One company whose success – – and amazing stock performance – – has always baffled me has been Stamps.com (STMP). I mean………stamps? But you can’t argue with success. This company did little but ascend in price, year after year.

That ended quickly this morning when the company (perhaps unwisely) decided to ditch a little thing known as the United States Postal Service and stake its fortune on Jeff Bezos’ prospects as a shipping magnate. The effects on the stock this morning were swift.

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What’s astonishing is that if you had bought the stock in 1999 – – twenty YEARS ago – – you’d actually be down 40% right now. It was only last August that the stock was approaching $250 per share.

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