Mail can pile up easily when you only have one regular mailbox, quickly turning into a nightmare if you don’t recycle or manage it quickly. When you run a large business or manage mail delivery in a place such as a school, military base, or office complex, mail piles up double (or even triple or quadruple.) Though overall mail volume is dropping in recent years, businesses can still expect to see plenty of paper mail.
How does one manage so much incoming and outgoing mail? Often, USPS bins are used by larger entities to keep all incoming and outgoing mail in one place. A USPS employee collects a bin of outgoing mail and usually brings in a bin of incoming mail.
Sometimes, more security is needed, especially when the mail in question is sensitive or mail must be placed in an unsecured area due to space restrictions. If this is the case, letter locker collection boxes can come to the rescue.
How It Works
These strong galvanized steel boxes are designed to hold USPS bins of mail, both incoming and outgoing. Some of these boxes have one compartment for holding both incoming and outgoing mail. When using one of these, your USPS employee will remove outgoing mail daily and replace it with a bin of incoming mail.
These single cabinet boxes have one front-facing lock for the USPS, and one rear-facing lock for tenant use.
Other collection boxes have two compartments—one for incoming and one for outgoing mail. These mailboxes can be handy when dealing with even larger amounts of business mail. Double collection boxes can also have one tenant door and one USPS door. One slot can be used for incoming mail, and the other slot for outgoing mail. If more mail delivery space is required, both slots can be used for incoming and outgoing mail.
Some double collection boxes have two compartments and two doors for each compartment, making them a good choice for serving two tenants at a time. Property owners and managers can save money by taking this approach if multiple tenants need these boxes, and these boxes can do well installed side by side.
Collection lockers are also available that contain a mail drop for outgoing mail, allowing more flexible use of the unit. This will work well when multiple employees or businesses need to drop off mail at separate times.
Some collection boxes come with flags to alert the USPS of outgoing mail, which is useful when your commercial property expects or sends out mail only a few times per week.
Who Can Use These Collection Boxes?
These collection boxes are meant for commercial use and for USPS delivery, though a private option is available for a slightly higher price. In this case, a second, commercial lock will come with your unit, as the USPS will not be installing their own.
Larger businesses can make good use of these collection boxes, especially when handling large volumes of mail that can include financial information, patient information, or other materials that need protection from vandalism or theft.
Universities and mail rooms can use collection boxes to free up valuable space and keep better track of mail that may otherwise get lost. Office complexes or other properties, such as airports, that house multiple businesses can also make good use of collection boxes and bins.
Some establishments, such as military bases, may find collection boxes for private use to be helpful in managing large volumes of mail as well as care packages.
How To Install
Once you choose your collection box, you’ll have the choice between a few different colors, including gray, tan, black, white, or bronze.
Make note of where you will install your box. Typically, this will be outdoors, on a concrete slab or on a flat surface such as a lawn. Pedestals are available that can mount to concrete or go into the ground itself, making these boxes versatile.
If you intend to receive USPS delivery, you will need to get approval from the USPS before installing a letter locker collection box, so that your post office will know to where to deliver your mail. They will also install the USPS lock.
Once you have approval, installation consists of first installing the pedestal on a slab of concrete with included hardware before installing the letter collection box atop the pedestal. Having a second set of hands will help immensely.
You will need to purchase mail bins separately to use with your locker, so take this into account when you make your order.
Get Started Today
If you are still questioning if letter locker collection boxes are for you and your commercial property, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at National Mailboxes today. We’re here to make sure all your mail delivery needs are met.