Systems, methods, interface devices, and media for the delivery of physical items using a digital stamp. Various implementations include operations such as receiving a request from a user to deliver an item to a destination using a digital stamp, wherein the item includes destination information and lacks any physical indicator that the delivery fee for the item has been paid or will be paid; receiving a destination address from the user; presenting a delivery fee for the item; and causing the generation of a digital stamp using the destination address and the delivery fee, which may be correlated with the item.

Systems and methods which utilize gravity feed for mail item movement in postage metering operations are shown. Embodiments provide for gravity drop feeding mail items into a portion of a postage metering system for metering operations, such as to activate or apply postage indicia thereto. Embodiments provide for gravity drop exit of mail items from a portion of a postage metering system after metering operations, such as activation or application of postage indicia thereto. Postage metering operations as performed by embodiments of the invention may comprise scanning and activation of preprinted tokens. Postage metering operations according to alternative embodiments of the invention may comprise printing postage indicia. Embodiments provide processing in addition to or in the alternative to the aforementioned postage indicia activation or printing and mail item marking operations, such as weighing, sorting, etc.

A mailing machine that provides for permanent postage is described. Postage may be purchased at one point of time at a then prevailing rate and used in the future at the same effective purchasing power even if a new more expensive rate schedule is in effect. The mailing machine provides for the accounting of such rate purchased postage using a Postal Security Device and may include multiple rate-table based accounts each associated with a particular postage rate table.

Aspects of the technology described herein provide an activatable postage. The activatable postage is printed on a media, such as an envelope or sticker. Initially, the activatable postage has no postage value and may not have any value until activated. Each instance of activatable postage can include a unique identifier encoded in a machine-readable format. Postage value is added to the activatable postage through an activation process. To activate an individual instance of activatable postage, the unique identifier encoded in the activatable postage needs to be provided to the activation application. At the end of the activation process, a central database is updated to associate the unique identifier with a postal value calculated during activation. When the Postal Service receives an item with activatable postage it validates the activatable postage and then deactivates the activatable postage by updating the central database.