International Mail Forwarding Rec pls
January 22, 2008 9:51 AM Subscribe
Need a US mailing service that will forward my mail to South America
We recently moved to Colombia, South America having lived in NYC for several years. We won't be returning to the US but still own a property, have a bank account etc. and also still get a lot of important mail to our old apartment.
There seem to be a lot of services out there but I'm hoping to get some personal experiences and recommendations for a service that will receive mail on our behalf and forward it to our new address in the tropics.
Cheers - JoC
We recently moved to Colombia, South America having lived in NYC for several years. We won't be returning to the US but still own a property, have a bank account etc. and also still get a lot of important mail to our old apartment.
There seem to be a lot of services out there but I'm hoping to get some personal experiences and recommendations for a service that will receive mail on our behalf and forward it to our new address in the tropics.
Cheers - JoC
I've been happy with Maillink Plus, which was able to get important US mail (and parcels) to me while I was in Venezuela and New Zealand.
posted by toxic at 10:14 AM on January 22, 2008
posted by toxic at 10:14 AM on January 22, 2008
Toxic, I noticed in a previous question you were thinking about switching from Maillink Plus to Earth Class Mail for an electronic only solution.
I was wondering: did you decide not to do that and if so, why? (Cost? It seems a little more expensive...)
posted by sharkfu at 11:49 AM on January 22, 2008
I was wondering: did you decide not to do that and if so, why? (Cost? It seems a little more expensive...)
posted by sharkfu at 11:49 AM on January 22, 2008
A globe-trotting friend has been using Wanderers' Mail Service for years, and has recommended them to me before. (No, not this globe trotter, unfortunately.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:35 PM on January 22, 2008
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:35 PM on January 22, 2008
Sharkfu...
I decided not to go to an all-electronic solution, because ultimately, I decided that I wanted to be able to have to originals of anything mailed to me, and the Earth Class (and Remote Control Mail) offerings tended to be significantly more costly, if you regularly wanted the mail forwarded to you. If all you want is to be able to receive electronic copies of mail -- then the open-and-scan places are for you.
As it turned out, I had more than one mail-order package forwarded through as well (which included opening the original packaging, so the goods were no longer new when they were exported from the US -- this has customs implications in some countries). I don't think that the other places I looked at were set up to handle this very well.
While I once thought that an electronic solution would be better (especially when I was moving week-to-week, or from Venezuela's Nueva Esparta state, where mail service is unreliable), I ended up being quite happy with the service and prices of my more traditional mail forwarder. Your mileage will vary depending on your needs and the country you're currently living in.
posted by toxic at 4:50 PM on January 22, 2008
I decided not to go to an all-electronic solution, because ultimately, I decided that I wanted to be able to have to originals of anything mailed to me, and the Earth Class (and Remote Control Mail) offerings tended to be significantly more costly, if you regularly wanted the mail forwarded to you. If all you want is to be able to receive electronic copies of mail -- then the open-and-scan places are for you.
As it turned out, I had more than one mail-order package forwarded through as well (which included opening the original packaging, so the goods were no longer new when they were exported from the US -- this has customs implications in some countries). I don't think that the other places I looked at were set up to handle this very well.
While I once thought that an electronic solution would be better (especially when I was moving week-to-week, or from Venezuela's Nueva Esparta state, where mail service is unreliable), I ended up being quite happy with the service and prices of my more traditional mail forwarder. Your mileage will vary depending on your needs and the country you're currently living in.
posted by toxic at 4:50 PM on January 22, 2008
Toxic, thanks for the additional info! I will definitely use it when making my own decision.
Lapsang, during my research I found a post with info/mini-reviews of each service:
Other Mail Forwarding services
posted by sharkfu at 12:48 AM on January 23, 2008
Lapsang, during my research I found a post with info/mini-reviews of each service:
Other Mail Forwarding services
posted by sharkfu at 12:48 AM on January 23, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can choose whether they recycle, shred, scan (before you freak about that part, check out their security), or forward it on to you with a large selection of mail options. Also you can get a non-PO address, which some places like banks require.
posted by stephthegeek at 10:07 AM on January 22, 2008