You can use family and friends for mail forwarding and even an address but remember they have lots of other things going on in their lives and some of those things, believe it or not, are more important than your mail. I do not recommend using this method for more than a month now and then.
Professional mailing services are the best choice. Depending on how much mail you get, there are several levels provided by most services along with additional services such as registering vehicles for you, receiving legal notices, faxing, free internet in their office when in town, providing your location to friends and family with your permission, etc.
The best service for you depends on A) your residency choice, B) how much mail you get, C) price, D) extras provided with each plan, E) miscellaneous such as the wheel tax in some South Dakota counties which does not apply in others according to where your mail service is.
While researching mailing services, I did go through the ads in several RV magazines and checked the internet. If I had a specific place I needed, I might have checked out the old phone book as well. You can buy phone books for areas all over the country. RV books and fellow RVers would also be good sources. The state you choose to reside in will of course narrow down the choices but you may also find a really good mailing service with something special in another state that may be worth changing your residency for. Check out lots of them no matter where they are to compare pricing and services offered. Once you have made a choice, use the internet to check their local Better Business Bureau.
Most mailing services have about 3 tiers. One for those who very rarely receive mail such as 6-7 pieces a year. I assume those folks are just using it for residency and to receive vehicle registration renewals. The next tier is for those who receive the normal amount of mail and now and then a package. The last tier is for for people who get a lot of mail and/or a lot of packages such as someone Ebaying or running some other business. The last tier may also come with free extras such as sorting junk mail out, postcards that no mail was received delivered to you when you tell them to send your mail now, email notifications of mail received each day, access to a database of mail received with the ability to checkmark a box to tell them how to handle each piece of mail such as trash, hold, or send now. These may also come with the second tier either free or as a paid addon service.
Also part of the tiers is whether you want mail delivered once a month, once a week or on demand. If you choose once a month or once a week, they may offer to send now on a special request for an additional charge each time. They may offer the “You have no mail” postcards for an additional charge each time or as a subscription payment plan addon.
Services require a postage fund be setup when subscribing and that it be replenished when it falls to a certain level. Some may pass on the cost of using Paypal or credit cards for this so take that into consideration.
Many services if not most appear to have a handling charge for each shipment. It may be only $1-$2 but that can add up fast if you must receive mail often. Try to get all your banking, credit card notices, utilities notices, etc. done online to save on this. If you choose the more expensive plan with mail sorting, you may save money by having them trash and shred the junk mail. I’m not comfortable these days with a company that does not shred.
To have you mail sent to you, you call or email the mailing service with the address to send it to. The address may be the address of the RV park you are at, one you are going to if you have notified the park beforehand, or it may be in care of general delivery which is common for Escapees parks. I have been able to have packages delivered directly from online stores to the RV parks I stay at with only one exception. One online store I used will only ship to the billing address of the credit card. I had to send them a check instead to get around that and then wait much longer. If it wasn’t such a good deal I would have passed on it.
Here are some mail services worth checking out:
Escapees – Texas – Escapees membership required
Good Sam – Florida – GoodSam membersip required
America’s Mailbox – Florida and South Dakota
MyDakotaAddress – South Dakota
Mail Forwarding Nevada – Nevada may be a valid choice for some due to no state income tax and favorable business incorporation laws.
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