Stamps.com
| Type | Public (NYSE: STMP) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business Services |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | El Segundo, California, U.S. |
| Key people |
Jim McDermott, Founder Jeff Green, Founder Ari Engelberg, Founder Ken McBride, Chairman & CEO Kyle Huebner, Co-President & CFO Jim Bortnak, Co-President and Corporate & Business Development Officer |
| Products | Internet Postage, Custom Postage Stamps |
| Employees | 226[1] |
| Website | www.stamps.com |
Stamps.com is a company that provides Internet-based mailing and shipping services. Stamps.com is a public company and trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol STMP. The company headquarters are in El Segundo, California.
Description
The Stamps.com service is a web service that provides a user the ability to buy and print USPS-approved postage directly from the user's computer. A customer can print postage for both domestic and international mail pieces using the customer's own inkjet or laser printer. The customer can print postage directly on envelopes, or on plain paper or shipping labels.
With PhotoStamps, users can upload their own photos or graphics for personalized stamps. The Smoking Gun has publicized various stamp designs it successfully ordered featuring images of Jimmy Hoffa, spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and the DNA-stained blue dress of Monica Lewinsky.[2] 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."[3]
Stamps.com offers Monthly Service Plan and Term Service Plans.[4] 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.[4]
Company history
Founded in 1996, the Stamps.com business was created by Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg and Jeff Green. The company was initially known as StampMaster and was among the first companies to obtain USPS approval for beta testing and introducing Internet postage to market. In 2001, a fellow early entrant in the digital postage market, Stamps.com, bought the company's patents and other assets and continued the business under the new name.
Photostamps became available in 2004.
Consumer concerns
A user registers for Stamps.com at the company's website via a multi-step account creation process.[4] Account cancellation is handled over the phone by the Phone Support Team.[4] Stamps.com's cancellation process requires the customer to call a representative to cancel and a user is charged an additional month of service when canceling a month-to-month service account.[5] In 2009, Stamps.com settled a class-action lawsuit in which the plaintiffs alleged unreasonable hold times when they attempted to cancel their service over the phone. This made it take longer to close their accounts, resulting in excess charges for unwanted service.[6]
Stamps.com had an "A+" rating with the Better Business Bureau [7] but as of August, 2013 Stamps.com's registered Los Angeles Better Business Bureau account[7] has been under review with over 1,100 complaints lodged against the company dating as far back as 2006.
Competitors
Stamps.com's main competitors are Pitney Bowes and Endicia Internet Postage.
References
- ↑ "Stamps.com - Company Info: Company Overview". Investor.stamps.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ↑ "Stamps Of Approval: Rosenbergs, Milosevic, Lewinsky dress now on official U.S. postage". TheSmokingGun.com. August 31, 2004. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Terms and Conditions". PhotoStamps.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Stamps.com Terms and Conditions". Stamps.com. 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
- ↑ "Stamps.com". Stamps.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ↑ "NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Coburn v. Stamps.com". dmaclassaction.com. 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Better Business Bureau: Report for Stamps.com". BBB. 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.