- What is a Virtual Mailbox?
- What is a PO Box?
- Key Differences Between a Virtual Mailbox and a PO Box
- Why Alliance Virtual Offices is the Better Choice
Q: What is the difference between a virtual mailbox and a PO Box?
A: A virtual mailbox is a digital service that allows users to receive, manage, and forward mail online using a physical street address, while a PO Box is a physical mailbox at a post office that provides a numbered address for receiving mail.
Once you start your venture as a small business owner, freelancer, or remote worker, you will soon find yourself in a spot where you are looking for a reliable mail-handling solution that provides a secure and professional way of managing your business mail.
If you are totally new to the concept of secure mail handling for businesses, you will quickly find yourself contemplating the virtual mailbox vs. PO box dilemma. This is mostly because they seem to be the more popular solutions often considered by small businesses.
However, while virtual mailboxes and PO boxes offer mail handling solutions, neither fully addresses the needs of a growing business like the virtual office solutions provided by Alliance Virtual Offices.
Today, you’ll learn why Alliance Virtual Offices’ remote business solution is the better choice. But before we get to that, let’s address the virtual mailbox vs PO box debate.
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What Is a Virtual Mailbox?
A virtual mailbox is a digital service that provides a physical street address that allows individuals and businesses to receive, manage, and forward mail online.
You can get a virtual mailbox from a virtual mail services provider—and sometimes a virtual office solutions provider.
The way a virtual mailbox works is pretty simple:
- First, if you sign up with a virtual mail provider, they will provide you with a virtual mailing address.
- You can then use this mailing address as your official business mailing address or personal mailing address for your business or personal correspondence.
- The service provider receives the mail at the chosen address on your behalf, then processes, sorts, scans, and uploads it to your online account, allowing you to view and manage your mail from anywhere.
Some providers will only scan and upload the outer content of your mail to give you an insight into what the mail is all about and decide if they should upload the full content or shred and discard the mail.
Depending on the arrangement, the provider may scan and upload the entirety of the mail—both inside and outside—and upload them to your online account all at once. In this case, they may convert the scans to a PDF document for easy perusal.
Generally, providers work with the principles of secure mail handling, focusing on privacy, making virtual mailboxes a reasonably safe mail forwarding service.
Key Features of a Virtual Mailbox
Some of the key features of virtual mailboxes include the following:
- Mail receipt: You must be able to receive mail at your virtual mail address. For legal correspondence with the secretary of state and other legal agencies, you should consider designating your provider as your registered agent, ensuring that there is always someone available to receive critical mail during business hours.
- Digital storage: Most providers offer options for both physical storage and digital storage. With digital storage, you get a secure cloud-based account where the provider can upload and store all your mail, allowing access to them at any time, from anywhere.
- Mail forwarding services: A virtual mailbox should offer the ability to request mail forwarding or shredding. If, upon online receipt of your mail, you decide that you want the physical copies of the mail forwarded to you, the provider should be able to forward the mail to your current address. Additionally, if you’d rather do away with the mail, you should be able to request that they shred and discard the mail for you.
Because of the convenience and flexibility that comes with virtual mailboxes, digital nomads, remote businesses, and individuals who need access to their mail while traveling often opt for virtual mailbox services.
Considering virtual mailbox benefits in terms of 24/7 access from anywhere in the world and the fact that additional mail forwarding services allow you to get the physical copies of your mail wherever you are, virtual mailboxes are largely regarded as one of the top PO box alternatives.
What Is a PO Box?
We are all too familiar with post office boxes (PO Boxes); there are about 21.2 million of them in 33,034 retail units in the U.S.
PO Box is a secure mail handling service offered by the United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the U.S. Mail, Post Office, or Postal Service.
If you are wondering why we are having a virtual mailbox vs PO box comparison, it’s because many individuals and small business owners sometimes assume that they both serve the same purposes.
However, knowing the definition of both makes all the difference.
In this context, a PO Box is a physical mailbox located in a post office where individuals and businesses can receive mail. PO boxes are assigned a specific number and are often used by businesses that need a separate address for mail collection.
With PO Boxes, you must visit the post office physically to collect your mail whenever you can; there is no mail handling agent on the ground to receive, scan, and upload your mail as soon as it arrives.
Key Features of a PO Box
Below are some key features to note when considering using a PO box for your business:
- Secure mail storage: PO boxes are federal properties protected by USPS regulations. As a result, only authorized individuals (the mailbox owner and mail carriers) are legally allowed to access the mailbox. As a business owner, you may assign additional users to the mailbox and grant them access.
As a result, PO boxes are largely considered a secure way to receive and store mail, as there are no third parties going through the content of your mail, and it’s also less prone to mail theft, which is common to mailboxes situated outside homes or office buildings.
- Easy access: You can easily access your mail during post office hours, typically Mondays through Fridays, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, many post offices have open, after-hour lobbies with self-service kiosks, which allow you unlimited access to your PO Box.
- Limited mail receipt: USPS is primarily the only mail carrier that ships to a PO Box. You may be able to use FedEx SmartPost to ship to a PO box. But what really happens is that they push the mail to USPS, and USPS delivers it to the PO Box. This means there are very few mail carriers that can send packages to your mailbox, and sometimes, you’ll notice businesses indicate that they do not ship to PO boxes. This point is worsened by the fact that there is also a limit on package size; if your package exceeds the limit, it will be held at the Post Office window for ten days, after which it will be returned to the sender if unclaimed.
In addition to the aforementioned PO box limitations, also note that PO boxes provide a mailbox number as an address, not a street address, further limiting the use of PO boxes for business purposes.
Who Uses PO Boxes?
Although PO box limitations pose an immediate deterrent to many businesses and individuals, some still find comfort and convenience in post office mailboxes.
In this category, you will find small businesses and individuals in areas where mail delivery is unreliable or those who prefer their mail’s privacy above every other matter of convenience.
In some cases, small businesses rent a PO box specifically for secure mail handling while having a separate business address for other purposes.
Key Differences Between a Virtual Mailbox and a PO Box
Looking at the definitions of a virtual mailbox and PO box, as well as some of the virtual mailbox benefits, you should be able to tell there are some key differences along service provisions and the type of addresses provided.
Here, we will take a closer look at the differences between virtual mailboxes and PO boxes and determine why virtual mailboxes are regarded as one of the better PO box alternatives.
Let’s dive in:
Physical vs. Digital
As the name implies, a virtual mailbox is a digital service. But a PO box is a physical mailbox located in a post office.
A virtual mailbox is a digital service that provides a virtual mailing address for users and provides capabilities for the users to manage their mail online. You can have your virtual mailbox at any location in the U.S. (or the world, for that matter) and still be able to access your mail on time despite being thousands of miles away.
Your virtual mail receipt services provider receives your mail at your address, then scans and uploads it to your personal online account, enabling you to go through the contents of your mail without being physically present at the business mailing address.
You can also decide what happens to your mail after receipt.
Do you want to leverage additional mail forwarding services to have the mail sent to your current address? Or do you want to shred and discard it or store it for later?
You can initiate these processes from the comfort of your mobile device.
With PO boxes, you must go to the physical post office address to access your mailbox.
Address Type
A PO Box address is an identity number assigned to a specific mailbox at a post office. The number merely identifies the box where a USPS delivery agent will place your mail, which is the only box where you can access your mail.
And that’s all a PO box address is: an identity number for a mailbox.
On the other hand, a virtual mailbox often provides a physical street address, which is generally more professional and versatile for business use.
For a start, you can use it to register your business in some states.
Virtual mailbox benefits are better leveraged when you opt for a plan that covers a comprehensive suite of virtual office solutions, allowing you to enjoy access to various business address solutions, including on-demand access to meeting rooms, private office spaces, and coworking spaces at the chosen address.
Additional Services
The basic services offered by virtual mailboxes include mail scanning, digital storage, and mail forwarding services.
PO boxes, on the other hand, are limited to receiving and storing mail. USPS offers fewer options for digital management and mail forwarding, such as:
- Click-N-Ship: This is basically an online service that allows you to create pre-paid postage labels for packages in certain mail classes.
- Schedule a Pickup: A service that allows you to choose a pickup location and schedule pickups for your package. USPS will notify you if your chosen address is eligible for pickups.
These and a few others, like stamp purchase and hold mail, are just about all the online mail handling services available through a PO box.
If you are keen on more extensive, business-convenient services, you will have to look towards virtual mailboxes.
Suitability for Business Use
A virtual mailbox is generally more suitable for businesses that need a professional street address and the ability to manage mail remotely.
This notion leans on the point that a virtual mailbox offers a physical street address that you can use for other business purposes, like business registration, and also provides various digital mail handling and mail forwarding services. Therefore, it is a better choice for businesses.
The same cannot be said of a PO Box, with its many limitations in terms of the usefulness of the address offered and the services available.
Considering the virtual mailbox vs PO Box talk from a broader perspective, we can safely conclude that a PO Box might be more appropriate for personal use or businesses that do not require a street address.
Why Alliance Virtual Offices Is the Better Choice
In the virtual mailbox vs PO box for business argument, the virtual mailbox benefits surpass those of a PO box.
Even better, a virtual mailbox makes up for various PO box limitations many small businesses have had to deal with in the past few decades, which is why it is recognized as one of the top PO box alternatives.
But why stop there when you can go further and leverage virtual office solutions that endow your business with the numerous business amenities you need to get ahead and stay ahead?
Recall that virtual mailbox benefits are better enjoyed with access to virtual office solutions at the virtual mailbox address.
This is where Alliance Virtual Offices virtual office solutions make a grand entrance, offering you a prestigious virtual mailbox alongside other essential business amenities you need to grow and sustain your business.
- Beyond mailing: While both virtual mailboxes and PO boxes offer mail handling solutions, Alliance virtual offices provide far more, including a prestigious business address, access to on-demand private offices, coworking and meeting spaces, and professional services like live receptionist support. Basically, with Alliance Virtual Offices, you have all the remote business solutions you need to create and sustain a well-functioning virtual workspace—not just solutions for business mail correspondence.
- Mail forwarding options: In addition to all the digital mail handling services provided by a virtual mailbox, Alliance Virtual Offices offers additional mail forwarding services on a flexible schedule (monthly, biweekly, weekly, or daily), providing greater control over how and when mail is received. This means that you don’t have to worry about what happens to your mail after receipt. With any option you choose, you will be sure to receive your mail at your current address while keeping your residential address away from the public.
- Prestigious business centers: At Alliance Virtual Offices, we believe in quality over quantity. Where some other top providers easily offer as many as 4,000 virtual office addresses across the U.S., we’ve kept our numbers low at just about 1,400 locations. This is because we take the time to evaluate and validate each business center in our portfolio as a prestigious business address capable of elevating the professional image of businesses while ensuring that necessary virtual office solutions are adequately provided in each location. Within the virtual mailbox vs PO box context, you simply cannot get this much value from a PO box or a standalone virtual mailbox.
- Comprehensive business services: Alliance Virtual Offices supports business growth with services that go beyond mail handling. Think of the business productivity and customer-facing aspect of your business with on-demand access to meeting rooms, coworking spaces, office space, and live receptionists. It also includes a professional business address in a prestigious location and other business amenities that give you what could be considered an unfair advantage when your business is considered side-by-side with other remote businesses.
Going by the range of comprehensive virtual office solutions offered by Alliance Virtual Offices while also ensuring secure mail handling, the virtual mailbox vs PO box comparison almost feels unnecessary.
Take the live receptionist services for example.
Each plan comes with a dedicated business number and an industry-leading virtual phone system. The live receptionist is a professionally trained and certified receptionist (often assigned based on relevant industry experience) who will make sure your calls never go unanswered and help with administrative tasks like appointment scheduling and lead capturing. All for as low as $125 per month.
Without going further, you can already tell that this service could benefit you in more ways than a virtual mailbox or PO box could help your business.
More importantly, like our virtual receptionist services, every other Alliance Virtual Offices service is layered with numerous virtual office benefits.
Wrapping up
Virtual mailbox vs PO box seems like an easy fight with an obvious winner. However, while weighing virtual mailbox benefits against PO box limitations, it helps to recognize that PO box is not without some benefits.
Yes, when it comes to digital services, address types, additional services provided, and suitability for business, a virtual mailbox takes the crown. However, where privacy and proper mail storage are of the utmost priority, a PO box is worth considering.
Further Reading:
- Technologies Powering Virtual Office Spaces
- Empowering Independence: A Guide for the Modern Independent Business Owner
- Maximizing Customer Value: A Guide to Customer Retention Analysis
- Green Marketing Definition: What It Is and How It Works
If you are looking for all of these and far more, or if you are looking to get a complete suite of remote business solutions beyond secure mail handling, Alliance Virtual Offices is your one-stop solution.
Alliance Virtual Offices is the superior choice for businesses that need more than just mail handling; you get a complete solution that supports operational efficiency and productivity, as well as overall business success and sustainability.
For nearly two decades, Alliance Virtual Offices’ range of virtual office services has been the subject of overwhelmingly positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied clients across the U.S.
