There was a time when a USPS PO box in a secondary location was the ideal solution for secure and convenient mail collection. However, the services provided feel pretty sub-standard compared to new online PO boxes. These services go further to give customers a better experience and make life a lot easier. The best can handle your mail under your instructions and offer great peace of mind. So, with that said, let’s look at 10 ways that an online solution is better than USPS.
1) USPS won’t offer many choices of locations in your area
The location of a PO box can make a big difference to its level of convenience. Boxes for residential mail are better when they’re close to where we work or not miles away from home. Boxes for business mail could benefit from an address that fits the niche of the company or has a bit more prestige. A top independent provider will have a range of options, especially in major cities.
2) USPS won’t let you register your business from their PO Box
This is a massive deal breaker when signing up for a PO box. Regular services are great for redirecting mail away from a home or warehouse. However, a virtual PO Box lets you go further. You get a real street address attached to the location – not a PO Box number – that is eligible when registering a new company. Therefore, new start-ups can shift their official operations to this new address and improve their reputation.
4) USPS doesn’t offer notifications about the mail
It’s always nice to know when you have a package waiting for you. The best delivery companies will send alerts for tracked items, but it’s still nice to be 100% sure it’s in a safe place. You might not know what awaits you in a USPS PO box until you get there. With professional business addresses for startup companies, you get instant notifications and images of the pieces received.
5) USPS doesn’t have apps
There’s an app for so many these days, but a lot of basic services don’t have the high-functioning online presence of specialist companies. An online PO box via a leading provider should have a more interactive online portal and a mobile app. These are essential for keeping track of your mail, such as through those initial notifications, and seeing the items that arrived. This connection with the company goes further with the different services and the chance to schedule them based on your needs. If you want to get in touch with USPS, it won’t be as easy.
6) USPS won’t show you your mail
Continuing with this point about virtual PO box companies and their apps, some will scan your mail for you and put it up as a PDF. It’s understandable why USPS staff won’t do this. They don’t want to deal with any legal issues surrounding privacy, consent, and mishandled mail. They also don’t have the time. However, dedicated staff at virtual offices can open a letter with your permission, take the time to create that file, and still keep the contents safe. This could make a massive difference when waiting for vital information from a bank, the government, or an insurance provider.
7) USPS won’t forward your mail
There a mail redirection schemes but not at this level. You can’t call the PO Box provider and ask them to send everything you have to a more convenient location. You choose that PO Box site so you can go down and collect everything. Independent online PO box providers are different. They will happily take the time to redirect mail with their forwarding service. There are fees for items handled, but it pays off if it means an easier and safer way to get your mail.
8) USPS won’t shred your mail
Again, we can file this under the heading of things that USPS employees don’t have time for and don’t want to be liable for. If they shred the wrong item or dispose of something without shredding it, they don’t want to deal with those consequences. Still, a shredding service can be advantageous. If you get a notification for a piece of business mail and it’s someone you’ve cut ties with, why leave it there when you can have it shredded? A reliable virtual office team can follow your requests, as long as there is clear consent, to deal with the mail without any privacy issues.
9) USPS won’t offer phone packages
This one is fair enough. They are a postal service with a lot of people to take care of each day. They don’t have time to start branching out with a phone service. Online PO box locations, however, are more than just a place to store mail. Because they also act as a business address, you can sometimes have a phone service attached to the address with a voicemail and cloud storage. This is another way to elevate a small business when moving your business mail away from a residential address.
10) USPS might not be able to offer the same plans
A final benefit when working with a high-end virtual business address company is that you can find various plans and packages for different budgets. Those who just want to place to get their mail can have a cheaper package, with the potential to upgrade for a higher capacity of mail and cloud storage. Those who need the business address for a startup can pay for that next tier, with the option of a more expensive prestigious location. Then there are the more expensive ones with the phone service.
Now, we’re not trying to put USPS down here. They do vital work in the postal service and our country needs their vans and staff to keep everything running. With that said, there are clearly better options these days than a run-of-the-mill USPS PO box. So, look into the options for virtual business addresses in your area, find a good fit, and see if it can elevate the way you receive your mail.
