Electronic postal counter

Claim 1

A computer system for purchasing services without the use of postage stamps or meters from a postal administration for the delivery by the postal administration of mail pieces, comprising means at a mailer's premises for entering data by a mailer relating to the mail pieces including for each mail piece address information and type of service required, means for displaying an estimate of the cost of mailing each mail piece, means for the mailer to enter a method of payment and provide information related to the choice of payment, means for determining whether or not to accept the method of payment, means dependent on acceptance of the method of payment for creating a unique identifier for each mail piece based on the data entered by the mailer, means for printing the identifier in a coded format directly onto the mail piece or onto an address label for the mail piece, and means for transmitting to the postal administration premises an electronic manifest containing the data entered for each mail piece.