Why do Postal Services deny unsigned and independent musicians the right to own a private mailbox?

Question

Hello,

I would like to make a brief introduction about myself. I am the lead singer/vocalist in a rock/pop band, The Embezzles, (name have been changed quite a few times within the past few months)and we’re very similar to Paramore and Linkin Park. We’re sort of a big deal in East Texas with an increasing fan base which continues to grow expendably great but we have a big problem communicating and contacting fans. We’ve tried everything from Post Office boxes, Private Mailboxes and social networking sties. Unfortunately, the Postal Services are on shaky ground. Postal Services have rules and regulations to combat mail fraud and other crimes committed using postal and private mailboxes which sounds convincing but the postal services are on the wrong side here.

Rather than protecting privacy they are seeking to invade it and rather than allowing some consumer choice they are looking to stifle what little competition exists. Unfortunately, scam artists also utilize the convenience of private mailboxes to hide illegal activities, such as credit card fraud, identity theft and schemes to swindle the elderly. In other words or simple terms, P.O. boxes and Private Mailboxes are growing concerns of the postal services used in order to single out P.O. boxes and PMB(private mailboxes) who have personal accounts instead of business accounts.

We would like to have an address rather than using one of our own physical home address because you guys are aware of fans(groupies) can be a bit psychotic at times when bands are in the limelight destined for stardom. Instead of selling merchandise, passing out flyers, etc. from our tour van/hotel (lol) J, we decided that we want to be able to reach fans outside of our 100 mile radius giving fans the opportunity to write personal letters to one our band members, pics or whatever the fans want to give their favorite band (The Embezzles ) <<<<<promotion tactic>>>>>,in order to converse on numerous occasions, but we do not want to give the government or postal office or any carrier service speculations or any misleading ideas that we are subjecting to a scheme to earn money or somehow get personal information from individuals. All we want is to build a connection with our fans in order to solidify our relationships to remind them of upcoming tour dates, nearby performances, or any updates we might have in order to refresh the memories of our fans.

We were recommended on some international mail forwarding service sites but getting an international P.O. or Private box seems a little suspect, wouldn’t you agree? Although they offer great services they only require your personal information….sometimes to much information. I have scavenged many postal services sites and some websites seem a bit puzzling. Even though they have U.S. Postal Forms and identification requirements they false advertise and some sites even have numerous complaints from previous customers. If I were to come across one of these misleading websites how would I be able to recognize a true and faithful postal or forwarding service from any other website posing as a legit mail forwarding service? Are there any services that allows you to apply online if so this would be my first option to cut out the hassle and run around the postal services have been giving us.

Thanks for your all your time and help.

Answer 1

Rent a mailbox under your own name.  The Post Office can&#039;t disclose it to anyone.

Then provide the address for the band as &quot;The Embezzles, (Your post office box #&quot;

The Post office only sorts by the box number anyway - they don&#039;t care about the name.

Answer 2

I am a letter carrier with the USPS for going on 30 years who has had a PO box for more than 20, and can tell you that regarding PO boxes from the USPS, you do not know what you are talking about.  Businesses open and close PO boxes that are used strictly for commerce all the time.  An individual can use their box for personal or business use.  I do.  I receive my personal mail as well as all mail for my eBay business, and no one at the PO has ever asked me for anything other than the info I signed up for it with in 1987, which was my name, street address and phone number.

There is a local band with a large following that has a member of it living in my zip code.  That person happens to be the business manager for the group and receives all of the mail addressed to the group at his personal residence, but if he were to open up a PO box to handle this mail, he&#039;d have no problem at all.

I don&#039;t know what kind of problems you&#039;ve had with private outfits, or their policies, but the PO is no problem at all. Just go there and tell them that you want to open a box with you as the owner, representing your business, the band, and make sure the clerk understands that mail addressed to you or the band is to go there.  They won&#039;t care if you&#039;re making money from it, that&#039;s the whole idea of business, and the PO isn&#039;t in business to turn business away.  Just so you don&#039;t run into problems getting everything, make sure that any advertising you do instructs fans to send mail for individual band members IN CARE OF the band, or the clerks may not recognize the name and &#039;kill&#039; the piece, ie, send it back.

Answer 3

An e-mail address will serve all your purposes and its free.