Dispensing

There have been numerous developments in how stamps are dispensed and sold. Usually, they can be purchased over the counter or from machines, as books or loose stamps. They are traditionally made as a perforated sheet gummed on the reverse, but self-adhesive stamps are commonplace. In some countries the stamps dispensed by machines are referred to as "variable value stamps".

IBI stamps

In the United States, Information Based Indicia (IBI) allowed newer ways to sell stamps. IBI is an encrypted two-dimensional bar code that makes counterfeiting more difficult and easier to detect. Each IBI is unique. The IBI contains security data elements as point of origin and the sender. The IBI is human- and machine-readable.

Prior to IBI, postage vault devices were used to print stamps by computer. The postage vault device is a tamper-resistant security device to disable postage equipment when tampered with. The postage vault can store and keep track of money in the postage vault. You can think of this as prepaying for the right to print postage from your personal computer. The Internet is used to reset or replenish funds in the vault.

In March 2001, the United States Postal Service authorized Neopost Online and Northrop Grumman Corporation to test a self-service stamp vending system that allows the consumer to select a purchase and swipe a credit card to order. The system authorizes the order, prints the stamp sheet and dispenses them. The ability to request, authorize, print and dispense a stamp using the Internet makes these the world's first browser-based stamps.[20] This is the first instance where IBI was utilized on adhesive labels. The product from this self-service system is named Neopost web-enabled stamps. The stamps were available from March 2001 through August 2003 in fixed values.

In 2002 the USPS authorized Stamps.com to issue NetStamps. NetStamps utilizes IBI technology and can be printed from personal computers with postal vaults. In 2004 USPS introduced automated postal centers (APC). These kiosks provided non-denominated ($0.01 to $99.99) stamps. The intent is to reduce labor at postal counters. Personal pictures paired with IBI technology provide a personalized stamp. These require a number of days to produce.

The push towards IBI aids the USPS in finding venues to sell stamps. It reduces maintenance of machines to sell stamps. The USPS still relies on consigning stamps to retailers and banks via automatic teller machines (ATMs). They must be the same size and thickness as currency to be dispensed by the ATM.

Royal Mail in the United Kingdom has launched a print-your-own-postage service to purchase IBI-style codes online, and print them on address stickers or envelopes, in lieu of first-class stamps. This was the first time a stamp had not featured an image of the monarch. It joins the "SmartStamp" subscription service, which performs the same function for businesses.