Postal Service to remove stamp machines across the country
If you’re wondering what happened to those vending machines that spit out postage stamps at the post office, they’ve been returned to sender.
The U.S. Postal Service has permanently removed the machines from post offices all across the country, including those in the Charleston area.
Customers wanting to avoid standing in line for stamps at the counter could simply feed coins or dollar bills into a machine to buy postage.
Despite their convenience, the postal service did away with them for several reasons, said David Walton, a spokesman for the West Virginia district.
“The machines are obsolete,” Walton said. “They don’t make parts for them anymore, so when they break down, it’s difficult to repair them.”
The stamp machines, which first appeared in the 1970s, broke down quite often, he said.
They also accepted only cash and coins, a problem for many folks who prefer using a debit or credit card for transactions.
Walton said it wouldn’t have been economically feasible to upgrade the machines to allow card use.
Vending machine stamp sales have also declined in recent years, as customers tend to purchase their stamps by other means, Walton added.
If you’re wondering what happened to those vending machines that spit out postage stamps at the post office, they’ve been returned to sender.
The U.S. Postal Service has permanently removed the machines from post offices all across the country, including those in the Charleston area.
Customers wanting to avoid standing in line for stamps at the counter could simply feed coins or dollar bills into a machine to buy postage.
Despite their convenience, the postal service did away with them for several reasons, said David Walton, a spokesman for the West Virginia district.
“The machines are obsolete,” Walton said. “They don’t make parts for them anymore, so when they break down, it’s difficult to repair them.”
The stamp machines, which first appeared in the 1970s, broke down quite often, he said.
They also accepted only cash and coins, a problem for many folks who prefer using a debit or credit card for transactions.
Walton said it wouldn’t have been economically feasible to upgrade the machines to allow card use.
Vending machine stamp sales have also declined in recent years, as customers tend to purchase their stamps by other means, Walton added.
Some machines throughout the country averaged only two or three customers a month, he said.
“Overall, they were not generating much business,” Walton said. “There are so many other ways to buy stamps today, and more people are now paying their bills online, using e-mail, phone and fax.”
Stamps are still widely available at some ATM machines, retail stores and online at www.usps.com. Customers can even have their postal carriers drop off stamps at their doors.
In the Appalachian District, which includes West Virginia and half of Virginia, 204 stamp machines will be removed.
Most of them will be gone by the end of March, Walton said.
A notice alerting customers of the discontinuation was posted on each machine 30 days prior to its removal.
Walton noted that customers will still have the convenience of dodging checkout counter lines by visiting the post offices’ Automated Postal Centers to mail packages. Those take debit and credit cards, and they also sell stamps by the book.
“Believe it or not, there hasn’t been much of a backlash,” Walton said. “People have found other ways to get stamps.”
