Segment Information (Assets) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	$ 5,972,903	$ 6,687,420	$ 5,837,133
Cash and cash equivalents	867,262	1,009,021	764,522
Short-term investments	59,391	48,988
Identifiable long-lived assets	588,213	557,459	495,134
United States
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Identifiable long-lived assets	543,118	501,251	436,795
Outside United States
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Identifiable long-lived assets	45,095	56,208	58,339
Commerce Services \| Global Ecommerce
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	1,023,732	1,016,045	449,363
Commerce Services \| Presort Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	431,512	387,701	373,443
SMB Solutions \| North America Mailing
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	1,859,355	1,965,198	2,073,344
SMB Solutions \| International Mailing
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	502,370	550,306	521,003
Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	4,410,019	4,502,799	3,986,567
Operating Segments \| Commerce Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	1,455,244	1,403,746	822,806
Operating Segments \| SMB Solutions
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	2,361,725	2,515,504	2,594,347
Operating Segments \| Software Solutions
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets	593,050	583,549	569,414
Reconciling Items
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	867,262	1,009,021	764,522
Short-term investments	59,391	48,988	38,448
Assets of discontinued operations	4,854	334,848	317,333
Consolidated assets	$ 631,377	$ 791,764	$ 730,263

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