3. Earth Class Mail

Now the other half of the paperless real mail equation is the actual mailbox itself. Until very recently, there was no real viable option for someone that didn’t actually want to handle their own mail and yet still be able to see their mail.

Earth Class Mail (ECM) offers the promise of a real mailing address or a post box (P.O) box address in the United States.

Click image to enlarge.

Mail is scanned by ECM so that you can see it online without ever actually physically having to touch the mail itself (no paper cuts). If there is a letter or a package that you actually do need or want in your hands then ECM can forward it to your real physical address. However, it will likely end up costing more than if the item had been sent to you directly from the original recipient since ECM charges a handling fee.

Setup

Getting setup with ECM at first glance is a relatively simple thing, though looks can be deceiving. Like any other online service, you fill out a few boxes, pay your money and you’re good to go.

Not quite.

Mail receipt is a serious federal thing in the United States and is not treated lightly. When you successfully fill out the obvious online initial setup, ECM sends you back a confirmation email that advises that you need to make sure you fill out a USPS form 1583. The 1583 is a U.S. Postal Service form that gives Earth Class Mail Corp. the authority to receive mail on your behalf. The U.S. Postal Service requires Form 1583 as a fraud prevention measure.

ECM provides a helpful online wizard to help you to complete the tedious form, but you still need to physically print and mail it, which is annoying. And as it turns out in our test case, a potential nightmare as well.

Though ECM has a nice wizard for filing out the form 1583, it has no online indicator noting that the form has been received or that the mail service is actually working.

In our test, it took nearly a month from the time the form was mailed until the service actually became active. But that was only after repeated and frustrating emails with ECM’s customer service, which failed. We had to resort to complaining to the vice president of corporate communications who was only then able to get the ball rolling. Magically, after we contacted her, the form we sent was quickly found and mail started to flow.

Though, not every user is likely to have the same difficulties we experienced with form 1583, which is nevertheless a major hurdle that needs to be overcome. Without it, the service simply cannot work and the fact that ECM doesn’t provide any indication online of its status is a serious and significant impediment to the overall user experience.