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Tuesday, January 21st
If time is of the essence, consider Virtual Post Mail for your virtual mailbox needs. Unlike some competitors who use third-party mail centers to receive and scan your mail, VPM handles everything at their own warehouses. That means you'll get same-day envelope scanning of each piece; compare that with rival services whose processing can take a week or longer before it hits your digital dashboard.
4 address locations
Virtual Post Mail offers four locations for your virtual mailbox's address: California, Delaware, Florida, and Nevada. Don't be fooled into thinking that such a limited address range means that this company isn't doing a brisk business: since its start almost 15 years ago, VPM has processed almost 13 million pieces of mail and deposited nearly $450 million in checks for more than 27,000 customers.
4 virtual mailbox options
Virtual Post Mail divides their services into tiers based on the number of recipients on the mailbox and how much mail will be processed per month:
Several services are pay-as-needed
Other services you may need with your virtual mailbox are a la carte here. Depositing checks will cost $10 each (which is pretty spendy compared with other companies), extra content scans are $1 for the initial ten pages and $0.25 for subsequent ones. And, as with most virtual mailbox providers, Virtual Post Mail charges per package and pound for forwarding. Take a look at VPM's Custom Pricing list to see what you might pay for the kinds of services you're likely to need.
Storage is free for 30 days
Your virtual mailbox at VPM comes with 30 days of free storage. Within that timeframe, you'll need to indicate how you want each piece to be handled (scanned, shredded, forwarded). Otherwise, you'll be charged $1.50 per letter/magazine and $20 per package for each month beyond the first 30 days.
Not many reviews from clients
The Better Business Bureau's listing for Virtual Post Mail was "Not Rated” at the time of our evaluation. There's no way to determine why: it usually means that a company is under review, and the BBB is waiting to collect further information before issuing an updated rating (which could be higher or lower than the previous one). Still, feedback from Virtual Post Mail clients isn't exactly abundant beyond the testimonials hand-selected by VPM for the website and a handful of reviews in various other places. Most comments are positive, though some describe issues with package forwarding and slow loading of email scans.
Not bad but not amazing either
Virtual Post Mail isn't a terrible option for virtual mailboxes. It's an ideal option if you hate the idea of working with third-party mail centers, but not so great if you need an address outside of the four places they offer. You might want to circle back to Virtual Post Mail if one of its higher-rated rivals doesn't quite meet your needs.
When you hear the term "virtual mailbox”, you might think it's referring to your email inbox. The concept is similar, but it relates to your real-world, physical mail and making it 100% digital. Still, many people aren't sure how exactly it all works.
First, you authorize a company to act as your agent (by submitting a notarized copy of USPS Form 1583) and select one of their available addresses. Once you've forwarded your mail or changed your address on file with your credit card company, the DMV, and anywhere else that sends it to you, the virtual mailbox company will scan the outside of everything that comes in your name. You then sign in to your dashboard, indicate what you'd like done with each piece - scan the contents, forward to your location, or shred and discard - and you're done.
There are several other services that can be included with your virtual mailbox plan. These include check depositing (by forwarding them to the bank of your choice), package inspection, mail and package forwarding, and even remote notarization of your USPS form. Be aware that some providers include such features with your monthly or annual plan, while others will charge a la carte for any extra services you use. Those can really add up, so it's smart to have an idea of what your average needs will be and choose a virtual mailbox service that won't wind up costing an arm and a leg.
Wondering why virtual mailboxes are so popular? Think about how many people are traveling without a fixed permanent address, working as digital nomads around the globe, or operating a small business out of their home and don't want prospective customers to know the address of their residence? Virtual mailboxes can be a fantastic solution in those cases. Even large corporations are taking advantage of outsourcing their brick-and-mortar mailrooms and having all inbound mail received and sorted digitally, saving their employees time by having everything routed automatically to the right person.
With more than a dozen well-known options for virtual mailboxes, you might feel overwhelmed deciding which one is right for you. It's worth taking some time to compare them carefully, because it can be costly and time-consuming to set up the service - and to cancel and reroute your mail if you don't wind up liking it. Keep in mind these factors as you evaluate several different virtual mailbox options:
Virtual mailboxes can take care of getting your mail to you no matter where you roam, and TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's most popular options. We're sure this information will help you choose the right service for your needs, business or personal!
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