels like Avery 32402.   Tracking is available for Priority and Priority Express Shipping Labels for Flats.

We hear you – managing returns is frustrating. It can feel complex, time consuming, or even like the death of a sale. That said, 60% of shoppers who make at least one return to an online store, a whopping 95% of them will purchase from that store again if the return experience is positive. Moreover, if those shoppers feel that their return or exchange was an easy process, 64% of them will refer that online shop to friends. So even though returns may feel like an e-retailer’s nightmare, they can actually be the catalyst for more sales and new customers. In order to win back those sales, you have to make sure your return process is a walk in the park.

Here are 3 simple ways to guarantee a better return experience for your customers:

#1. Make It Clear
Your return policy must be easy to find on your site, with all policy information clearly stated. Be detailed and include all rules, like what you will provide (return postage, for example), and a step-by-step guide on how to proceed with the return. If you’d like an example, Zappos.com has a detailed and clearly outlined returns process that appears simple for the customer. Model your return policy webpage after theirs.

#2. Know The Worth Of Returns vs. Customer Service
Figure out ahead of time the value of letting buyers keep the original item and sending them a replacement, vs. asking that they go through the return process. There are some cases where it is actually better for your company’s reputation, even if you end up eating some of your profit. See below for an example from Practical Ecommerce’s 4 Tips for Better Ecommerce Returns and Exchanges where this special circumstance played out:

A guitarist for a popular party and event band recently ordered a new guitar strap from a merchant on the Amazon marketplace. Unfortunately, there was an error in the shipment, and the merchant apparently sent a shorter strap than expected. When this guitarist contacted the seller about an exchange, he was told that a new strap would be shipped that day and that he could simply keep the smaller strap.

This solution was great for the customer, who did not have to repackage the strap or arrange for a carrier to pick it up. He was generally happy with the experience. This was probably also better for the merchant, who might have simply been able to order a new guitar strap from its distributor for about the same cost as having the strap returned.

In order to determine whether or not you can provide this kind of special customer service, you need to know all applicable variables. This includes cost of return shipping, cost of processing the return and profit lost on the item. Sometimes, a small (or fairly insignificant) loss will lead to a huge gain later. A customer could be so impressed with your service that they will not only shop from you again, but they’ll refer friends. Don’t forget, 64% of buyers will speak highly of retailers that gave them a positive return experience.

#3. Bring The Policy To Them
You already know not to bury your return policy landing page somewhere on your website where shoppers will have a hard time finding it. To keep them in the loop, consider posting (just once) on your social media sites either a link to your return policy page or a cliff notes version for them to quickly scan. Doing this will communicate that you are on their side and want them to be happy with their purchase – and if there is an issue, you want to make the return easy for them. This can be especially timely during the holiday season, and may be a smart post for December 26^th. Drive it home with a follow up post inviting social media followers to share pictures of themselves with their new products. The more you can establish an emotional connection between your business and your buyers, the better your business will perform. According to a 10-year study conducted by Hiebing, brands that evoke a strong emotional response can sell more, drive customer loyalty and successfully charge up to 200% more than competitors.

With these tips in your back pocket, you can simplify the return process for your e-commerce store. Your buyers will appreciate it, and so will your bottom line. Of all the customers who make returns, are you ready to bring back the 95% who will shop from you again?

Ecomdash is an award-winning multichannel inventory software for ecommerce retailers. It offers an end-to-end ecommerce solution to complete workflow, including inventory and sales order management, product listing, dropshipping and fulfillment management, reporting and more.