Mail forwarding

Is there an ***Link Removed*** (mobile) than can manage this?

Just a note of caution to those using mail forwarding services.

Be sure to ask some hard questions of the service you are considering. How many employees they have. Do they have a plan in place to handle what happens in case of natural disaster or fire to their offices. How many employees do they have?

It's a good idea to get a feeling for how big and stable they are.

Now I was on a tiny Island in Greece this August when My Dakota Address went out of business and gave their customers literally ONE DAYS notice. For many including me this was a disaster as I could do nothing to put in a change of address from Greece.

To their credit MDA after many emails on my part finally took some action to help with the change.

Too many of these services are "Mom and Pop" businesses that are underfunded and poorly managed.

I would take care to use a bigger, better managed and well funded service. Be sure to ask some hard questions. Many many people were left holding the bag when My Dakota Address failed.

I am currently using My Best Address. I have had mixed results with them. I am getting mail for someone else which makes me wonder where MY mail may be going and I had a huge amount of difficulty in getting my truck re-registered at a higher weight rating. Overall it is much more professional than MDA and I am generally happy with them.

We have used the USPS "Temporary Mail Forwarding" service numerous times over the past 10 years and it has worked well for us. As previously mentioned, it only costs $1 to process the request on-line. Check it out at: https://www.usps.com/manage/forward.htm

Rover_Bill wrote:

RobWNY wrote:
I was just wondering if it would be better to have a service like being discussed in this thread as a snowbird or just do mail forwarding with the USPS for the 4 month's we'll be in Florida. We'll be staying at the same place the entire time. This kind of service sounds like it's geared more for RVers going from place to place as snowbirds or full timers.

Weekly forwarding by the USPS is very expensive!

Yes it is but they also offer just a simple "Regular Mail Forward" service and deliver mail for up to 6 months to a new address. Like if you moved from a house in one area to a house in another area. It wouldn't work for RVers that move around but for those like we will be, staying in one place, it should work. That service costs nothing except an initial $1 charge to a credit card to verify your identity. At least that's what it says on their website found here Mail Forwarding Options

Make sure you are looking for mail forwarding only; and not DOMICILE service. Two different things and good to be smart about the difference.

RobWNY wrote:
I was just wondering if it would be better to have a service like being discussed in this thread as a snowbird or just do mail forwarding with the USPS for the 4 month's we'll be in Florida. We'll be staying at the same place the entire time. This kind of service sounds like it's geared more for RVers going from place to place as snowbirds or full timers.

Weekly forwarding by the USPS is very expensive!

RobWNY wrote:
How does all this stuff work? What happens to your physical mail after you've seen it online? What's done with packages you order online or someone else sends you as a gift? Do you need to stay at a place long enough to have the "real" mail sent to you?

With the MailBox Forwarding (MBF) service: The USPS forwards (at no extra cost) all letters and packages that they get to your selected MBF address. The USPS does not forward junk mail. MBF makes an image of the front and back of the letter and displays it online and stores the letter. When you view the image online, you have the option to have the item destroyed immediately, forwarded to any address you desire, or you can have them open the item and make a PDF copy of the contents for your online viewing. Forwarded items can be shipped by UPS or FedEX at any speed available (overnight, 2-day, ground, etc) to any address that the carrier delivers to at the normal package shipping cost.

Packages delivered to your S&B front porch by UPS or FedEX stay there until a good friend or neighbor picks them up and notifies you or the local Porch Pirate steals it.

If my camping trip is less than 6 weeks, I have the USPS hold my mail (junk mail included) until I return. If longer than 6 weeks, I use the MBF service and ask my neighbor to watch my front porch.

I was just wondering if it would be better to have a service like being discussed in this thread as a snowbird or just do mail forwarding with the USPS for the 4 month's we'll be in Florida. We'll be staying at the same place the entire time. This kind of service sounds like it's geared more for RVers going from place to place as snowbirds or full timers.

Escapees has been great for us since we went full time in May. They always get my mail sent quickly and I usually get it in 3-4 days here in Florida.....

I have used Escapees in Livingston, TX for several years without issue. I highly recommend their service.