If you're thinking about getting a PO Box,
watch this video first where I talk more about the differences between a PO box
and virtual mailboxes,
and why you might want one over the other.
Hi. My name is Mei Pak and I help makers artists and designers make a living from selling their
handmade products online. Now, if you're watching this video,
you're probably thinking about creating some privacy boundaries between your household
and your small business,
right? So, recently, I signed up for a virtual mailbox for privacy and security purposes.
And today, I wanted to talk to you about all the benefits of getting a
virtual mailbox over a more traditional PO box
or even using your home address for your online shop.
Which is something I've done for many years, but as I'll explain in a little bit,
I wish I had been using a virtual mailbox sooner.
So, what exactly is a virtual mailbox?
It's a service that offers a real, permanent street address different from your
personal home address that you do not have to physically go to
to retrieve mail. The service digitizes
all the mail going to that address, and provides it to you virtually,
so you can access it no matter where you
are. So this can be a real game changer
for any of you who travel frequently
or if you just don't want the hassle of running to the post office to get your mail.
Like, for instance, if you use a PO Box.
Virtual mailboxes also provide some other really cool features that a PO Box
doesn't. For example, you get real-time notifications of mail received
so you can answer or check mail
while you're on the go. You get mail scanning and opening services,
which is also really neat. And this can help you stay organized as mail comes in.
You can view all your mail online, just like email. The mail's all scanned in.
You can choose to forward mail and packages
if you need to send them to your house or off to somewhere else,
it doesn't matter. You can also choose to shred
or recycle unwanted mail which is really great for getting rid of all that junk mail.
And you also get storage, if you need to keep your mail safe
for a time. Virtual mailboxes can even deposit checks for you. And I don't know about you,
but all of this sounds like getting a secretary or an assistant
that's just dedicated to managing your mail.
So a virtual mailbox services basically take a lot of work out of receiving mail.
You can typically start using your address as soon as you sign up for a virtual mailbox service.
Also, most companies use the cloud.
So there's unlimited digital storage
and you can keep track of everything online and stay organized that way.
Unlike a virtual mailbox PO Boxes can be a headache to deal with.
They may create a less permanent and, depending on who it is
you're talking to, it can create a less professional image to
potential customers who still think a brick
and mortar building is the standard for all companies.
Because you get an actual street address with a virtual mailbox
so it seems like there's a real physical presence, but with PO Boxes,
it will say PO Box on the address. People may not want to send sensitive materials to a PO box
and what I think is worst of all, you actually have to travel
to the post office to pick up your mail.
Not to mention as a business there are certain documents that cannot use a PO Box address
and require that you use a physical address.
And if you live in an area without 24/7
access to these boxes, you'll have to work within the operating hours of the post office itself.
Setting up a PO Box isn't necessarily easier
either. You need to fill out the right forms,
pay your fee, hope you get the location and box size that you requested,
and then you might even have to be placed on a waiting list for one to be available. Pricing
for a PO box varies by city and, of course,
the size of the box as well. And looking at PO Box prices in Los Angeles,
California, you can expect to pay between $15 to $50 a month. Later in this video,
I'll talk about the cost of virtual mailboxes but you will find them to be comparable price wise.
But you cannot beat the value, you're getting with all the extra features of a virtual mailbox.
Now, what about using your home address
as your business address? That can get complicated.
Not only are you always sorting through personal or business mail,
but what if someone's upset with your products and wants retaliation of some kind?
I know it's scary to think about it
but there are a lot of people in the world
and you just never know what thoughts are running through their minds.
Right? So for us, we stop using our own home address
as it was really a matter of privacy
and security especially after we became more public with our business.
Like, I share all of this financial information
so freely with you guys on my YouTube channel,
we just wanted to be proactive. It sucks to say
this but we have gotten threats over
email and it is creepy and scary to think that anyone could
just show up at our front door to hurt us.
Thankfully, our address isn’t public. Your home address also makes you vulnerable to identity theft.
When you stop and think about it, how secure is the Postal Service anyway,
right? There are so many stories about porch pirates
or people who drive around looking for shipments to steal from people's porches.
What if some private or valuable information is just left sitting out there. Anyone
could just grab it, right? A virtual mailbox answers
all of these concerns with monitored staff being the ones handling your mail.
I used to feel that the extra expense wasn't worth it,
especially if you're a new business owner, but now for business purposes,
a virtual mailbox makes a lot of sense.
There will also be times when you need to specifically provide your business address, such
as when you buy a domain name
for your shop online and all domains have a “Who Is” data that can be looked up by anyone
online and that shows anyone all of your contact information,
like a phone number, email address, mailing address.
And while you can choose to buy “Who Is” privacy protection,
which runs between ten and forty dollars annually,
so that protection hides all the information from the public, having a virtual address
just adds a second layer of privacy and protection
not just from crooks, but also from spammers who just want to sell you
business services you don't need. Now, you also need to provide your address
for legal documents like for registering your business,
or to get a business license in the state you sell in. Or any bank or credit card
company will also need a permanent address for your business if you're signing up for one.
And if you do email marketing,
and you should, you're required to list a physical address at the bottom
of your emails to be compliant with can-spam laws.
There are so many places you need to list your business address.
Can you imagine the administrative headache
you have to go through to update all of your address in all these places if you ever move
or sell your house,
which is what we did recently? Now,
there are plenty of different companies providing virtual mailbox services. Personally,
I chose to use Anytime Mailbox.
It has over a thousand locations throughout the world
and no, I am not an affiliate
and I don't get a kickback
for talking about this but it's just such a great service that I
wanted to share this with you. Their pricing
is different depending on the location,
just like with a PO box and they do have a wide range of package options
and have monthly or yearly plans,
many starting below $10 per month.
Their app works, great on all devices.
So, if you're an Apple user or your partner is on Android,
there's no problem accessing shared mailbox info.
They also ship internationally making it so that you can easily expand to more customers globally.
So if you Google search “virtual mailboxes”
you will get a variety of different options,
So just do your research before you settle on the right company and plan for you and your business.
I want you to be able to find peace of mind and security in whatever path you choose for yourself.
So, do you have any experiences with virtual mailbox to
share or maybe you have a PO Box that you're really happy with?
I would love to hear more, comment below and let me know your thoughts.