When you receive your first piece of mail in your mailbox, you will notice that both the front and back sides are scanned for you to view online. You can see who it’s from, where it originated, and when it’s received. You then decide whether you want to open and scan the mail, forward it, or trash it.
Is Your Mailbox Activated?
When you sign up for a mailbox, you can immediately begin receiving mail. However, you won’t be able to process your mail until your mailbox is activated.
To activate your mailbox, you need to mail us a completed Form 1583 with proper IDs. Once we receive your form, you’ll get an email notification telling you that your mailbox is now active.
Open and Scan Mail
Having your mail opened and scanned saves you time and money. At Virtual Post Mail, requests are processed within a day and the scanned pages are available to you immediately. This option is the perfect solution if you are in a hurry to see your mail. It also costs up to 60% less than than forwarding your mail. As an added bonus, you get a digital copy of your mail that you can archive forever.
Forward Mail
If your mail contains sensitive material or you need the original mail content, you can choose to forward your mail instead. Unless you requested to have your mail opened for scanning, your mail is never opened and safely stored in a secure environment. Your shipment is processed and shipped out either with your chosen shipping method.
Trash Mail
With a traditional PO Box or mail forwarding service, you normally need to forward in bulk all mail you receive. This means you’re paying extra to forward unwanted mail like advertising catalogs and junk mail.
There are two options when trashing your mail.
- Trash and Archive Image – this trashes the physical mail piece but will let you keep the images for the mail. It is available for mail that’s either unopened or scanned.
- Trash and Delete Image – this trashes the physical mail piece AND deletes the online image. You will no longer have any access to the mail piece.
Virtual Post Mail shreds all your mail to protect your important information. Mail shredding is FREE for all mailboxes unlike others who may charge you extra monthly fees to provide similar service.
When Should I Use Each Option?
- If you’re in a hurry to read the mail, have it opened and scanned.
- If you want a digital copy of important documents inside the mail, have it opened and scanned.
- If it’s sensitive material, forward it.
- If you need to see it fast, want a digital copy, and need the originals, then have it opened and scanned and then forward it.
- If it’s junk mail, trash it.
