Snail Mail Digitized: Outbox

[Alex Snyder]

The minute this is available in my market I'm signing up! This answers all my issues with snail mail: too much to throw in the trash, so I don't look in my mailbox but maybe once a month. If this were to catch-on, could this change the way we approach snail-mail marketing? Would it be more about the packaging in order to get that marketing impression?

Outbox seeks to bring postal mail to your iPad, iPhone and desktop | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Starting today, people living in San Francisco have an opportunity to never handle another piece of "real" mail again. Outbox is an Austin, Texas-based company that has figured out a way to digitize all of that snail mail and present it to you in a virtual mailbox on your computer, iPad, or iPhone(free app).
The service, which is provided for US$4.99 per month (first month is free), collects your physical mail three times a week, then scans it in a secured warehouse. You're notified that you have new mail in your mailbox, at which time you use the app or website to go through those new items.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Could be a real game changer for direct mail in the years to come. Something to think about.

For me - I'm okay with direct mail, my mail box is attached to the house and I walk by it each day. I bet my direct mail has a better open rate than my email some weeks.

Would suck for the card business. Who wants a Birthday card scanned and send to your email inbox? I can't do shit with a scanned $50 dollor bill or giftcard.

 

[ewalraven]

What's gonna happen with the $5 bills I get sent for my birthday every year?

Guess my grandparents are gonna have to learn how to use bitcoins ..

 

[Alex Snyder]

You just ask Outbox to deliver it to your door

And you can mark specific senders as deliver always. It works a lot like your email inbox.

 

[KCourter]

Sounds exactly like Earth Class Mail which was profiled heavily on "Start Up Junkies" on MOJO HD (loved that channel before going bellyup). Earth Class Mail had success receiving start up capital but seemed to have difficulty signing customers. The series showed them targeting RV expos, lots, communities because those people are almost never home but, even then, the reception was lukewarm at best.

Maybe they were ahead of their time (Earth Class Mail received most of their pub in 2008-ish)