Virtual address services, reviewed in words
Virtual address services, read closely
A virtual address is a street address that someone else answers for you. What matters is what happens after a letter arrives: who opens it, where it goes next, and what the terms say about it. That is what the reviews here look at.
- Mail scanning
- Forwarding
- Business addresses
- Parcels
What the service does
Four things can happen to a letter
Every virtual address service starts by taking in your mail at its address. After that, services differ in which of these they offer and how they handle each one.
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It is received
The letter arrives at a street address that is not your home or office, and staff log it in under your name.
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It is scanned
Some services image the outside of the envelope, and open and scan the contents if you ask, so you can read it online.
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It is forwarded
The physical letter is sent on to wherever you are, either as it arrives or in batches you request.
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It is held
Mail waits at the location until you collect it, or until the service's own rules say what happens next.
What to read in the terms
The questions a review has to answer
Two services can advertise the same features and handle your mail very differently. The terms of service are where that difference shows.
- Who opens the mail?
- Whether staff open envelopes, when they do it, and whether you can tell them not to.
- How do scans reach you?
- Through an online account, an app or email, and how long the images are kept there.
- Where can the address be used?
- On a website, an invoice, a bank form or a state filing. A service may allow some uses and not others.
- What happens to parcels?
- Whether packages are accepted, from which carriers, and how long they are stored.
- What does forwarding involve?
- How often it runs, how it is requested, and whether postage is charged separately.
- What happens when you leave?
- How cancelling works, and what becomes of mail that arrives for you afterwards.
The sorting frame
Subjects the reviews will cover
Virtual mailboxes
Online accounts that show your mail as it arrives.
Mail scanning
Envelope images, opened scans and what you can request.
Mail forwarding
Getting the paper itself to wherever you are.
Business addresses
A street address to print on a website or invoice.
Registered agents
Why that role is a separate job from a mailing address.
Parcels and packages
Deliveries that do not fit through a letter slot.
Keeping a home private
Leaving a house address off public-facing paperwork.
Switching services
Moving your mail, and your address, somewhere else.
Reviews on these subjects are on the way. Read about the site.