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rayitodeluna

Aug 2, 2012, 10:21 PM

Post #1 of 6 (2989 views)

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How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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We will be going back to renew my visa and do some home improvement/DIY research and I would like to by a couple things (from US store or companies) and have them mailed to a mailbox in TX... To pick up while I am there to save me on shipping.

Is it possible to open a mailbox from here (say, over the internet?) ?

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

Aaron+

Aug 7, 2012, 10:49 AM

Post #2 of 6 (2808 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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Have you tried a (Google) search using such key words as "private mail box, Laredo TX" (substitute the name of your preferred Texas border town)? Do so and explore the choices.

The only price is saw was for sky high
http://www.boxandmail.com/english/info_en.php, assuming the price is in $USD. If the price is in $MXN, not bad. (My IP address is in Mexico, so I often get $MXN pricing automatically though not wanting it.)

My principal assumption above is that you are seeking a private mail box, as a USPO mail box typically requires a local physical address of record, and most certainly cannot be opened via the Internet.

TedZar

Aug 8, 2012, 1:25 AM

Post #3 of 6 (2732 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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If the goal is to have a USA address, the hiring a postal service to do that for you is a good solution. I live in Thailand and use a UPS Store address in Phoenix. They forward mail to me on a monthly basis.

There is a form that you need to fill out and provide an ID before they can do that. And I believe that it needs to be done in person, though a phone call to a UPS Store in Texas would probably answer that question for you. I believe it is from some sort of law to avoid people using these addresses as cover for illegal activity. However, once they have your details, it works well.

It is not necessarily cheap though. I pay about US$143 a year for the address and the postage + $1 each time they forward mail to me (monthly).

It is a very convenient way to keep a consistent address if you move about a bit (I did for 20+ years) and often works better when ordering small items rather than paying super large international mailing rates to Amazon or similar places (that seem to use it as an extra income source).

UPS Stores are all over the place and phone calls are cheap. Give them a call and see if they can do what you want.

Axixic

Aug 8, 2012, 2:30 AM

Post #4 of 6 (2729 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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Where are you located in Mexico? If Lakeside go to one of the mail forwarding companies, Mail Box Etc, Handy Mail, Sol & Luna, and probably others, ask for a general mail address or pay for a private box number and ask them how to have the people in Laredo hold packages for you to pick up. Other areas of MX alos have mail forwarding companies.

socal

Oct 23, 2012, 7:58 PM

Post #5 of 6 (1253 views)

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Re: [Axixic] How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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I've been using this company for years - http://jbmailroom.com/ and have been very happy. Reasonably priced too. One option is to use their service and have them send your mail to a UPS store for pickup.

frito

Oct 25, 2012, 7:02 PM

Post #6 of 6 (1155 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] How to open a US mailbox (TX) while in MEX?

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If you are only looking to do this on occasion with you showing up at the location then have packages sent to you general delivery at a particular post office. You show your I.D. at front desk and they go get pkg for you. No box needed. I used a mail forwarding service years ago when traveling fulltime and had them send a pkg to a post office in a town I passed through regular. Might want to check if they still do this as I was doing it in the late '90's but most likely they will.