Stamp machines headed for dump

According to Bill Rufty of the Lakeland, Florida Ledger, stamp vending machines, like the one shown here, are going the way of the 5-cent post card.

Rufty reports by Sept. 15, the machines will be gone in post offices across the nation.

Lesley Corban, information officer for the Postal Service in Lakeland, is quoted in the article as saying the machines are headed for the scrap heap because they break down often and are costly to maintain.

"It really is not going to be that much of a change. It is going to be a good change," she said.

Corban said people have many options to obtain postage stamps besides buying them at post office windows.

"There will be enough stores around carrying stamps, like Publix," she said. Stamps also can be ordered through the Internet, by phone or through the mail. Software is available to produce stamps on home computers. And the automatic parcel post station, which will weigh your mail and print a stamp, will remain.

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