The post office in our medium-sized city (population 157,000) is dinky and has a deadly parking lot. It's hard to even get into the aforementioned parking lot which can be only accessed if one is westbound on one street or north bound on the other. The lines are long and the employees are cranky. The monthly fee for Stamps.com is worth it to be able to avoid this disaster. There are also many great designs for stamps for different holidays, or you can even create your own. I especially love Stamps.com at Christmas time!