The Other Half of Mail
July 24, 2008
Being able to send letters from your computer is great. But you still have to go down to your mailbox and pick up your incoming mail. Thankfully, there are several services willing to take care of that for you.
Earth Class Mail allows you to set up a mailing address at one of their facilities and direct your incoming mail there. They scan the mail and provide it to you online. If you need the actual letter, they handle forwarding that on to you. It really seems that this is something the USPS should do (and working with national postal systems is part of Earth Class Mail’s model).
Pixily is a new entrant. Rather than automatically handling your mail, they have you collect your documents and then re-mail them to their center. If you still want to receive your mail directly but would like to have someone else handle document scanning (for bills or other pieces you want saved), this is a great option. There are similar services like Shoeboxed which focus on receipts (as I glance nervously at the wad on receipts on the floor next to me).
Paper documents and mail still have a place, but for many of us, that place should be far away from our desks and offices. Postful lets you handle the outgoing side. These services let you handle the incoming. It’s a combination which allows you to stay connected across all formats while working in the way that’s best for you.
July 24, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Justin,
Thanks for the shout-out! It looks like you have a very interesting service going on here!
Dan Englander
VP Community
Shoeboxed.com
July 25, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Funny, but I never thought about having other services get my mail for me. Just like I hadn’t thought about having a service mail my letters for me. Thanks for passing on the ideas!
Sophia
July 26, 2008 at 7:08 am
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this.
I had thought about all those receipts and scanning them in, and . . . *makes a face*
I’d much rather have someone else do it. That way it will get done.
July 27, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Justin, glad to see Postful supporting Earth Class Mail! It’s a great service, I use it at my startup and I also had the pleasure of watching the Mojo “startup junkies” show featuring ECM. Great show. It’s fun to watch a 1/2 hour “primetime” on startup life in the evening after your real-life startup has turned your brain into mashed potatoes
July 27, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Glad this has been useful!
And, Casey, I too watched through “Startup Junkies”. Of course, it does say something about us that our break from our own startups is to watch somebody else’s :).