Considering Mailbox Choices

There’s a wide selection of different mailbox options available today for homeowners and renters, aside from conventional locking roadside mailboxes and wall mounted mailboxes. Homeowner and commercial customers the same have a diverse range of options for mail delivery, though things are changing and the need for more security has led to the need for additional options. It is no longer safe for homeowners to use unlocked residential mailboxes.

One of the trendiest additions in the mailbox marketplace is the cluster mailbox. As an alternative to individual mailboxes on each home, residents have to gather their mail in a generalized location of locked mailboxes, thus the name “cluster.” These boxes may be common in townhouse communities and are beginning to make their way into mobile home parks as well. While they may be somewhat inconvenient for those who must leave their offices or homes to collect mail, they allow the mail carrier to make a lot fewer stops and thus deliver the mail faster. A lot of people think they are not as safe because they’re even further away. However, they are just as secure if not more so than the wall mounted mailboxes you find in apartment buildings.

Door slots are also very common mailbox options although they are becoming more uncommon in residential areas than they used to be. In commercial building with a reception area where outsiders may enter, it is also becoming common for those who have door slots to attach a locked box to the other side. This permits the mail to get there securely within the box as opposed to being scattered all over the floor. Many professional customers also use the boxes when they offer after hours drop off of payments in order to avoid coming in to a pile of checks that have made their way everywhere in the floor of the front office.

Another alternative that some people pick is a mail drop which means they pay a vendor to receive their mail. Companies such as Mailboxes Etc. and UPS offer customers an alternative for secure delivery of their mail to an assigned post office box. This is a different option for those who reside in an area where boxes at the post office might be in short supply but they do not want their mail transported to their home or business for security reasons.