Traveling Mailbox Review

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Mail Scanning Service Reviews

Traveling Mailbox

• Prices range from $15 to $55/month
• Unlimited cloud storage
• Integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, and more
• Check deposit services available
• Package forwarding available
• Send/receive faxes from your virtual mailbox
• Free shredding of junk mail
• Support available 7 days a week
• "A” rated and accredited by the BBB
• In business since 2011
• Over 50,000 customers

Since 2011, Traveling Mailbox has been partnering with small business owners, travelers, expats, and more, offering each client a unique physical street address for mail scanning. In the years the service has been in operation, Traveling Mailbox has scanned over 8 million envelopes, shipped over 500K packages, and helped with 100K+ check deposits - serving more than 50,000 customers.

You'll need a notarized form

Let's take a look at how this mail scanning service works. First, you'll create a subscription (with more on pricing later). From there, you'll log into your client portal and complete/submit USPS Form 1583, which allows Traveling Mailbox to receive mail on your behalf. That has to either be signed electronically with a rep of Traveling Mailbox over a video chat or notarized at your location of choice.

Update your address

Next, you'll have to undertake the tedious-but-necessary steps to update your address, so that senders know where to find you; that can be done one-by-one, or you can fill out the Change of Address form on the USPS website.

Decide how they should handle each piece of mail

Once your mail starts arriving, Traveling Mailbox will scan the outside of each envelope and load the image into your dashboard. You'll then tell them what to do with each piece: open and scan, forward, or shred. Traveling Mailbox integrates with platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox, making it easy for you to stay organized by using a system that's already familiar. You can also use your virtual mailbox to send and receive faxes.

3 main pricing plans

So, what does it cost? That will depend on which tier of service you choose. There are three core plans with Traveling Mailbox:

• Basic: $15/month. This plan includes 40 incoming envelope scans, 35 page scans, 3 mailbox recipients. You get free shredding, junk mail doesn't count against your totals, and it comes with unlimited cloud storage of all envelope and page scans.
• Extended: $25/month. You get the same perks as Basic but with 100 incoming envelopes and 80 page scans per month. This tier also includes 5 mailbox recipients. If you don't use up all of your scans in a particular month, they roll over into the next one.
• Small Business: $55/month. This is also a great option for larger families, because it includes 10 mailbox recipients. This tier gives you scans of 200 incoming envelopes and 180 page scans. Your unused scans also roll over with this plan.

Pay attention to the fees for extra services

What if you go beyond your monthly allotments? Extra envelope scans are $0.25 each, and page scans are $0.50 each. Other services are a la carte. For example, if you get a check in the mail and would like it deposited to your bank, you'll pay $4.95 plus the current postage rate. Package shipping rates will depend on the size of the package and where you're having it sent; try the Shipping Calculator (we found it in the FAQs) if you'd like to get an estimate. And, if any of the mail you receive should be forwarded, you can have it sent to you piece-by-piece or in a consolidated package; that costs $2 per shipment (not per piece) plus the applicable postage.

Lots of complaints on Trustpilot...

Traveling Mailbox has been "A” rated and accredited by the Better Business Bureau, with just 11 complaints filed over the last three years. However, just like the last time we evaluated this mail scanning service, the feedback elsewhere in places like Trustpilot and others is still overwhelmingly negative. Just look at some of the review titles on Trustpilot alone: "Crappy Service”, "They lose valuable mail”, and "Absolutely the worst” are just a few that have come in lately. Multiple customers ranted about receiving other people's mail on a regular basis - and if they got other people's mail, that means there are customers who had mail go missing (and there are complaints about that as well).

...but lots of praise in Google reviews

What's crazy, though, is if you look at the company's reviews on Google, they're almost the exact opposite - averaging 4.8 stars out of nearly 600 ratings. They all seemed to be from legitimate reviewers too: many of them had lots of reviews on other businesses and services, so there wasn't a pattern of a ton of 5-star reviews from people only reviewing Traveling Mailbox. People describe the service as working perfectly, and they're grateful for the 7-days-a-week customer support. We're genuinely puzzled by the discrepancy between the rants on Trustpilot and the raves on Google.

Doing better but still inconsistent

However, what's clear is this: you can't necessarily count on Traveling Mailbox to deliver consistent service. Chances are good that you will either love it or hate it here, and that's not a great sign when you're thousands of miles away, wondering where an important piece of mail has gone (like a big check). We're willing to bump this mail scanning service up by a star and a half since our last evaluation, but overall this still isn't a company we can completely endorse.