When you wake up on a postal holiday and you need to buy postage stamps, where do you turn? Why the Internet, of course! Printing your own postage (even custom stamps!) on your desktop printer can be a snap, but there are some caveats. Want to know more? Dread standing in line at the post office to buy postage stamps? Here are some handy ways to to avoid that wait at the counter …

Stamps.com’s front door screams “Never go to the Post Office Again!” Well, that might be a little ambitious, but the company is currently running a four week trial offer with a $50 digital scale, a $5 supply kit, and $5 worth of postage. Stick with them after the trial is over and they’ll give you another $20 in postage coupons. Best advice? Check out the specifics of their free trial offer to see if it’s worth the $15.99 monthly fee.

Have you ever wanted to create your own custom postage stamps? Both Stamps.com and Zazzle.com allow you to print customized stamps. Stamps.com sells their PhotoStamps on a per sheet basis. Sheets of twenty 39-cent first class PhotoStamp go for $17.99 for the 1st sheet, $15.99 for the 2nd through 9th sheet, $14.99 for the 10th through 24th sheet, $13.99 for the 25th through 99th sheet, and $12.99 for the 100th through 499th sheet. Zazzle’s custom stamps also come twenty stamps to a sheet, with a per sheet price of $16.99.

Squandered enough discretionary income? Ready to save some serious money and time?

If you’re selling stuff on eBay, you owe it to yourself to check out the marvelous services offered by the good old United States Postal Service (USPS). It’s simple to print your own barcoded USPS shipping labels, complete with postage, tracking, and insurance for Parcel Post packages, First-Class Mail, Express Mail, MediaMail, and Priority Mail. Even better, the Post Office will provide you with free shipping supplies (in the form of a variety of boxes and envelopes) when you ship via their Priority Mail service. The USPS/eBay partnership is a winner.

When you’re shipping other stuff (i.e.: things that you haven’t sold on eBay), you can use the USPS website’s Click-N-Ship to print labels with postage for domestic Express and Priority Mail, as well as a variety of international services. You can also buy a roll or sheet of your favorite stamps online and have them delivered to your mailbox. Want to rev up your envelopes? Check out the snappy Sporty Cars of the Fifties, wacky Jim Henson’s Muppets, gorgeous Greta Garbo, and spicy Let’s Dance: Bialemos stamps.

Everybody Mambo!

And don’t look now, but the US Postal rates go up on January 8th …