Stamps.com
A U.S. online postage and shipping-solutions brand operated within Auctane.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Stamps.com is a United States online postage and shipping-solutions brand whose roots date to 1996, when UCLA MBA students Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg, and Jeff Green established the business under the name StampMaster. The company was an early participant in the development of Internet postage and became one of the first services authorized by the United States Postal Service to test and commercialize digitally generated postage. Its core proposition was to let households, small businesses, mail-order companies, and online merchants buy postage online, weigh mail and parcels, and print official postage or shipping labels from a computer. The company raised successive private financing rounds in 1998 and 1999 before completing an initial public offering on NASDAQ in June 1999 under the symbol STMP. It received authorization to sell its service nationally later that year and expanded beyond postal postage through its acquisition of IShip.com, a shipping-rate comparison company. Over time, Stamps.com developed a broader portfolio of mailing and multicarrier shipping businesses, serving merchants that needed to import orders, compare carrier services, print labels, and manage fulfillment across e-commerce channels. Its product portfolio historically included the Stamps.com online postage platform, NetStamps, PhotoStamps, and software and services obtained through acquisitions. These acquisitions included ShipStation, ShipWorks, Endicia, ShippingEasy, and MetaPack. ShipStation and the other Auctane businesses helped move the company from a primarily postal-postage service toward a wider shipping-technology platform for online retailers and e-commerce brands. The platform integrated with address books, accounting tools, shopping-cart systems, marketplaces, and major online retail channels. Stamps.com also experimented with personalized postage. PhotoStamps enabled customers to submit photographs, logos, and other approved images for printing on genuine U.S. postage. The program attracted controversy over the kinds of images that could be submitted and ultimately ended in June 2020 after the USPS discontinued its customized-postage program. In July 2021, Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire Stamps.com for $330 per share following a period in which other potential bidders could submit proposals. The transaction closed in October 2021, ending Stamps.com's status as an independent publicly traded company. In December 2021, the corporate entity adopted the name Auctane, which had previously referred to the subsidiary associated with ShipStation and related shipping-technology operations. Stamps.com continued as a customer-facing brand within the Auctane portfolio rather than as the group's corporate name. The brand is therefore best understood as an active online postage and shipping service operating under a private ownership structure, while the former Stamps.com public company is no longer separately listed.
History
Stamps.com was founded in 1996 as StampMaster by Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg, and Jeff Green, three UCLA MBA students. The company emerged during the early development of Internet postage and obtained approval from the United States Postal Service to participate in beta testing. It completed a $1.5 million Series A round in February 1998 and a $4.52 million Series B round in August of that year. A further private financing round in February 1999 raised $30 million, with former U.S. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon among the investors. The company went public on NASDAQ in June 1999, raising $55 million, and completed a secondary offering less than six months later. In August 1999, the USPS authorized national sales of the Stamps.com service. The company broadened its scope in October by acquiring IShip.com, a service that compared shipping-provider rates. In 2001, Ken McBride became chief executive officer. Stamps.com developed personalized postage through PhotoStamps. The USPS authorized an initial market test in 2004, and the service was relaunched in 2005. A 2006 statutory change removed a restriction on advertising attached to postage, making it easier for businesses to use customized postage. Stamps.com subsequently introduced Photo NetStamps, combining personalized imagery with postage calculated through its NetStamps software. By 2008, the company reported more than 300,000 customers. Reported revenue was $38.6 million in 2012, followed by approximately 465,000 registered customers in 2013 and $147.3 million in revenue in 2014. The mid-2010s marked a strategic shift toward e-commerce shipping and multicarrier logistics. Stamps.com acquired ShipStation in June 2014 and ShipWorks in October of that year. ShipStation provided web-based tools for importing and fulfilling orders, while ShipWorks connected shopping-cart platforms with shipping software. In March 2015, Stamps.com agreed to acquire Endicia from Newell Rubbermaid, bringing additional Internet-postage brands into the portfolio. It also settled a dispute connected with the ShipStation transaction with Express 1, known as Rapid Enterprises. In 2016, Stamps.com acquired ShippingEasy, an Austin-based service for online retailers and e-commerce merchants. In 2018, it agreed to acquire MetaPack, a London-based delivery-management technology provider. These deals positioned the company as a software platform spanning postage, order processing, shipping-rate selection, label generation, and delivery management rather than simply an online stamp vendor. The company faced legal and regulatory disputes during this period. Kara Technology and Salim Kara sued over alleged patent infringement involving online-postage technology; the matter was resolved in 2010 through a settlement involving cash, patent acquisition, and stock options. In 2015, Stamps.com settled a California consumer-protection case concerning free trials that converted into paid subscriptions. In 2021, it agreed to settle a 2019 investor class action for $100 million concerning allegations about disclosures regarding its relationship with the USPS. Thoma Bravo announced a proposed acquisition in July 2021 at $330 per share. The transaction closed in October, taking Stamps.com private and ending its separate NASDAQ listing. In December 2021, the company changed its corporate name to Auctane, the name previously associated with a shipping-technology subsidiary. Stamps.com remained a brand within Auctane's portfolio, while the corporate organization continued to include services such as ShipStation, ShippingEasy, ShipEngine, and ShipWorks.
- 2021
Take-private transaction
[1]Thoma Bravo completed its acquisition of Stamps.com, ending the company's independent public-market status.
- 2021
Corporate rebranding as Auctane
[1]The former Stamps.com corporate entity adopted the Auctane name.
- 2018
MetaPack acquisition agreement
[1]Stamps.com agreed to acquire MetaPack's delivery-management technology business.
- 2015
Endicia acquisition
[1]The company agreed to acquire Endicia and its associated Internet-postage brands.
- 2014
Expansion into multicarrier shipping
[1]Stamps.com acquired ShipStation and ShipWorks, strengthening its e-commerce shipping software portfolio.
- 2004
PhotoStamps market test
[1]The USPS authorized an initial market test for personalized PhotoStamps.
- 1999
Initial public offering
[1]Stamps.com completed its NASDAQ IPO under the symbol STMP and later received USPS authorization for national sales.
- 1996
Company founded as StampMaster
[1]Jim McDermott, Ari Engelberg, and Jeff Green founded the business during their UCLA MBA studies.
Products and positioning
Convenient online postage and shipping automation for individuals, small businesses, mailers, and e-commerce merchants.
Online postage and shipping · 1996
Stamps.com Online Postage
The core service enables customers to purchase postage online and print USPS stamps, postage, and shipping labels using ordinary paper, envelopes, or adhesive labels. Historically, the service supported a digital scale for weighing mail and packages, deducted postage from a customer account, and integrated with address books, accounting software, marketplaces, shopping carts, and e-commerce platforms.
Postage printing
NetStamps
NetStamps was Stamps.com's label-oriented postage product, allowing users to print postage onto approved adhesive sheets rather than relying only on traditional stamps or envelopes. It was later combined with PhotoStamps functionality in Photo NetStamps.
Customized postage · 2004
PhotoStamps
PhotoStamps allowed customers to submit personal photographs, company logos, and other approved artwork for production on genuine U.S. postage sheets. The USPS discontinued its customized-postage program in 2020, after which the service ended.
Controversies
2021
Investor class-action settlement
The company agreed to a $100 million settlement in litigation stemming from allegations that investors had been misled about the strength of Stamps.com's relationship with the USPS.
2015
California free-trial settlement
Stamps.com settled a California consumer-protection lawsuit for $2.5 million concerning allegations that free-trial promotions were misleading because they converted into monthly paid subscriptions. The company maintained that the charges were valid and adequately disclosed.
2006
Kara Technology patent litigation
Salim Kara and Kara Technology alleged that Stamps.com had misappropriated technology related to online postage. The dispute concluded in 2010 with a reported $5.5 million settlement package involving cash, patent purchases, and stock options.
2004
PhotoStamps content controversy
A media demonstration showed that controversial imagery could be ordered through PhotoStamps. Stamps.com subsequently tightened its content rules, including restrictions on images of world leaders and imagery presented as historical or vintage.
Brand decisions
2021
Sale to Thoma BravoM&ABackground
Stamps.com agreed to a take-private transaction after operating as a NASDAQ-listed company for more than two decades.
Action taken
Thoma Bravo acquired the company for $330 per share, and the transaction closed in October 2021.
Aftermath
Stamps.com ceased to be separately listed, and the corporate entity later adopted the Auctane name.
Acquisition price per share. $330 (2021)
2020
PhotoStamps discontinuedOtherBackground
The USPS ended its customized-postage program.
Action taken
Stamps.com discontinued PhotoStamps on June 10, 2020.
Aftermath
The brand's personalized-postage offering was no longer available.
2014
Shift toward e-commerce shipping softwareStrategyBackground
The company sought to reduce reliance on standalone postage by serving online merchants with order-management and multicarrier shipping tools.
Action taken
It acquired ShipStation and ShipWorks and operated them as independent or separately managed businesses within its broader portfolio.
Aftermath
The acquisitions established the foundation for the later Auctane shipping-technology platform.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Stamps.com CEO Ken McBride steps down[2]
Stamps.com said Ken McBride stepped down as CEO and would remain at the company through year-end to assist with the transition. Nathan Jones is replacing him.
Reported
Thoma Bravo completes acquisition of Stamps.com[3]
Thoma Bravo completed its acquisition of Stamps.com for approximately $6.6 billion in cash. Stamps.com stockholders were entitled to receive $330 in cash for each share they owned.
Sources3 sources
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