5 ms·

Just a FYI there are a handful of companies already doing something very similar. Except instead of physically picking up your mail, they receive it on your beh

by jlas 13y ago

Just a FYI there are a handful of companies already doing something very similar. Except instead of physically picking up your mail, they receive it on your behalf (made possible by USPS form 1583 [1]). Then they digitize and forward (you pay S&H.) [1] http://about.usps.com/forms/ps1583.pdf http://about.usps.com/forms/ps1583.pdf

tsmith 13y ago
I'd been wanting something like this as I have a few physical mailboxes but rarely need the physical mail itself. Do you have any useful links to the 1583-based providers?
- msandford 13y ago
  I used to work for one of the Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA) as defined by the Form 1583. Here's a non-comprehensive list: myus.com, earthclassmail.com, usglobalmail.com, bongous.com, usamail1.com, maillinkplus.com, usa2me.com, usabox.com, reship.com and probably 50 or so other. The google keywords you want to search with are "mail forwarding" or "international mail forwarding" or "virtual mailbox" to get started. Not all of them offer pictures of the mail or scanning, but some of them definitely do. It's a REALLY fractured industry because there's essentially zero M&A activity. The Form 1583 is a giant pain to fill out and it ties you to a specific both company and address. Furthermore if you decide to switch from one to another you can't take advantage of the USPS' normal "fill out this form to get your mail forwarded" feature because as far as the USPS is concerned that's the CMRA's problem, not theirs. In fairness to the USPS it's a really tough task to determine not only what address mail is going to but what person's name (and box/suite/apt/whatever number) it's going to at that address. Then once you figure that out, you have to figure out if that's one of the probably 500 people who are on the "forward" list at any given time. I know because I built a system to that and more for the company I worked at and it wasn't foolproof. So if it can't be automated easily the only alternative is to have the postal worker on the route do it. Where I worked we got many thousands of letters a day, it would have taken our mailman/woman half a day or longer to go through everything trying to match recipients up against the list of 500 people who want forwarding.
- rdl 13y ago
  I've been a happy earthclassmail customer for years; a few other mom and pop forwarding services since 1998.
prostoalex 13y ago
Wonder why Outbox didn't follow this model. Any advantage to sending out a messenger to do a physical pickup vs. 1583?
- dnr 13y ago
  The 1583 form is a big hurdle for potential customers to get past. You have to get it notarized, which is something most people don't do regularly, so they have to spend time looking up a local notary, and there's usually a small fee involved. Also, of course, then you have to contact everyone who sends mail to get them to send it to the new address. (I did it as part of a move, so I had to do that stuff anyway.)

by jlas 13y ago

tsmith 13y ago

I'd been wanting something like this as I have a few physical mailboxes but rarely need the physical mail itself. Do you have any useful links to the 1583-based providers?

msandford 13y ago
I used to work for one of the Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA) as defined by the Form 1583. Here's a non-comprehensive list: myus.com, earthclassmail.com, usglobalmail.com, bongous.com, usamail1.com, maillinkplus.com, usa2me.com, usabox.com, reship.com and probably 50 or so other. The google keywords you want to search with are "mail forwarding" or "international mail forwarding" or "virtual mailbox" to get started. Not all of them offer pictures of the mail or scanning, but some of them definitely do. It's a REALLY fractured industry because there's essentially zero M&A activity. The Form 1583 is a giant pain to fill out and it ties you to a specific both company and address. Furthermore if you decide to switch from one to another you can't take advantage of the USPS' normal "fill out this form to get your mail forwarded" feature because as far as the USPS is concerned that's the CMRA's problem, not theirs. In fairness to the USPS it's a really tough task to determine not only what address mail is going to but what person's name (and box/suite/apt/whatever number) it's going to at that address. Then once you figure that out, you have to figure out if that's one of the probably 500 people who are on the "forward" list at any given time. I know because I built a system to that and more for the company I worked at and it wasn't foolproof. So if it can't be automated easily the only alternative is to have the postal worker on the route do it. Where I worked we got many thousands of letters a day, it would have taken our mailman/woman half a day or longer to go through everything trying to match recipients up against the list of 500 people who want forwarding.
rdl 13y ago
I've been a happy earthclassmail customer for years; a few other mom and pop forwarding services since 1998.

prostoalex 13y ago

Wonder why Outbox didn't follow this model. Any advantage to sending out a messenger to do a physical pickup vs. 1583?

dnr 13y ago
The 1583 form is a big hurdle for potential customers to get past. You have to get it notarized, which is something most people don't do regularly, so they have to spend time looking up a local notary, and there's usually a small fee involved. Also, of course, then you have to contact everyone who sends mail to get them to send it to the new address. (I did it as part of a move, so I had to do that stuff anyway.)