Enhanced Privacy
I Love My
Private Mailbox
By Daniel Muniz
I love my private mailbox. I have rented the same box from the
same mom and pop private mail center for over ten years. And this
arrangement has worked out really well for me.
There was not a sole reason that prompted me to rent the box; I
just felt that I needed one. In my mid twenties, I was in the habit
of moving to a different apartment every year. The competition
between apartment complexes was fierce and some of the incredible
teaser rates for the first year’s rent made moving into a new place
very attractive. However, rent would then become substantially
pricier in the following year, thus there was always an incentive to
keep moving around.
Also at that time, I owned few possessions so moving to somewhere
else was always a snap. That wasn’t the case for my very last
apartment when I finally acquired furniture, electronics, and other
stuff.
But during the days of my transient lifestyle, there was a
potential hassle of getting my mail forwarded to new addresses but
my private mailbox solved that problem. As I began using the box as
my mailing address, I was assured that I never missed a single piece
of mail, especially bills and even credit reports.
Today, I now live in my second house. While my first house and
subsequently my second house were under construction, I had stayed
with my in-laws. Nothing was disrupted because the destination of
all of my mail was always the same.
But overall, I loved the obvious advantages of a private mailbox
as opposed to renting a box from the post office. Only US mail is
accepted at a PO Box which prevents the reception of any mail from
third-party carriers like FedEx and UPS. The Post Office refuses to
budge so that rule severely limits the usefulness of their boxes.
In addition, I have permitted my private mail center to sign
certified letters on my behalf, which is also a tremendous
convenience when I am not home during the day (because I work for a
living). And another nice little perk is that they can also hold
packages for you, especially large or expensive ones. Too many times
I have seen parcels left just outside a front door, where anybody
can help themselves to a five-finger discount.
Although I was never the paranoid conspiracy type, I had also wanted
to safeguard my privacy, which is perhaps the biggest benefit to
having a private mailbox. The mailing address to my box sufficiently
solves that problem. With rare exceptions, nobody has to know the
exact location of your personal residence.
Of course, a private mailbox doesn’t guarantee complete privacy
especially if you own something that is part of a public record like
a house. But using a mailing address from such a box tremendously
enhances your privacy from a lot of inquisitive people and
organizations.
Just like a social security number, there are actually very few
entities that are required to know it like the government and your
employer. Everybody else just uses your social security number as a
de facto national ID, which has helped spawn the enormous
proliferation of identity theft. Consequently, I use the private
mailbox for everything like creditors and billing information. Even
the address printed on all of my personal checks is my mailing
address.
I just feel that it is not necessary to announce your residential
address to the whole world if you don’t have to.
For people who are in the public eye, a private mailbox is
essential. Some people like to mix business with their personal life
while quite a few others prefer to keep the two apart. Being an
independent contractor, owning a business, or even running a web
site, the box simply offers greater privacy.
And for others, it also enhances personal safety. Long before I
rented the private mailbox, I did a bit of independent contracting.
I entered into a verbal agreement with the boss of a friend of mine.
This guy appeared mild-mannered and was even a deacon at his church.
And before we entered into the agreement, he told me that he had to
pray about it.
Shortly afterwards, he began to feel that I was ripping him off.
I immediately contacted him and told him that I was getting out of
the business arrangement and that I would even pay him for work that
wasn’t completed. While I was driving over to his office, he drove
to my apartment since that address was printed on a personal check
that I had given him. He forcefully pounded on my front door and
screamed for me to come out even though I was waiting for him at his
office. He then cooled off and returned to his workplace where we
were able to end our business dealings.
My buddy eventually explained that his boss had always been
paranoid and usually felt that there were always people out there to
screw him over.
That incident is fairly tame compared to the numerous horror
stories I have heard from plenty of friends and acquaintances who
own a business or run one out of their house. The world is filled
with a lot of bad and confused people thus safeguarding your privacy
with a box can go a long way in furthering your personal safety.
And the issue of personal safety is a chief reason why some
single women choose a private mailbox. Regrettably, the world is
also filled with a lot of weirdoes and predators. Using the mailing
address for all transactions helps maintain a higher level of
privacy from such undesirable characters.
When I first rented out my private mailbox, it was only down the
street from the apartment I lived in. I now live in a different part
of town but I still kept the same box. I only check my mail once a
week and I am comfortable with that since 99 percent of all my
letters are bills and junk mail. Whatever is inside that box can
wait for a few extra days before I open it.
I also thought that I would close the box down once I got married
and moved into the house I thought that I would live in for a long
time. But the privacy and general usefulness has been enormous and
will continue to be so perhaps for the more decades to come.
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