PO Box Rental vs Mailbox Rental in the UK – What Should You Choose?

A straight forward analysis of the age old PO Box or Mailbox dilemma. Are you starting or do you own a small business? View the pros and cons of using each service.

Many small businesses use PO Boxes to separate their work and domestic lives. If you run a small company from home you know the importance of privacy in your home life – something a PO Box used to provide at an affordable rate.

PO Boxes cost just £62 pounds per annum in 2009 and were an ideal solution. However in the last 3 years they have increased in price to a massive £222 per annum, an increase of 350 percent! With the recent price increases PO boxes no longer seem the good investment they once did. Price drops seem unlikely with the Royal Mail increasing the prices of stamps, closing local branches, making record loses and receiving no relief from a government implementing tough austerity measures.

Price drops seem unlikely

But Are Mailboxes Really More Affordable?

A quick search for UK mailbox rental showed that prices can start from as little as £5 per month! That’s £60 a year, a saving of £162 for your business. In such a tough economic climate savings such like this are really too good to pass up.

Business mailboxes also give you the option of having a physical address which seems far more professional than a PO Box Number or a residential address. For example who would you trust? The business based at a flat address or the one which is listed as being based in a busy inner city commercial sector? Premium business address services also allow you to use something like ‘department’ or ‘suite’ as your address – perhaps even the building address itself— making you seem like a successful and large organisation.

Also consumers often have more trust or search for businesses close to city centres. Having a mailbox with a physical address near a large town or city can potentially tap into a much larger client based then one based in a small town or rural location.