USA Mailbox for magazines?

July 6, 2009 3:09 PM

Has anyone based outside US figured out cost effective mail forwarding service to take advantage of cheap magazine subscription rates?

Subscription prices of magazines such as the New Yorker, Wired etc tend to be a lot cheaper for US residents than those in Europe. I have heard of mailing services in the USA who will forward them to you in other countries. On searching google I have found several companies which offer these services but the ones I have found eat the savings to cover the cost of owning the mailbox and postage. Has anyone in the HiveMind cracked it? I am based in the UK btw. Thanks

posted by london302 to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

I don't have as much of an illuminating answer for you as I do a confirmation of your research - mail forwarding services are expensive, and all seemed be priced the same.

When I first moved to London I came over on a full ex-pat package, meaning I still worked for my employer in New York. The first (and simplest) solution: direct all my magazine subscriptions to my work address, who then forwarded via interoffice mail. That worked for four years, but wasn't an option after I changed employers.

Now Mum plays a crucial role, and forwards less frequently (once a month when The Old Dear recalls) but sends across a single box. Much cheaper than a "real" forwarding service.

So if the work option isn't available then I'd suggest employing either friends or kin. This is the best I've been able to come up with.
posted by Mutant at 2:40 AM on July 7, 2009

No joy from me either, but for UK folk moving away the Royal Mail have an international forwarding option for up to two years. I kept up a few computer magazines when I left that were 99p subscriptions in the UK but 25quid to get in Oz. Also interesting was they will also forward small packet parcels, so I could order from Amazon.co.uk to my UK address and they would arrive in Sydney a week later. They were also sensible enough to forward special delivery mail even though I obviously couldn't sign for it upon delivery. This was in 2002-04, so it may have changed.
posted by bystander at 5:43 AM on July 7, 2009