Rental mailbox: USPS vs. UPS
July 4, 2015 1:57 PM   Subscribe

I want to rent a mailbox for business purposes-- mostly for the "street address" rather than mail handling capabilities. I've rented via UPS in the past, but the price has gone up since I last rented, and USPS now allows street addresses in the same way UPS does (MyUSPSAddress St, #myPOBoxNumber), and also has Real Mail Notification texts. And is way cheaper. No brainer, right? Except...

...the reviews I've read of the USPS service are fairly horrifying-- people who don't get texts, people who can't get the texts to stop coming even after they close their PO Box, and so on. But the reviews are all a year or more old, so maybe they've worked out the kinks by now. I'm hoping some MeFites have tested out the UPS mailbox rental in the last year, and can give me a thumbs up or down.
posted by instamatic to Work & Money (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Texts? Haven't tried that. I do have a PO Box. It's only accessible M-F, 9-5. That's a big downside to me.
posted by salvia at 2:06 PM on July 4, 2015


Hours will vary with the post office. My local has much later hours for the lobby with the PO boxes which is segregated from the counter area with all the merchandise. OP will have to check the local places likely to be used.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:31 PM on July 4, 2015


USPS holder for over seven years: I don't use texts, but I do get the email notifications for my mail. It doesn't distinguish between, for example, previous occupant April Reiss's alumni mail and my actual mail, but it has been accurate. I also have a 24 hr lobby, so I can pick up whenever. Renew online now, too.
posted by cobaltnine at 3:50 PM on July 4, 2015


Private shipping services (like UPS) generally won't deliver to USPS PO Boxes.
posted by ryanrs at 4:39 PM on July 4, 2015


Best answer: I've used both at different times.

UPS Store private mailbox.

PROS: Convenient location in large strip mall with lots of parking and other amenities. Store has photocopiers and lots of services. Open all day Saturday, and we had 24 hour access to our box. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They cheerfully accepted large packages from any shipper and held them for days. If we were watiing for a specific shipment, they would notify us when it arrived. When we were travelling, they would hold our pre-paid packed boxes in their storeroom, and ship them on the days we requested them. When we were away for long periods, we had them ship the contents of our mailbox to us. Lots of service for the price of a mailbox.

CONS: When we moved cross country, we learned there was no way to have our mail forwarded -- without paying for our box. They don't forward individual pieces of mail. It was unclear if mail would be returned to sender. So we kept renting "box 123" for several years. And had the mailbox contents shipped bi-monthly (via UPS). Because every now and then, an important business letter would turn up in "box 123".

USPS PO Box.

PROS: Next time we re-locate, we can cancel our P.O. Box and the first class mail will be forwarded to our new address. After the forwarding period, our first class mail will be returned to sender with a sticker notifying them that it couldn't be delivered. (I am not a USPS expert. Please check with them for the most up to date rules.)

CONS: We're pleased with the service at our post office. But they have all sorts of rules. They won't hold your mail longer than 30 days. After 30 days it is automatically returned to sender. I don't think they're really strict on this. But if I was going to be away for a month, I'd have to ask a friend to pick up my mail. There are many rules like that. Be sure to ask for the rules specific to your post office. They may not all be written down.
posted by valannc at 5:17 PM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


Private shipping services (like UPS) generally won't deliver to USPS PO Boxes.

I have a USPS box (have for ... 15 years?) and I usually get around this by having both addresses on one line when I'm unclear of shipping method. PO Box 123 - 12 S Main. It's been a problem once and once only (with Fedex and a guy I suspect wasn't really trying). I live in a rural area so this may be a thing they tolerate here and won't elsewhere. Similarly as long as I tell them I am out of town, they will hold my mail basically forever. I do not use the text or email services. I also pay for a small box and occasionally they smush stuff in there (unless it says Do Not Bend). When I complain they are apologetic but suggest I get a larger box.
posted by jessamyn at 7:22 PM on July 4, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks, all. I decided three months of USPS is the same as one month of UPS in my area, so I might as well try it.

My local UPS has 24 hour lobby access, and according to the info on their site if you use a street address plus number (same as the way UPS boxes work) package services will deliver to them. I'll let you know how it goes. As I said, I don't expect to be getting much mail there anyway, so it's a fairly small risk to take.
posted by instamatic at 3:29 PM on July 6, 2015


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