I need a PO box but I guess I slept through that class in College on how to figure these rates out.
http://www.usps.com/receive/businesssolutions/poboxfees.htm
I think I want Box Size 3 11” by 5.5” a medium size box.
As it seems, I’m either going to pay $0-$125 and I’m not sure what it’s based on.
Any ideas?
It’s set by the local post office according to that chart. It’ll be best to call directly instead of checking online.
As an alternative, you can set up a public mailbox at any UPS Store. See what they might charge, too.
Thanks for making me hijack my own thread already!
I know there is a UPS store by me. Can I receive any type of mail there? How do they handle UPS deliveries which require signatures?
I have a private mailbox and find it to be very convenient and competitively priced with the post office. One big advantage is that you can give them permission to accept packages and deliveries if you’re not home during the day. The only disadvantage that I’ve found is that the post office won’t accept a “change of address” form from their address. (The address is a street address with a bank of personal mailboxes. The post office only recognizes the street address and will only forward all of the mail going to that address.) In response to that, my mailbox provider will hold and forward my mail to the new address for a small fee so it can be done.
Yes, you can receive any and all mail there.
To receive “signature” packages and letters, you simply sign a form giving the store permission to sign on your behalf.
I assume if you get a package bigger then the box can physically hold they put a card in there and you have to pick it up at the counter. So what’s the incentive to get anything but the smallest box?
I have a med. sized USPS box. It costs me $37.00 for 6 months. The have package boxes that are for the use of all boxholders, if you rec. a pkg. they place a key in your box which has the pkg. box number on it. You then go to the proper pkg. box to get your parcel. The key cannot be removed from the pkg. box once you open it.
I once had a private box at a Mail Boxes, Etc. It turned out to be a disaster. It was a franchise that went out of business. The USPS would not forward my mail, it was returned to the sender, marked “undeliverable”. I would never get another private mail box.
Getting all of your mail without conforming to USPS service hours. Some if not all Post Offices have Lobby hours where you can get to the PO boxes, but no one is on duty at the service counters. If you’re picking your mail up after work, you want packages and large envelopes, not pink slips.
I’ve gotten slips and I’ve gotten the keys A.R. Cane describes. However, and I believe this is in the agreement somewhere, if you are abusing it–in other words, paying for a small box when you are routinely getting much larger mail–they will force you to upgrade.
Am I able to receive USPS and FedEx deliveries if I were to get a UPS mailbox?
If you have a private mailbox you can get anything delivered there, USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, truck freight, whatever.
If on the other hand you have a PO box (USPS) Nobody except the USPS can deliver to it. No FedEx, UPS whatever.
That is why on order forms when it asks for shipping addresses, it often says NO PO BOXES. This is because the merchant ships by some method other than USPS.