Help Center - Printable Postage: What You Need to Know

printable postage became available at SwapaCD on 6/4/2008.

Printing your postage directly onto your CD Wrapper saves a lot of time!  No more fiddling with stamps or going to the PO.  CDs wrapped with Printed Postage can be mailed from anywhere--your (secure) outgoing residential mailbox, a blue dropbox or a USPS collection point at work.

You don't have to enroll in anything or subscribe to any service to use Printed Postage at SwapaCD.  You can choose to print your postage at the time you print your wrapper.   You can make that choice for each mailing.   You don't need special software or special printer paper.  All you need is a printer, and money in your swapacd money Account (this can be purchased in the Kiosk).  To ensure that correct postage prints out, you just need to make your Packaging selections accurately.

The Basic Info:

• The Printed Postage fee is 43 cents for each wrapper you print with postage
  • 30 cents goes to SwapaCD and 16 cents to Endicia.com, our online postage provider. 
  • Because online postage MUST be used with Delivery Confirmation (this is a USPS regulation), the postage will also increase 19 cents per shipment. 
  • All charges will be shown to you before you are charged, and when you print, the total amount will be deducted from your SwapaCD Money automatically. You will see the deductions in your credit Registry.

• Printed Postage, once printed, is non-refundable. 
  • The funds go to USPS and we don't have them after you print. 
  • So be sure you have and can mail the CDs if you print with postage.
• You still need to mark the CD mailed before the deadline!  
  • This does not change if you use Printed Postage.
• When you mark the CD mailed, you will get Instant Credit
  • This means that you will get the credit(s) for that CD right away. 
  • You don't have to wait for the CD to be received to get your credit!
• To ensure accurate postage printing out on your wrapper, make sure you select the correct packaging choices and check the estimated weight shown before you print!

How to Use Printed Postage

• Click Print Wrapper on the request as usual
• When the Wrapper Styles page comes up, make these selections:
  • Layout (Middle Aligned/Two Pages vs Top Aligned/Single Page)
  • Printed Postage (click to place a dot in the radio button in the green top area that says Printed Postage)
  • Select Your packaging (SaCD Wrapper Envelope vs. Padded Mailer vs Box)
  • Choose if you are mailing with the jewel case or not (Yes/No)

All of these selections will determine the estimated weight of your package.

You can check "Save these settings" if you always mail the same way; this will make these settings your default.  You can, of course, change them for the next printing.

• Check the estimated weight; if it is incorrect, adjust it BEFORE PRINTING
• Choose your "postmark" date (mailing date).  Printed Postage is valid for only 48 hours after this date!  This should be the mailby date you chose when you accepted the request.
• If everything looks good, scroll down and click Print Wrapper Now.
• If you have difficulty downloading the .pdf, you can click the backup wrapper link to view the wrapper in a printable webpage.

That's it!  Your wrapper will print out with the barcode and the postage on it.  If you need to reprint it, you can do so as many times as you like without being charged again.  

Other Things You Might Want to Know

• What if I print and don't use the wrapper?  Printed Postage is NOT refundable.  If you won't be using it to mail the CD, you have yourself a sort-of expensive paper airplane.
• Can I reprint the wrapper without being charged?  Yes, as many times as you need to.
• Can I reprint the wrapper and use it to mail socks to my Aunt Betty?  No. Printed Postage is valid only for one mailing, to the address printed on the wrapper.
• Can I change the address printed on the wrapper?   No. A wrapper printed with postage cannot be altered--USPS will not accept it.
• Can I make the font bigger/smaller/Gothic/dingbats on the wrapper?  No. The font size and style was chosen by USPS. It can't be changed.
• Can i use Printed Postage without Delivery Confirmation?  No, sorry.  You can't use Printed Postage without Delivery Confirmation; USPS requires this.  So whenever you use Printed Postage you also get Delivery Confirmation--which allows you to track your shipments (unless you are mailing at the first class letter rate) from your account page, so that's pretty cool!
• Can I tape over the barcode on the wrapper?  Yes.  Clear tape only, of course.
• Can I tape over the postage area on the wrapper?  Yes.  Clear tape only.
• Does using Printed Postage mean I don't have to mark my CD mailed by the deadine?  No.  The swapping deadline to mark mailed is not changed by using Printed Postage.  You still have to mark mailed in order to get credit.
• When will I get my credit when I use Printed Postage? You will get your credit instantly, as soon as you click the CD Has Been Mailed button.
• How will I know I got the credit? You will get an email telling you that you have gotten credit.  You can also see the credit in your Credit Registry, linked from the top of your My Account page.  
• How will I know when the CD is received?  You will also get an email telling you when the CD has been marked received; you will not get more credit when that happens.
• If I use Online postage from another source, can I get Instant Credit?  Nope.  Only if you print it out at SwapaCD.
• If I use Online postage from another source, can I get Guaranteed Credit? Nope again. The only way to guarantee your credits is by using Printable Postage purchased through SwapaCD. If you apply your own postage, purchase online postage elsewhere, or use Delivery Confirmation purchased elsewhere, we CANNOT guarantee your credits.
• I am getting the message "electronic postage cannot be used for this address".  What does this mean? It means endicia.com is having temporary difficulty or is down for routine site maintenance.  Try again in a few minutes; they usually resolve their issues quickly.
• What should I do if the USPS returns the package to me for more postage? There are two likely scenarios when this would happen- 1. Your intention was to wrap the CD as a letter (not a parcel), but it did not meet one of the letter criteria and you would need to repackage the CD to meet the criteria and then re-mail it. 2. The USPS is mistakenly trying to charge you a high rate when your package really does fit the letter criteria, in which case you would need to take the package to your post office to speak with an employee about why it was returned.

• What if I make a mistake (like I entered the wrong weight or didn't correct the estimated weight) and the wrong postage prints out? When you click Print Wrapper Now, you will see the weight of the package and the postage that is about to print out.  PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS, and ONLY click to print if the information is correct. If it is not correct, you should cancel and go back and adjust the weight to be correct, then print. Once a wrapper has been printed with postage, you can't "go back" and change the postage amount, and the swapadvd money can't be routinely refunded. If you do make a mistake and you need a refund, contact us ASAP -- USPS gives a short window in which we can refund, and we will try!

• How have I lived until now without Printed Postage?  We really don't know.  But there was a time before CDs and the Internet, in the stone age...shudder.  Best not to think about such things.