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What Is a Virtual Mailbox and Why Do You Need One?

October 06, 2022

What Is a Virtual Mailbox? 

Despite the name, a virtual mailbox address begins with an actual, physical address where your mail is collected. This is a real street address equipped to handle physical mail for small businesses. With the help of a cloud-based platform, business owners, entrepreneurs, startups, expats, or really anyone looking to leverage a virtual office can view all mail that comes in from any device. Your digital mailbox account lets you open, forward, discard, or scan mail. You can request a scanned PDF copy of your mail directly wherever you are. 

Your service provider receives and manages all your digital mail, allowing you to view it as soon as it comes. This will usually take the form of a convenient Android or iOS mobile app from which you can see all of your business mail.

With the help of a virtual mailbox, travelers can easily forward mail and packages or deposit checks. The check deposit service offered by your virtual mailbox will process your checks quickly to get your money in your hands as soon as possible. You can easily deposit checks you get from your bank anywhere around the globe.

These mailboxes also receive international payments. You can deposit checks from any location in the world as long as you have a valid bank account in the U.S. Depositing checks through your virtual mail service is cost-effective, fast, and inexpensive. 

Why Do You Need a Virtual Mailbox? 

Digital nomads work and live as they travel between locations, making their offices anywhere from public libraries and co-working spaces to coffee shops. They communicate with their coworkers virtually to ensure efficient work from wherever they are. 

A virtual mailbox can assist any remote lifestyle as it quickly lets you forward and view packages and mail to any address from any location. 

Here are some benefits to having a virtual mailbox provider: 

Easy Access to Your Postal Mail 

With the shift of work environments to digital and remote culture, it’s essential to update the way you organize your incoming mail. The technology of a virtual mailbox keeps up with the remote working lifestyle, cutting out the stress of potentially missing mail with the inability to go to a physical address often. These providers can receive mail from any carrier and send it to you to view easily. 

Mail storage becomes less of a hassle as well. The way a virtual business address works means that new mail is constantly being scanned and saved via oftentimes unlimited cloud storage. This ensures your mail is still kept in one place, even if you go through a change of address. While not quite the same thing, many virtual mailbox services also offer package storage solutions that help you keep track of your packages while you decide which permanent address to send them to.

Receive Mail and Packages From All Couriers 

So what are the advantages of a virtual mailbox over a P.O. Box? There are two issues with P.O. Boxes — you can only get mail that’s delivered via USPS and you can’t use a P.O. Box as your commercial business address if you are an LLC. Not only can a virtual mailbox be used as a legal business address, it can also receive mail and packages from any carrier, including FedEx, USPS, and UPS.

Mail and Package Forwarding 

If you have recently moved or have a habit of moving quite often, virtual mailboxes will help you forward your packages and mail anytime, anywhere. One valuable benefit is not modifying your address every time you relocate your business or change your home. You can set one address up for mail and packages before your move to send them to your new location.

Some virtual mailboxes even display real-time prices of shipping for various levels of service or different carriers. This allows you to choose a method of shipping that matches your budget and requirements. 

Highly Secure and Saves Time 

All the data and mail managed by a virtual mailbox service are encrypted securely and accessible only to the recipient. Packages are handled professionally and stored at secure mailing locations.

Reduce Waste and Recycle

One of the worst feelings is opening your mailbox or visiting your post office expecting an important piece of mail only to discover a stack of junk mail waiting for you. This can be especially frustrating when you use your home address as a business address. It can feel like you’re doubling up on junk mail!

Luckily, the best virtual mailbox services offer not just a way out of the hassle of sifting through the junk. They also focus on relevant mail that comes to your virtual mailing address and offer recycling services that shred junk mail and make sure it gets recycled. It’s a win win!

Find Virtual Mail That Works Best for You

SnapMailbox aims to enhance the virtual mailbox space by providing customers the services they need to make their mail experience easier, along with reasonable pricing and flexibility. 

Our plans consist of mail scanning, receiving unlimited mail items, mail forwarding, and secure shredding to save you money and time. You can try our services free of cost for 30 days to see them in action for your specific needs.