More than 15 billion pieces of paper mail are sent in the United States each month, at considerable cost both to senders and to the environment. Zumbox hopes to change all that with a new, paperless alternative to the U.S. Mail.
California-based Zumbox has created an online mailbox for every street address in the US, including residences and businesses alike. So, anyone in the country can begin using Zumbox immediately on the web to send and receive all-digital mail for free. Senders simply upload an electronic document—Word and PDF are both supported, as are interactive formats like HTML, Flash, audio and video—and specify the recipient's street address. That mail then gets sent to the recipient's Zumbox electronically. At the other end, recipients see an image of an envelope and click on it to open it. They're then shown what looks like a duplicate version of what they'd normally find in their traditional mailbox.
Any content that can be printed can also be sent via Zumbox, including bills, statements, purchase orders, and other accounting documents, and senders can even incorporate a "Pay Now" button that links to the payment system of their choice. Zumbox has also implemented bank-level security, and is compliant with the security standards of the financial, healthcare, and banking industries. Analytics are available to help marketers track mailings and campaigns. Perhaps best of all, Zumbox relieves organizations interested in reducing their paper usage from the near-impossible task of gaining and updating recipients' email addresses. Receiving mail via Zumbox is free for everyone. Advertisers and marketers must pay USD 0.05 per street address to send mail through the service, as must individuals who want to send mail to more than 50 addresses per month.
Zumbox launched into limited public beta last month, and it will clearly take time before significant numbers of users sign on. One also has to wonder what would stop consumers from using Zumbox just as a catch-all for the mail they don't actually want to receive, keeping all those marketing offers and other "junk mail" out of their traditional mailboxes. Still, the paperless potential makes Zumbox an intriguing new contender. One to watch, try out, or get in on early...? (Related: Snail mail app for Facebook users — Send an email to post a letter — Free snail mail, sponsored by advertisers.)
Website: beta.zumbox.com
Contact: bizdev@zumbox.com
Spotted by: Treehugger via Raymond Kollau
Earth Class Mail!!!! Check it out...
http://www.earthclassmail.com/
There is also a Zumbox API for developers. Zumbox is a new mail delivery platform on top of which so many other businesses and services can be built.
Think of all of the companies that are essentially built on top of the USPS and that rely on its service. Now imagine that all of this can be done online with little or no postage costs and the ability to deliver rich media.
Let your entrepreneurial minds run wild.
I second the recommendation of Earth Class Mail!
I have one question about this idea. When people are trying to reduce junk mails in the US mail why would they want to volunteeringly sign up for this to get junk mail electronically?
doug: because with Zumbox, you can block mail that you don't want to get. plus, you can get geographically relevant offers to your Zumbox from local businesses that you actually want to get e.g. a local theater, restaurant, market, etc. these businesses can't afford to use regular direct mail.
Zumbox is like plug-in electric cars. Will they reduce emissions to zero? No. But they're a lot better than what is currently offered.
Zumbox is also clearly more eco-friendly, no matter what type of mail you get, because there is no paper.
What about people outside US?
Nowadays I sent letters to US in a week basis that cost lot of effort, ressources and money. Why can't I sign in? Maybe developers should think about it.
Isn't the unemployment rate in the US high enough? Would this significantly impac USPS and hence their employment levels?
Personally, I prefer to receive printed material in my letterbox so that I can decide what is relevant at that point in time. Relevance changes with time, so an offer that was not relevant last month, could be this month. Keep sending me printed material.
There are similar models for electronic posts around the world. For example, in Canada, the post offers epost (www.epost.ca) for receipt and payment of bills, statements, payroll information etc. An advantage a post has over a private entity is the use of a postmark which provides the same protection granted to physical mail i.e. federal offense to tamper with mail etc.
While the concept is interesting for P2P type mail I am guessing that the authentication challenges businesses will face before they can send documents electronically will be a limiting factor. Identity rather than security will be the challenge.