E-Stamp Ends Effort to Sell Postage Online

E-Stamp Corp. said it’s getting out of the online postage business, abandoning a ballyhooed concept that it pioneered. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company will lay off 36 employees--about 30% of its work force--as part of a reorganization that will focus its efforts on helping other businesses order supplies via the Internet. The job cuts come on the heels of a 25% cutback in July. E-Stamp’s withdrawal is the latest sign that online postage isn’t delivering on the promise many investors saw in the concept a little more than a year ago. Last month, Santa Monica-based Stamps.com laid off 240 workers. E-Stamp became the first company to sell stamps via the Internet in August 1999 after winning the approval of the U.S. Postal Service. E-Stamp’s shares rose 13 cents to close at 41 cents on Nasdaq. The stock has lost 98% of its value since Jan. 1.