Before we get into why you should get a virtual mailbox, you’ll need to know what a Virtual Mailbox is. A virtual mailbox is a service that offers a permanent street address.
Basically working the same as a traditional PO Box with some digital enhancements, you’ll be able to enjoy the best of all worlds when it comes to these two completely different forms of modern communication. You’ll be able to receive snail mail new this virtual mailbox just the same as you would at a physical address or at a PO Box, but after that mail has been received (packages, parcels, and envelopes – everything goes) and then goes through a digitization process that makes these solutions so special.
Once you receive mail at this address, its exterior is scanned and uploaded and you can decide whether to have it opened and scanned, shredded, or forwarded to a different address.
The best thing about this entire approach – and the number one thing that makes virtual mailbox services so different and so beneficial – is that you are in complete control of your mail in a way that just isn’t possible with any other approach. The amount of control that you are able to exert over your mail – how it is handled, whether or not it is opened and scanned, how it is destroyed, or how it is forwarded to an address of your choosing – but you firmly in the driver’s seat. Instead of having to handle your mail on the terms of the USPS, picking it up at the post office during specific hours, having to physically go there to get your mail, and dealing with all that headache and hassle, you become your own postmaster.
It’s a game changing paradigm shift and there are plenty of reasons why so many smart and strategic business owners and individuals are making the switch to virtual mailbox is today.
Here are 5 reasons why you should get one:
It Prevents Identity Theft
Mail theft is one of the most common ways for someone to steal your identity. By rifling through your mail, a thief can collect:
- Your name and address
- Social Security number
- Telephone numbers
- Email address(es)
- Employment history
- Credit card and bank account information
- Pre-approved credit card offers
This information could allow them to easily run up credit card bills and commit fraud in your name.
The security of your mail is more important than most people would think. Is it really safe for your mailbox to be on the street where not only your neighbors, but strangers can walk up to it and pick a lock? If you have a virtual mailbox, only you can access your mail online. And the warehouse your company stores it in is protected by an alarm system, security cameras, and a key-card lock.
When you really think about it, our traditional mailing system is anything but secure and locked down. Sure, it is a federal offense to tamper with someone’s mail – and a huge crime to even open up a piece of mail that hasn’t been addressed to you – but there aren’t a lot of safeguards put in place to protect your package or your parcel as it moves through the mailing process and then gets delivered to your doorstep or to your PO Box.
There are a lot of “weak links in the chain”, so to speak, that can become compromised without a lot of effort – but even worse, those weak links can become compromised without you knowing there has been a compromise or without the USPS becoming aware of the compromised, either. That’s a huge problem.
By taking advantage of virtual mailbox services you patch a lot of those flaws in a way that just wouldn’t have been possible going the “traditional” route the way that millions of Americans do with their mail each and every single day.
It Prevents your house from being burglarized
More people are beginning to realize the dangers of advertising when they go on vacation. 75% of burglars use social media to find their targets and ⅔ of burglaries occur when people aren’t at home.
But have you ever thought of how your mailbox advertises your whereabouts? An overflowing mailbox is an obvious sign that you’re not at home and an open invitation for a nefarious passerby to swipe your belongings.
With a virtual mailbox:
- no one is aware of your absence
- There is no overflow, you can receive an unlimited amount of mail
- If you expect an important document to arrive while you’re away you can just check your mailbox online while still enjoying your vacation
We live in a world that is a lot less accepting of privacy than ever before, with people online constantly looking for ways to identify individuals that they disagree with – often times over the smallest things imaginable.
The last thing you want to do is make it even easier for these individuals to find out where you live, to potentially burglarized your home, or even to terrorize you and your loved ones. No one wants to worry about someone that may mean them harm finding out where they live just because your mailing address is attached to your physical address.
With the help of a virtual mailbox service you’re able to eliminate those issues entirely, but you’re also able to eliminate the issues we highlighted above of overflowing mailboxes making your home look like an easy target.
The mail is kept safe and secure, you are still immediately notify about any packages or parcels that come into your mailbox – as they come in, in real time – and you have a whole lot more control over what happens to your mail moving forward.
It’s Great For Small Businesses
Operating a business out of you home has many advantages. You choose your hours and there’s no commute. However, when it comes to receiving mail, you may have to use your home address which has many disadvantages:
- Strangers now know where you and your family reside, any disgruntled customer or vendor could show up at your home
- If you are ever sued, the summons will be served at your home alerting the neighbors to your situation
- You may appear less professional
- And as business is picking up, you’re also going to have to spend an enormous amount of time checking the mailbox
Being able to separate your residential address – or even just your business address from your mailing address – provides an extra layer of safety, security, and (some) on anonymity that business owners deserve these days.
As we highlighted above, nobody should have to worry about complete and total strangers – especially potentially disgruntled or unhappy customers or clients – showing up at your doorstep unannounced and unwelcome just because your mailing address was the same as your home address. By adding this extra buffer layer you’re able to add a bit more protection and security for yourself, your loved ones, and your property.
The other benefits that you’ll enjoy – appearing more professional and more credible, enjoying more control over how your business mail is handled, etc. – go hand-in-hand with the security and safety benefits that you get out of a virtual mailbox account. This is one of those “must-have” business investments you’ll want to make that pays out significant returns on its overall cost, and does so almost straightaway. It really doesn’t get much better than that!
With a virtual mailbox:
Your appear more professional with a commercial business address
For example:
Heather’s Flowers
1321 Upland Drive #XXXX
Houston, TX 77043
- Your family’s privacy isn’t comprised
- You can sort through company mail from your laptop
- You can retain limited liability for business activity or debts
It helps you sort through your mail
When you order from a magazine, or give out your address to a store or business for that enticing coupon, marketers descend on your mailbox like a pack of wolves. No one wants to check their mail for an important letter only to go home with piles upon piles of junk mail that they’re now responsible for discarding
With a virtual mailbox you can:
- discard junk mail before it ever approaches your doorstep
- Scan or forward the important documents you’ve been waiting for
Some people even use their Virtual Mailbox address solely for sign up purposes, so their mailbox at home is reserved for more personal letters like grandma’s birthday packages.
Sifting through your mailbox can take a lot of time, especially if you are running a small business or are particularly active on mailing lists. With a virtual mailbox you’re able to separate out your business mail from your personal mail, you’re able to have junk mail discarded before it even hits your hands, and you’re able to keep track of all the mail that you are receiving with digital records of that piece of mail, the information regarding who sent that mail, and important timestamp information that you may need moving forward.
Combine all of that with the digital archival data that you can easily search and scan (as necessary) and it isn’t hard to see how this modern mailing system is so much more advanced than the one we all have been using for hundreds of years.
Imagine being able to not only quickly sift through all of the mail that you have received, but also easily being able to search all of the mail that you have digitally – going back years, even – just the same way you would search for something online through Google. That’s not the kind of feature you’ll likely ever get to take advantage of directly from the folks at the USPS.
You can access your mail from anywhere in the world
Some people may opt to have a P.O. box instead of a virtual mailbox, but this last reason will reveal while the latter is the smarter choice. What happens when you move? Maybe your spouse gets a promotion in another state or even another country? Maybe you’re retiring and want a life of nonstop travel? How are you going to get your mail?
With a PO BOX:
- You don’t have the option of going to pick it up in person anymore.
- Some will not forward your mail to you
- Even if they do forward mail, they won’t sort through it, so you’ll have to pay for those extra pounds of junk mail
With a virtual mailbox you can:
- have a permanent address you can maintain for anywhere in the world.
- forward only the important mail at discounted rates
- have your mail scanned and available online
- Shop in the US and have your purchase shipped to you for less
Ready to get your own virtual mailbox?
At the end of the day, all of the benefits that we highlighted above only begin to scratch the surface of the advantages you’ll be able to leverage when you choose to move forward with your own virtual mailbox. On top of that, there are very few negatives to moving forward with these kinds of services – and none of those drawbacks would be considered deal breakers by any stretch of the imagination.
When you choose to move forward with a trustworthy virtual mailbox company, a company that has a real reputation in the industry as being a legitimate operator, as constantly innovating and improving their services, and a company that is committed to offering great solutions at affordable prices, there’s next to nothing to worry about.
Obviously, you’ll need to do your research and due diligence. This is, after all, decision that is going to hugely impacted the way that you interact with your mail from here on out.
This is not the kind of decision you want to make on a whim. At the same time, while you’re conducting your research and due diligence you shouldn’t at all be surprised to discover glowingly positive reviews of all that US Global Mail services bring to the table.
There’s a reason why these services are considered to be some of the best in the business, a reason why the customer service is so well-regarded, and a reason why US Global Mail is so frequently recommended by people that have actively switched to a virtual mailbox and are loving the results.
Sign up with US Global Mail and get a physical street address in the US and get notified of its arrival through your virtual mailbox!
