You Don’t Have a Post Office Box!

In this day and age the post office box is an indispensable tool to managing the drudgery of snail mail, regardless of whether it's for business or personal use. A USPS post office box has its limitations, however, from the small size of the box to the fact that you have to go to the post office to pick up your mail.

On the other hand, there are many online mailbox rental companies who are able to provide you with immediate access to viewing the mail you have received, for a very reasonable nominal fee per month. This is especially convenient as you are then able to browse through you mail and sort out the important correspondence from the junk mail (which they will at your request discard for free).

You are also in charge of when and where your mail and merchandise gets forwarded to you and most have no limit on the number of forwarding addresses you may use.

It's also cost effective as more than one person can share a mailbox, some companies allow up to 3 people to share a mailbox. There are many differing rental structures. Post offices generally charge per size of mailbox as well as location. Independent mail companies usually charge a once off set up fee and a nominal rental fee.

Besides providing a safe means of receiving mail, when you rent a post box there are usually related services that you are privy too; hence offering a complete mail managing solution at your disposal.

These services differ amongst the various post box providers. They include:
- Mail forwarding
- Storage facilities
- Repackaging and consolidating
- Document scanning

We've become so familiar and accustomed to how email enables instant messaging and response however we still have paper correspondence in circulation. Having a post office box can provide you with the same sense of immediacy that electronic mail provides, particularly if you can access it online to view the paper mail and merchandise you have received. For online mailbox rental companies this service is usually standard and included in your monthly fee. On the other hand, if you are renting from a post office there may me an additional fee for this service.

A mail view manager allows you to view mail you have received anywhere in the world, as long as you are able to connect to the internet; and create a forwarding schedule to have it sent to you. Independent mail service companies generally do not have any limits on the amount of addresses you can select from when forwarding your mail. Junk mail is also no longer a hassle either, as any mail you consider unnecessary can be discarded on request at no charge.

Postal services usually have set predetermined schedules for forwarding mail. Some may do this once a week to a specific address that is nominated by you.

By ensuring that your address is a physical street address and not a P.O. Box, you are also able to receive merchandise or documents via courier services other than the post office. Generally, a commercial mailbox rental service will ensure that your packages are signed for, received in good order and securely stored.

You are also able to take advantage of the cheaper local courier costs. And if you forward your mail to an overseas address you can benefit from the repackaging and reconsolidating service, which allows you to combine more than one item and ship them off together. Rates for this kind of service differ. Few companies offer a flat rate per box, while other charge a percentage of the courier cost.

In these economic uncertain terms a post office box can help you stretch your budget, even if it's on a shoestring that seems to have reached its end.