“How are you going to receive mail when you are traveling abroad for a year?”
– the first question my dad asked me.
He loves sending me letters and packages, and I am very excited every time I get something from him. It might be our love language. But he was also concerned about how I would be able to deposit a check that is due to arrive after the start of my year-long climbing sabbatical, and how I would handle important letters, forwarding mail and shipping packages since I am not returning home for a year.
Not to worry, mail has gone virtual!
A virtual mailbox is a special service that gives you an actual physical mailing address, that you can use as your permanent address for sending all your physical mail and packages, even if you’re traveling overseas.
Typical Features Include:
- Online mail notification
- Online viewing of envelopes & packages
- Open and scan contents of your mail to PDF
- Mail forwarding
- Secure shredding, disposal or recycling of mail
- Package storage and shipping
- Check deposit service
- Signature upon delivery
- Junk mail filtering
- App integrations
Different online travel mailbox services offer different features. Some are more advanced than others, and some are more costly.
How does a Virtual Mailbox work?
- Choose the right virtual mailbox service for you. Click Here to jump to Pricing.
- Complete the USPS 1583 Form. (The USPS Form 1583 is used to authorize an agent to receive mail on the customer’s behalf. The USPS Form 1583 must be notarized, but most services do these steps for you).
- Update your address with senders of your mail or issue a change of address online at USPS.com
- As your mail arrives, the envelopes will be scanned and uploaded to your online mailbox. You can then have each piece opened and scanned to view the contents in PDF Format, forwarded anywhere, have it held, or have it securely shredded.
| Service | virtualpostmail | anytimemailbox+ | travelingmailbox | iPostal1 | Earth Class Mail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $30 | $25 | $25 | $25 | $69 |
| Yearly Price | $300 | $275 | $300 | $250 | $756 |
| Incoming Mail Scans | unlimited | 100 | 100 | 120 | 15 |
| Scans Letters | 50 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 10 |
| Recipients | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Extra mail | 0 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.35 |
|
| Extra scans | Over 50 $1/scan .25/page | .25/page | 0.50 | $2.25/envelope |
|
| Check deposit | $5/check | $4/check | $5/check | $5/order | 10/check |
| International Shipping |
|
|
| Discounted International shipping |
|
| Forwarding | $2.3 – 8.5 int’l. | $4 + shipping | $2/shipment + shipping |
|
|
| Recycling | Y | Y | Y |
| Y |
| Shredding | Y | Y | Y |
| Y |
| Local Pickup | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Online Storage | Yes- unlimited | 0 | 0 | 2GB | Yes- unlimited |
| Mail Storage |
|
|
| 30 |
|
| Package Storage |
|
|
| 5 |
|
| Junk Mail Filtering | Yes |
| Yes |
| Yes |
| Storage time | 8w 4d | Whole Plan | 8w 4d | 30 for small 10, 5 |
|
| Physical Location | DE, CA, NV | Many locations Inc WA | Many locations Inc WA | Many locations Inc WA | Many locations Inc WA |
| Pros | Unlimited mail | Local Pickup | Many Free Scans | Cheap Intn’l ship |
|
| Cons | Not in WA | No Free Scan | Can’t pickup | NoFree Scan/Shred | Expensive, Hard to price |
| Websites | https://www.reviano.com/blog/best-virtual-mailbox-service.html | https://expertvagabond.com/best-virtual-mailbox-service/ | https://travelingmailbox.com/ | https://ipostal1.com/ | https://www.earthclassmail.com/ |
My Top Virtual Mailbox:
Traveling Mailbox
Traveling Mailbox is the service I use because I want scan lots of letters to pdf and frequently deposit check. Traveling Mailbox isn’t paying me to promote them, I chose their service because it suits my needs the most. I hope this helps you choose what works best for you!
