Greetings.

I am curious which would be the best to use for accepting Money Orders or other purposes. Home address (where the business is located / home office) or at a P.O. Box.

And which one sounds more professional. Thanks :)

Or then to, if I mess something up I would hate to recieve a "care" package from a mad customer :stickout

P.O. box all the way.

I don't want any weirdo's knocking on my door.

It would of course be different if you actually had some office space, then a real address would be appropriate.


Lats...

We use both -

PO Box is advertised for all correspondence even though we have our busineness address advertised - seems to work.

However - what probably helps us is that we also use a business reply service (pre-paid envelopes etc...) which is all directed to the PO Box.

It would of course be different if you actually had some office space, then a real address would be appropriate. Even with office space and an "appropriate" business address we use a PO Box for the public mailing address just like Eladesor noted.

It helps to keep the "bills" from the "payments" separated and I personally do not feel it's "unprofessional" at all. When considering the PO Box vs. your Home Address I strongly recommend going with the PO Box as it is a tiny bit "safer" (they could still obtain home address...) and helps to keep your personal and business related mail separated. Additionally if you move it wont be so 'dramatic' on your business mail as you can continue to check your PO Box rather than depending on the 'new residents' of your old home to return anything that may have been misplaced in their new mail box.

Looking at some of the mail on my own desk the return address for my MasterCard, Dell, Visa, and Insurance company are all PO Boxes ;)

agreed, box

Most businesses or payment processing companies have a PO Box, it does not mean they do it so the customer doesn't show up at their door. PO Box addresses are also used for lockbox services. Let's say you mailed your phone bill to the phone company at PO Box 2222 that may be the lockbox for American payment services (name made up) who enters the payment to Joe's phone company. There is one area in Florida near my home in which everyone has a PO Box address because they do not deliver to homes

I already have a PO box was just wondering which I should use to recieve payments or anything else from clients.

There is only one problem.... I live 8 miles from the post office :rolleyes: But that is the trade-off I took for living in the peace and quiet :)

I would suggest a P.O. Box over usage of your home address, however I would recommend a Private Mail Box (PMB) over both of them. It gives your company a more professional look and at the same time serves just as useful as the P.O. Box. Actually, even better due to the fact that you cannot have certain things shipped to a P.O. box (i.e. FedEx packages). Most Private Mail Box services will sign for packages for you and allow you to receive mail larger than the box you've signed up for.

The example of a PMB Address can be either of the following:

3322 Dodgertown, Suite 360
Vero Beach, Florida 00000
United States

3322 Dodgertown, #360
Vero Beach, Florida 00000
United States

3322 Dodgertown, Bldg #11
Vero Beach, Florida 00000
United States
[This is technically illegal, but some PMB Services will allow you to do it as they are the ones who sort the mail themselves once it arrives to the main address (3322 Dodgertown)]

etc...

Back to my Dodger game now :)

This is technically illegal, Right... the "law" was created in 1999 or 2000 I believe.. Because of this, obtaining the PMB has also become more expensive as many charge "per letter" prices. It use to be a great way to go but in many parts of the USA it's become difficult to obtain and/or expensive :(

Originally posted by Jeff Rambo
This is technically illegal, but some PMB Services will allow you to do it Just to clarify what Jeff is saying, this used to be the "accepted" practice, but a while ago (last year, maybe the year before) the postal service implemented a new rule that required the identification of "private mail boxes." So now, using his example, you are supposed to use:

3322 Dodgertown PMB 360

But in practice you can still get away with using the other forms, as long as your box provider doesn't care -- which probably means as long as the local post office hasn't leaned on them.

Would a PMB be something along the lines of something at Mailboxes Etc. ?

I would definately get a PMB but I don't feel like driving 60 miles, 8 miles is bad enough. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Proper Inet
Would a PMB be something along the lines of something at Mailboxes Etc. ? Yep, that'd be one example.

I have a PMB at Mail Boxes Etc. and they are great. They accept any size packages, call you when you get stuff, and you get 24/7 access (each person gets a code to get into the building). However, they charge $10 shipping on the same stuff that is shipped for $3.50 from the post office, so I don't use them for shipping, just a PMB. It is worth it I think.

I wouldn't give out your home address if you have a home office. Too many weird people :rolleyes: I'd go for the PO BOX.

I highly recommend getting a private mailbox with a company that offers other executive services. Many of these companies have a service that includes offices you can rent by the hour and a receptionist that is there during the day. If a client were to show up for some reason you would be called, and could meet with them right there, they are office that aren' labelled "bob's company" they just generic office buildings. While this isn't a good alternative to having your own office, it is a more professional alternative. In california I know one place that offers you :

1000 Executive Drive
Suite 40


Come to think of it you can with most (minus offical government PO boxes) put Suite ### instead of PO Box, it just looks better. Most large companies have mail sent to a mail handling center they keep or farm out separate from their corporate offices to help keep things effecient.

Good Luck.

I have a "personal box" which is just a mail box with a Suite number at a place like Mail Box Etc. Works out good..

How much do PO Boxes or PMB's usually cost? Are they expensive?

Our PMB costs $35/year...not bad at all.

Wow, PMB seems to be the way to go.

What area are you located in? I assume price may have something to do with reigon. Do you use Mail Boxes, Etc as your PMB provider?

Also, what is involved in getting one of these? Do you have to show proof of business?

Thanks.

Originally posted by MattS
Our PMB costs $35/year...not bad at all.

I live in Arizona...the U.S.A. where else?!? :cool: It's not "Mail Box Etc." it's just like them though, they are also an official post office. PMB mail box is "Personal Mail Box" :D The main reason they have them I guess is for people that don't have a home mail box (I do) but you can use them for anything. They didn't ask for any proof of my company, all they wanted was the company name..

It doesn't look like a BO BOX which is REALLY cool.

Hope this helps!

Originally posted by Deb
Looking at some of the mail on my own desk the return address for my MasterCard, Dell, Visa, and Insurance company are all PO Boxes ;) Yeah... I was just reminded of this thread this morning when I made my weekly pickup at our PO Box. We don't use it for much, as you'd gather by that schedule.

I'm in New York, our zip code starts with a '1.' In Arizona they start with a '7.' Today, there in our mail was somebody's mortgage payment, postmarked more than a week ago and languishing in the wrong PO Box. I find one for this mortgage company in our box about once a month. They're addressed correctly, and the only thing this Arizona company has in common with ours is the same PO Box number -- and the same last four zip code digits. But the zip code gets scanned incorrectly and then nobody at the post office seems to look too closely at the envelope.

Always remember, to avoid late charges write your zip code very clearly!

JayC, my zip code starts with an "8" :eek:

Originally posted by MattS
JayC, my zip code starts with an "8" Oops... I was probably thinking Arizona because I'd just read your post. But I meant Arkansas.


Doesn't matter, it's all the same once you're west of the Hudson.

:)

LOL

The disadvantage of a Mailboxes, Etc. is they don't forward your mail if you move. A regular US Post office will.

We still use po box even though we have a nice office in Sydney due to the fact that we dont want people walking off the street and asking for information...

This actually is illegal believe it or not in Sydney Australia in some places anyway!

See due to Council regulations your not permitted to sell anything over the counter depending on the zone your in! We are in! Were not in a residential area but not exactly corporate high rise building either!

Yeah so in other words we like to use our po box for most information but sometimes we also like to use our address in order for important documents!

Kind regards

PMB (MailBoxes ETC) in MA costs $240 (Company) / $120 (Personal). :(

The Private box is the best way to go - since you can't use a PO Box on most state forms like a Partnership agreement, etc - but you can put: address #number and they'll accept that .... sneaky ;)