Mail Forwarding Services In The Usa

[connda]

I've been having my family forward my mail to me in Thailand, but the longer I live here, the less my family seems to be willing to help me. I'm not being told when I have important mail arrive and it takes forever to get them to mail important documents to me. However, I need to maintain a physical address in the US for a number of reasons. So, I'm starting to believe that a mail forwarding service may be my best answer.

Does anyone from the US who is residing in Thailand have any experience using USA-based mail forwarding services. I'd like some feedback from people who have had first hand experience with US-based mail forwarding services (both good and bad) who can make informed recommendations from personal experience. So please -- don't reply with "look on the Internet".

Thanks!

[retiredusn]

I have been using a great mail-forwarding service for the last 7 years and have had no problems at all. If I need something special they are only a email away. Runs around a $100 per year and well worth the money. My service is "The Other Mail Serivce" out of Oregon but believe they are elsewhere also.

[wimpy]

Never mind. I found it. Spelling was off.

I have been using a great mail-forwarding service for the last 7 years and have had no problems at all. If I need something special they are only a email away. Runs around a $100 per year and well worth the money. My service is "The Other Mail Serivce" out of Oregon but believe they are elsewhere also.

Do you have contact info? Nothing comes up in Google. Thanks.

Edited November 10, 2010 by wimpy

[jfchandler]

I've been using USA2Me, based in Houston TX, for the past couple years, and they've been pretty good... They have a well developed and pretty informative web site where you can see more detail about their services.

Online management of all letter mail... Basic plan for Thailand is $20 a month that includes sending one up to 4 pound USPS Priority Mail envelope per month (more than enough to hold a month's worth of most people's paper mail).

Account comes with a U.S. based mailing address, same like an apartment or suite... not a post office box.

I wouldn't use them for package mail, since they tend to lean toward using Fed Ex or DHL and I'd prefer to use USPS and Thai Post. But for letter mail, they've been great.

Easy to contact by phone or email. Never lost or misplaced any of my mail. Always followed my instructions pretty well.

The only potential downside is, some people want to have a physical mailing address in a particular city of their choosing. USA2Me cannot do that, they only have one address, in Houston, so that's the address all their customers get (along with their own individual suite/apartment #).

[thaihome]

I have used US Global Mail for over 4 years now. Am very satisfied. They are located in Houston Tx. The trick is to put the box number as an apt number when you give out the address.

They send me e-mail when mail arrives. The web site gives the return address and I can have it forwarded by a number of means or have it thrown out.

The Premium package is $100 a year with additional charge for forwarding mail. You can bundle mail into one package.

TH

[jfchandler]

The Premium package is $100 a year with additional charge for forwarding mail. You can bundle mail into one package.

TH

ThaiHome, so their pricing is $100 a year (about $8.50 per month) not including the cost of any actual mailings to you? How much extra does their forwarding of letter mail cost and what mailing method(s) do they use?

With USA2Me and their "Just Mail" plan (their least expensive one), I get the same kind of management services you describe above... email to me any time mail arrives indicating what kind of mail, who the sender is, and the weight.... Then, via my account on their web site, I can individually choose to keep or delete or send individual items, or combine any together into a mailing. Also, for any non letter items, the ability to fill out the required customs info online via their web site. So basically, it's all self managed via their web site.

From the time I order a mailing online, they mail it out the next business day. And then for the plan's included one USPS Global Priority Mail flat rate envelope per month (which I think would otherwise cost about $14 per piece in postage), the arrival time from the USA usually is about 10 days.... If I want to order extra mailings or more frequent ones, I pay for those separately...

But they also have a nice feature of being able to order scans of mail you receive at the rate of $2 per mail item up to 6 pages, I believe. They scan the pages as Adobe PDF files and then I can download them from the company's web site to print or view or whatever... Great feature for when I want to get a quick look at something and decide if it needs quick attention more than a once a month mail forwarding would allow.

[powderpuff]

US Global Mail here also.

I like them a lot.

Think I pay $150 a year for my membership. (Premium).

Based out of Houston TX.

[phetaroi]

For the year-and-a-half I lived in Thailand (recently), I used the USA2ME service. Very dependable.

I'm not so sure that for legal purposes that any of these services means you have a true physical address in the US.

[wimpy]

I've been using USA2Me, based in Houston TX, for the past couple years, and they've been pretty good... They have a well developed and pretty informative web site where you can see more detail about their services.

Online management of all letter mail... Basic plan for Thailand is $20 a month that includes sending one up to 4 pound USPS Priority Mail envelope per month (more than enough to hold a month's worth of most people's paper mail).

Account comes with a U.S. based mailing address, same like an apartment or suite... not a post office box.

I wouldn't use them for package mail, since they tend to lean toward using Fed Ex or DHL and I'd prefer to use USPS and Thai Post. But for letter mail, they've been great.

Easy to contact by phone or email. Never lost or misplaced any of my mail. Always followed my instructions pretty well.

The only potential downside is, some people want to have a physical mailing address in a particular city of their choosing. USA2Me cannot do that, they only have one address, in Houston, so that's the address all their customers get (along with their own individual suite/apartment #).

They won't forward parcels by airmail? Do they mark up the postage costs for forwarding over and above the one 4 pound shipment? Thank you.

[thaihome]

US Global Mail here also.

I like them a lot.

Think I pay $150 a year for my membership. (Premium).

Based out of Houston TX.

I mispoke earlier, it is $150 a year.

TH

[thaihome]

The Premium package is $100 a year with additional charge for forwarding mail. You can bundle mail into one package.

TH

ThaiHome, so their pricing is $100 a year (about $8.50 per month) not including the cost of any actual mailings to you? How much extra does their forwarding of letter mail cost and what mailing method(s) do they use?

With USA2Me and their "Just Mail" plan (their least expensive one), I get the same kind of management services you describe above... email to me any time mail arrives indicating what kind of mail, who the sender is, and the weight.... Then, via my account on their web site, I can individually choose to keep or delete or send individual items, or combine any together into a mailing. Also, for any non letter items, the ability to fill out the required customs info online via their web site. So basically, it's all self managed via their web site.

From the time I order a mailing online, they mail it out the next business day. And then for the plan's included one USPS Global Priority Mail flat rate envelope per month (which I think would otherwise cost about $14 per piece in postage), the arrival time from the USA usually is about 10 days.... If I want to order extra mailings or more frequent ones, I pay for those separately...

But they also have a nice feature of being able to order scans of mail you receive at the rate of $2 per mail item up to 6 pages, I believe. They scan the pages as Adobe PDF files and then I can download them from the company's web site to print or view or whatever... Great feature for when I want to get a quick look at something and decide if it needs quick attention more than a once a month mail forwarding would allow.

I pay $150 a year. US Global Mail lets you choose how the package or letter is sent. They have FEDEX, UPS, DHL, and USPS as options.

I like the idea of being able to get a scan via e-mail. I often just need to read the mail and do not need the original.

To much hassled to change at this point.

Most of these mail forwarders are located in states that have no state income tax.

TH

[jfchandler]

Wimpy, let me clarify and answer your question, re USA2Me....

Their basic plan, $19.90 a month flat fee for Thailand, is called Just Mail. That plan includes in its price them sending the customer one USPS Global Priority Mail flat rate ENVELOPE per month, an envelope that has a USPS weight limit of max 4 lbs...

So, whatever you can fit into that flat envelope, which is about 9 in by 12 in or so high and wide, is free up to the 4 pound limit. But because it's an envelope, not a box, other than letters and documents, you pretty much can only fit smaller, lighter things inside. For example, I've included some small bottles of vitamins and some stockings for my wife at different times and even a computer card, and those fit fine. Fortunately, USA2Me will, upon request, remove items from their original shipping box and just include the item itself inside your envelope, which can save on space. But anything much bigger or thicker, isn't going to fit that particular USPS envelope.

Under the Just Mail plan, as long as you stay within the 1 USPS Priority Mail envelope mailing per month, there are no extra charges.

Here's a screen shot of their rate table for Thailand

However beyond that, under the Just Mail plan, you're paying extra for them to ship or forward box-type packages on an item by item basis. I don't remember all the details... But basically, the way they handle package shipping makes it uneconomical with them to send via USPS.... They will do it, but their USPS pricing, when everything washes out, ends up being almost identical to their rates for Fed-Ex or DHL... When I asked about it, they claimed it was because they had to deliver USPS packages to the local office, whereas Fed-Ex/DHL would come to pick up.

What I was really trying to avoid, was in my experience the greater likelihood of getting hit by hefty duties and fees on the Thai end from customs, when the incoming package goes through any of the commercial shipping companies. I learned that lesson through bitter personal experience. While I haven't avoided duties entirely, at least with the combination of USPS and Thai Post, I've generally had much better results of either no duty/taxes or at least reasonable ones.... most of the time.

So in my experience, while I very much like and continue to use USA2Me for postal mail and small items, I think I get much better rates (shipping cost and duties/fees combined) for actual box-type things from an outfit based in the L.A. area called Shipito.com....

They won't forward parcels by airmail? Do they mark up the postage costs for forwarding over and above the one 4 pound shipment? Thank you.