So, today I completed signing up for Endicia, and downloaded their software. I’d read a few horror stories on Etsy about the mediocrity of the software, and it has a really stupid name (“DAZzle”) so I was kind of expecting to hate it, but decided to grin and bear it, because it had to be an improvement on the way I’d been doing things before. But I was pleasantly surprised!

The user interface is actually ridiculously easy for me (this probably varies depending on your needs–I know some people have issues with importing addresses from another program, but I don’t need to do that–I just cut’n'paste them from Gmail). Of course it took a little figuring out, particularly for the one international package I had to send (you can fill out customs forms within the program! Isn’t that awesome? I HATE hand-writing those forms.) but once I got the hang of it, everything was peachy.

I just printed out my postage labels on regular white paper, cut them out, and attached them with mailing tape to my parcels. Unfortunately, there ended up being a lot of wasted paper, but I’m sure I’ll find ways to minimize that. Then I just walked across the street from my apartment and dropped them in the mailbox on the corner! Even with learning the ins and outs of the software, it still took less time than it normally would take me. I am so excited about getting this set up and having it all work perfectly!

It looks like I should be able to make really fancy-looking labels at some future date, when I have a little more time and interest. You can add graphics to the postage labels, print them in lots of different layouts, access all your fonts to use for the addresses, etc. Oh, and paying for the postage is easy too–you do have to import funds from your credit/debit card to your Endicia account, but you can do it in a matter of seconds/minutes, depending on your connection speed, so it’s really not a big deal.

In related-but-separate news, I have decided to take a couple “days off” from internet stuff, including my Etsy store. I will still be around to attend to sales, comments, and important e-mails, but I need a break from sitting in front of my computer all day. I need some time to devote to the several crafty projects I’m working on right now, without so many distractions. I shall see you all in a few days, though!

Speaking of which, I’m now going to relate the tale of why I have vowed never to go to the post office to mail something again!

I’ve been mailing my packages by going to the USPS office for years. I never really had a problem with it. I almost always used the APC (Automated Postal Center–which, if you’ve never used it, is shockingly easy), but when I didn’t, the people at the counter used to be friendly and helpful.

But things have changed. It all started last year, when I started mailing a lot more packages than ever before, and simultaneously moved to an apartment with a post office just a few blocks away. It sounded so perfect! But the lines for the counter were always ridiculously long there, and although the employees were still all friendly, a lot of them gave me incorrect information. Once the new “nonmachinable surcharge” went into effect, I also found that several packages that I had given to someone at the counter were returned to me for insufficient postage–because the USPS’ rules have gotten so convoluted that even their employees can’t keep up with them! So I stopped going to the counter, because at least when I used the machine I always got the postage right.

At that time I considered switching to some kind of at-home mailing service, either through Paypal or Endicia. But it didn’t really seem worth the effort to change my whole way of doing things just because I didn’t feel like walking down the block. And, when I brought up the possibility of mailing from home to one of the postal workers, he practically begged me to keep coming to the post office instead, because he was worried about layoffs if everyone switched to print-at-home. Since I like to support my local economy as much as possible, that kind of cinched the deal.

Fast forward to just a month or so ago, when I walked into my local post office and found out they would be removing the APC from their location, because apparently I was the only one who used it, or something. Who knows. So I started needing to either catch the bus or get a ride from the boyfriend to the next-nearest post office. This was a big pain, but manageable, and I did it for a while.

But the last few times I’ve been there, it’s been completely unbearable. There are long lines for both the counter and the machine. People are rude. If I wait in line with my bag of 25-or-so packages to mail at the counter, the service is horribly slow once I get there. If I wait in line with the same bag for the machine, and whiz through them as fast as possible, people behind me in line are always complaining about having to wait for all my packages. Or, they ask politely if they can cut ahead because they only have one thing–which seems fair until this has happened 4 or 5 times, sequentially, and I’ve been there forever, and my packages still aren’t mailed! And it’d doubly frustrating because most of the people who go in the PO are completely clueless–which isn’t, for the most part, their fault, but is pretty frustrating when I just want to mail my things and leave.

The last time I was in there was the last straw. It took me over an hour to mail 35 packages, when it should have taken me about 25 minutes. A lot of that is my fault for being a nice person, but I can’t help but assist people who ask me questions, or inform someone who doesn’t know where something goes, or whatever. It’s just how I am and it would make me feel bad to do anything else.

So I left swearing that I would just cut out the whole process entirely. I went home and ordered a digital scale (I have an analog one but it’s not very accurate–I only use it for estimating postage sometimes). I have decided to sign up for Endicia, because I see people raving about it, and I figure the $10 a month fee is worth the time and gas money I’ll be saving. And besides, I got a two month free trial!

I will definitely report back with how my experience goes with the service.