The main reason we switched to using constant contact vs. sending the email ourselves is the list management. Recipients of the email can unsubscribe without me having to get involved. They can also forward the email to friends who can then subscribe without me having to do anything.

Also, bounces are managed rather than me looking through my inbox to see what email has bounced back. And they keep track of who opened the email and who clicked in the email to get to my website. I would have to do all that myself as well.

As it turns out, the tracking of who opened the email isn't that reliable. We are getting low numbers for opens but we know more people have read the email because we are getting responses from people who, according to Constant Contact, didn't read the email.

So, for my money, it isn't the mechanics of sending the email that I'm paying for. You are right. That can done easily with Outlook Express. I'm paying for list management, bounce management, email message management, etc.

By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Constant Contact.