Mail forwarding services are helpful if you want to get your mail while traveling.  There is a good deal of online space devoted to reviews of the best mail forwarding services for RVers, but I want to tell you about the one I actually use and have used from around 2008 to 2021.

Most of what you see when you search mail forwarding services is generated by affiliate marketers and they haven’t actually USED a particular service, so how can you trust the review?  As with everything I recommend on this blog, I won’t do so unless I have first-hand experience with the product or service. Although I will reference a number of mail forwarding services, the one I will recommend that you check out is the one shown in the banner ads.  But first…

What is a mail forwarding service?

As the name implies, a mail forwarding service provides an address where you send all of your mail.  They then forward it on to any other address in the country.  In that sense, it’s a bit like telling the post office to forward your mail, except, the US mail will only do that for a short time and you have to file a new form every time your location changes.  A mail forwarding company allows you to select your current address each time you request that your mail be forwarded.  This can be daily, weekly, or monthly.  Common places you might have mail sent while traveling include campgrounds, hotels, a friend’s house, or any business that agrees to hold a package for you.  You can also send to any US post office by putting your name, “general delivery”, and the address of the post office, in the delivery address.  I’ve used all of these methods over the years.  But forwarding mail isn’t all these companies do!

 

Other features offered by forwarding services

In addition to simple mail forwarding, these services may also offer:

• A permanent address.  Your mailing address stays the same, regardless of where you happen to be at the moment.  This address can be used to do things like register a business or obtain a driver’s license (note: these rules vary by state).  Virtually all forwarding services offer this feature, but not all are real street addresses.
• Re-shipment of UPS or FedEx deliveries.  The US post office will not receive or forward a package unless it was shipped by USPS, but most mail forwarding services do.
• Mail scanning.  Most services will scan the outside of each piece of mail, so you can review it online before forwarding it.  Some will open your mail if you request it and scan the contents. Some, like Escapees, charge a hefty fee for this service.
• Mail recycling.  Filter out the junk mail and have it recycled at the forwarding service.
• Mail Shredding.  If your piece of mail contains sensitive info, you can have it securely shredded at the forwarding service.  A comment is in order here… not all services have a central location where they shred documents.  Some “services” that you will find online are actually a network of people that forward mail from their home or a small office.  I don’t know about you, but if it needs to be shredded, I want to know I can trust how it’s being done.  Additionally, just because a forwarding service says they “discard” the mail you don’t want to be forwarded, doesn’t mean they shred it.
• Check Deposits.  Send your checks to one address and have them deposited for you in your bank account.  To me, this is such a time saver, I’d pay for the service even if that’s ALL it did.
• Online access.  All of the services I’m aware of have an app or web interface where you can review your mail and select when to forward it.  You can also mark it for recycling, shredding, or scanning.
• Batch forwarding.  If you don’t get many pieces of mail, you might want to forward everything as it comes into the service.  However, it’s more economical to forward the mail weekly, or monthly.  Usually, the service will pack the mail into one package and send it on by USPS first class or Priority Mail.  Many also over overnight and other services.  Note that you will be charged the shipping fee and possibly a handling fee for packaging everything up.  Some services let you pick the method of shipment and some do not.
• Fax Service.  Yes, fax machines still exist and are used by some institutions (mostly banking and government) to send and receive certain documents.
• Shipping to international locations.  Some services will send your mail on when you are abroad.  I’ve never tried this, but I’d imagine your results might vary by location.  I might try it with the UK, but I wouldn’t try it with China.
• Online storage of mail scans.  Many services will electronically store any mail that you have them scan, so you can access it later.
• An App.  Some people like to have an app for everything and if it is designed well, it can make your life simpler.  However, if the website is designed properly, an app is just an extra layer for your data to trickle through.  If you are reading this page on your mobile device, ask yourself how an app would make it better.  I just don’t see the point for some things, but opinions vary.

Not every service offers every feature and some charge extra (more about that later) for the individual services.

Virtual Addresses

Almost all forwarding services offer an actual street address for your mail.  Some of the large ones like ipostal1.com let you pick from many cities across the country.  They do this by partnering with existing shipping locations or a store like Staples.  But beware, some services will use less visible partners and it can be hard to tell who is handling your mail.  I like to look at their virtual address on Google Maps Streetview, to see what is at the actual location.

A forwarding service will include a unique identifier in your address (usually a suite or box number) so that they know whose mail is coming in.  That identifier is often more important than the name on the package, so with some services you can put any name you want on the package.  The service I use lets you make a list on your account which includes all the business names and people names you want to be associated with your mail.  However, it’s only used if the unique identifier gets left off the package.

So what does Odyssey Camper use?

I have used a company called MailboxForwarding to run two businesses for over ten years.  My virtual address serves as my business location and I use this company to forward my mail and packages or to handle check deposits while I’m traveling.  I was doing this long before I started traveling for this blog, so it was an easy transition to the road.  I literally trust them with my livelihood, since most of my income flows through their offices in the form of a paper check.  I chose a virtual address in Michigan, since that is where my businesses are registered.  However, if you are registering an RV in Florida, they have a virtual address in Pompano Beach, FL.  They also have an address in L.A., on Wilshire Boulevard, if you want something that sounds fancier.  Personally, I want my business as far away from California as I can get it, but it might work for you.  Remember, it doesn’t really matter where your virtual address is because the service can forward it anywhere.

(UPDATE: MAY 2023, Mailbox Forwarding unexpectedly went out of business, so… the following information is for reference only.  I am now using the Escapee’s mail service in Texas.  However, I have not used them long enough to recommend them to my readers–Odyssey Camper)

Pricing

As always, the devil is in the details when it comes to pricing.  There are so many forwarding services and features that a comprehensive comparison would take me weeks to complete, but let me use ipostal1.com for comparison and see how their pricing compares with MailboxFowarding.

ipostal.com    $9.99/mo

MailboxForwarding $14.95/mo

It would seem that ipostal1.com, one of the most popular services, is cheaper.  However…

ipostal1 allows up to 30 pieces of mail each month and charges $0.35 for each additional 

MailboxForwarding allows 50 pieces of mail per month and charges $0.25 for each additional

MailboxForwarding offers free shredding of mail

ipostal1 charges $2.25 to shred, but they do have 5 shred bundles for $10 ea.

ipostal1 charges $2.25 to scan the contents of an envelope

MailboxForwarding will scan the contents of up to 15 pieces per month, for free

So you can see that how you use the service can have a drastic effect on the price.  ipostal.com also offers an app, though I find the web interface at MailboxForwarding.com works fine.  Overall, I’ve found that MailboxForwarding offered the best combination of features for someone that gets a couple of pieces of mail per day (when you change to a mail forwarding service, you get less bulk junk mail), needs an occasional scan, and likes to shred anything that gets thrown away.

Are ipostal1 and MailboxForwarding the best mail forwarding service for RVers?  I have no idea.  A lot of people like the service offered by GoodSam, but it’s only a good offer if you are ALSO a GoodSam member.  Then there is Escapees.com service, but they charge $10 a month extra, just to have the scanning option, plus a $50 enrollment fee.  However, they might make sense if you need a Texas domicile and like the other benefits of membership.

Obviously, I’m talking up MailboxForwarding, because I have used them for over a decade.  But I also just learned that they have an affiliate program and so…

In the interest of full disclosure, if you decide that Mailbox Forwarding is right for you and use these links, I will get a few bucks to keep this site running.  But do what works best for you and your situation.  Your results may vary, but you can always switch services if you find something better (and please let me know, so I can check them out!).

Thanks for reading!

Darren at Odyssey Camper