The Hidden Cost of Sending “Free” In-House Mail

Sending mail in-house doesn’t actually save you money.

“We already have a printer.”
“It only takes a few minutes.”
“Stamps aren’t that expensive.”

Sound familiar?

It’s the internal chorus many companies rely on when justifying their in-house mail processes. But here’s the thing: what seems free on the surface is usually costing you more than you realize.

If your team is still printing, folding, stuffing, stamping, and tracking important mail internally, oof, that’s a lot. Let’s break down what that “free” process is really costing you.

Spoiler: it’s not just paper and toner.

Labor: The Most Expensive Envelope You’ll Ever Seal

Think about how long it takes to send a single Certified Mail letter in-house:

  • Print the document
  • Grab the right envelope
  • Fill out the Certified Mail form
  • Apply postage
  • Drop it off at the Post Office
  • Save the tracking number (somewhere, hopefully)
  • File the proof later—if someone remembers
  • Enter in all the numbers just to track and see where your letter is at

Now multiply that by dozens, hundreds, or thousands of pieces of mail per month. And who’s doing all of this? Your office manager? Your HR assistant? Your paralegal?

That’s real time spent on repetitive tasks—and real salary dollars diverted away from actual job responsibilities.

Companies like ours that send mail online eliminate these manual steps entirely. Your team uploads a file, clicks send, and we take it from there.

You didn’t hire talented people to stand next to a postage meter. So why are they still doing it?

Equipment and Supplies

Sure, printers and paper seem cheap—until they aren’t.

There’s the printer that jams every other day. The envelope reorder that someone forgot. The postage meter lease. The toner that runs out mid-job. The unexpected maintenance call that kills your budget for the month.

These costs might be small individually, but collectively, they add up, especially when they disrupt workflows or delay time-sensitive mail.

And while no one wants to budget for a new postage scale, you’ll end up paying for it anyway… one emergency trip to the office supply store at a time.

Mistakes, Delays, and Compliance Risks

In regulated industries, one lost Certified Mail receipt can mean legal exposure. One delayed benefits notice can mean an HR violation. One botched billing cycle can mean thousands in late fees or customer confusion.

When you’re managing mail manually, you’re relying on humans to get it right, every time.

A proactive print and mail service introduces speed, reliability, and accuracy, and it reduces the risk of:

  • Wrong addresses
  • Missed deadlines
  • Lost documentation
  • Inconsistent branding
  • Untrackable delivery

These are hidden costs you can’t afford to keep ignoring.

Opportunity Cost: What Could They Be Doing Instead?

Every hour your team spends printing and mailing is an hour they’re not doing something more valuable.

That might be:

  • Following up with clients
  • Solving customer service issues
  • Closing new deals
  • Onboarding employees
  • Building new workflows

Manual mail doesn’t just cost money—it costs momentum.

With LetterStream, your documents are still printed, stuffed, and mailed, but your team doesn’t lose focus or flow to make it happen.

“We Only Send a Few Letters” (Until You Don’t)

A lot of businesses think they don’t send enough mail to justify using a platform. But sporadic mail is exactly where delays, mistakes, and distractions sneak in.

Plus, when something urgent comes up—like a legal notice or compliance mailing—you want a reliable system, not a scramble.

Whether it’s one letter or 1,000, a printing and mailing company ensures it gets handled with care, tracked properly, and out the door quickly.

Because your brand shouldn’t feel like a paper jam.

Real Costs vs. Perceived Costs

Let’s stack them up.

In-House “Free” Mail:

  • Staff time (hourly or salaried)
  • Equipment lease or replacement
  • Postage meter
  • Postage and supply overhead
  • Risk of error or delay
  • Storage, filing, and compliance burden

Online Print and Mail Service:

  • Fixed, transparent cost per piece
  • Built-in tracking for Certified Mail and compliance
  • Zero office disruption
  • Digital records
  • No hardware, maintenance, or manual labor
  • No trips to the Post Office

Which one sounds more efficient?

You’re Not Saving. You’re Delaying the Switch.

The businesses that move to online Certified Mail and First-Class Mail systems usually do it after one of two things happens:

  1. A compliance scare or mail-related mistake.
  2. A team finally had enough and says, “There has to be a better way.”

We’re here to tell you: there is a better way. It’s easier than you think. And it’s probably cheaper than what you’re doing now, especially when you factor in everything you’re currently not tracking.

Start sending mail online with LetterStream. We make sending mail a breeze!

LetterStream offers bulk printing and mailing services, allowing companies to send physical mail online. Whether it’s online Certified MailFirst-Class MailFedEx 2Day, or postcards, we give both small businesses and large corporations that time and freedom back to work on tasks that better serve the company. If you’re interested in creating a free account, you can do so here.

LetterStream small logo

How To Celebrate At A Printing And Mailing Company

You may already know LetterStream as a printing and mailing company. One that can easily send mail online for businesses of all sizes but something you may not know about us is how much LetterStream values people, especially our customers and employees. With that being said, we believe in fostering a workplace culture that celebrates achievements, creativity, and the team that makes it all possible.

Now that fall has swept in we’ve been able to have not one but two fantastic opportunities to come together as a team to celebrate and have some fun. From our Halloween pumpkin carving contest to our Q3 bonus party at our Scottsdale location, it’s been a season of bonding, creativity, and a little hibachi flair.

Let’s get into it.

Pumpkins, Prizes, and Creativity Galore

celebrating our team at LetterStream, a printing and mailing company.

Halloween at LetterStream brought out the best in our team’s creativity with our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. Employees took to their carving tools to create spooky, silly, and downright impressive designs, turning pumpkins into works of art. The competition was fierce, with unique designs that showcased our team’s talent and humor.

LetterStream mail pumpkin with #10 envelopes coming out the top with postage included.

Of course, no contest is complete without prizes! Winners walked away with bragging rights and some exciting rewards. It was a fun-filled way to embrace the Halloween spirit and highlight the camaraderie that makes LetterStream such a strong workplace community.

Q3 Bonus Party: Celebrating Success Together

As the calendar turned toward November, we had another reason to gather: our Q3 Bonus Party at our Scottsdale location. This wasn’t just a typical celebration—it was a night filled with gratitude, reflection and a whole lot of delicious food.

The evening kicked off with snacks and our quarterly presentation, where we took a moment to reflect on our collective achievements and set sights on the future. We celebrated milestones, acknowledged hard work, and shared plans for what’s ahead—all while enjoying the energy and enthusiasm of the entire team.

The highlight of the night? A hibachi dinner experience that brought everyone together and boy was it fun. Watching the chefs in action was as entertaining as it was delicious, creating a dining experience that we won’t soon forget.

LetterStream employees enjoying a hibachi dinner to celebrate Q3 of our printing and mailing success.

To top it all off, we had even more fun and handed out more prizes during the night. It’s moments like these that remind us how much we value every person who makes LetterStream the company it is today.

A Team That Feels Like Family

These celebrations are more than just fun events—they’re a reflection of who we are as a company. We pride ourselves on being the go-to for sending letters such as First-Class Mail, Certified Mail online and FedEx 2Day (among other services), but we believe in showing up for one another, enjoying the work we do, and recognizing the achievements that drive our success. Whether it’s carving pumpkins or sharing a meal, we cherish the moments that bring us together and strengthen the bonds within our team.

Here’s to more milestones, more celebrations, and more reasons to gather as a community. As we head into the final weeks of the year, we’re already looking forward to what’s next—both for our business and the incredible people who make it all happen.

LetterStream offers bulk printing and mailing services allowing companies to send physical mail online. Whether it’s online Certified Mail and First-Class Mail or FedEx 2Day and postcards we give both small businesses and large corporations that time and freedom back to work on tasks that better serve the company. If you’re interested in creating a free account you can do so, here.

Printing and Mailing and Lots of Fun

This week our team got together and we celebrated the success of our 2023 Q4 at pretty cool escape room called Escapology. Here’s the backstory. LetterStream is a printing and mailing company that allows businesses to send mail online without the hassle of going to the Post Office.

We do it all from sending First-Mail Mail, Certified Mail, postcards, FedEx 2Day, checks and invoices, HOA annual meeting notices with proxy and Registered Mail. And you know what else we do? We provide awesome and fun events for our team members for all of their hard work helping to get all those services out the door.

Quarterly Gatherings

Each quarter we gather together to celebrate the previous quarter. We try and switch it up each time with a new location and theme. As mentioned above this time we met up after work at Escapology for a night of fun detective work. The first hour consisted of a company presentation with catered food where we discuss the strengths of the company and where we could possibly improve. We talk about our customers and how we’re serving them, how we’re handling bulk mailings, new staff we have brought onto the team, new products we have launched, like when we turned on FedEx 2Day or implemented our new Chatbot onto our SAAS website and any announcements for up-and-coming projects we need to be aware of.

Lots of Fun

On top of that we also love giving our door prizes! After our presentation we usually find fun ways to hand out hand prizes. Sometimes we play games, sometimes we draw names out of a hat and sometimes we spin a wheel. You never know until you attend the event. After the presentation, food and prizes it was time to break out into teams and head into the escape rooms! This part was extra fun that came with a lot of teambuilding moments, laughter and the chance to get to know each other a little bit than the day prior.

We won’t spoil it by telling you which group won but let’s just say it was a competitive night that was also a lot of fun!

Core Values Behind the Printing and Mailing

Here’s the thing, LetterStream lives by a set of internal core values, which we pride in ourselves as a company and take very seriously. They include not only valuing our customers but also our employees, staff and vendors. This is a way for us to showcase our appreciation for the team efforts that go into producing snail mail for business and individuals to be sent to mailboxes and P.O. boxes efficiently and effectively.