How To Access Your Physical Mail From Anywhere

A friend recently remind me that I have too many email address (at 500+ and growing) and he may have a point. But, that’s for another time and another post.

Today, I want to show you how to receive and access your physical (USPS, FedEx, USP, etc.) mail from anywhere in the U.S.. (You can extend this approach even if you live in Antarctica or other parts of the world.)

The Problem

I’ve been dealing with this issue for a few years and it has only increased with my travel schedule. Here is where I stand today:

• I am a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada and my primary residence is a nice 1,700 sq. ft. 3-bedroom home.
• I work in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I have a 900 sq. ft. condo for part-time residence
• For a current project, I lease a small apartment in Irvine, CA.
• My travel schedule also requires me to fly Cincinnati, Ohio where stay at a friendly hotel.

Depending on the week, I may need to be in any of the above 4 cities. My physical mail, however, can arrive in either Las Vegas, Minneapolis, or Irvine but it almost always never arrive where I happen to be.

For example, I may be working in Minneapolis for 3 weeks when mail related to my Nevada business arrives at my Las Vegas home. Or, I can be working from home in Las Vegas when an invoice from my Minnesota dentist arrives at my Minneapolis condo.

Online Bill-Pay solves a number of the issues related to having multiple residences, but there are times where you need to accept physical mail. Also, changing your address and communicating the update with all of your vendors on a weekly basis is problematic. It also causes stress, if you can image.

The Solution

Then, a posting on the member’s forum at Sovereign Man Confidential caught my eye. A member, looking for a registered agent to accept company mail, was directed to a few websites that offered that service. One service in particular stood out and that was Earth Class Mail.

The prices at Earth Class Mail were reasonable when compared to the brick and mortar stores like The UPS Store or Mail Boxes Etc.. They also offered to forward your mail to a designated address, so nothing new there. Then, there was the email alerts on new mail and a web interface that displays scanned images of the front and back of each piece of mail. Bingo!

At this point, I should mention that Earth Class Mail has a ‘Test Drive’ feature where you can access a sample inbox. From there, you can open and scan the contents, discard the mail piece, or schedule it to be batched and delivered. All good stuff.

So I took the plunge and opened an account and picked an address that sounded nice. In doing so, I had to submit a photo I.D. and a utility bill as required by U.S. Postal Service Form 1583 to authorize Earth Class Mail to accept your packages on your behalf.

I was quickly contacted via email by Laura that I didn’t include a photo I.D. for my wife, who was also authorized to receive mail at that address. I scanned her photo I.D. and sent in another utility bill for good measure. Laura quickly replied that my account was completely authorized. This happened in the span of 1 day. Talk about quick customer service.

I should also note that I purchased a premium street address to ensure the fast delivery. Most merchants and financial institutions will only deliver to a street address, so that factored into my decision.

To test the service, I mail 2 pages from Alice in Wonderland to the new address. I mailed it on Saturday and on Monday, I received a scanned imaged of the front and the back of my letter. So far, so good. Here’s the scanned image:

The next week, I received my new bank cards and business correspondence in my Earth Class Mail inbox. No more flying to Minneapolis or Las Vegas to pick up mail for me!

So far, the service is working out nicely. I receive a few pieces of mail a week and I get an email alert with the scanned images. I plan on issuing a bulk shipment (to save on shipping costs) when I return to Irvine, CA next week. I can’t remember being this excited over mail, but I have to admit that this service is slick.

P.S. If you’re interested in signing up for this service, then consider using this referral link. I copied it from my email, so leave me a comment if it doesn’t work. You get a free month when you sign up and I get $15. Win-Win!

Update on 3/18/2011: On the same day that I had mailed this letter to Earth Class Mail, I had also mailed a second letter to my international address in Singapore (via http://www.pomaildrop.com/, which was also recommended by a member of Sovereign Man Confidential).

Approximately two weeks later, I received an email from their company that I had a mail piece with the sender’s name. That’s about it. No slick web interface with this service. I asked them to scan the first 2 pages (for free) and I received an email later that after with a PDF attachment. Here’s the Scanned_Letter_from_POMailDrop.com if you’re interested in the quality.

FYI, they charge $28 USD a year for their low volume service with a $2 USD handling fee per mail. Scanning the first 2 pages is included in the handling fee,  so it’s hard to complain.

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