Check out "Start-up Junkies" on Mojo HD I think. They are currently profiling EarthClassMail.

I really haven't dealt with that much, but the few times I have contacted them I received prompt replies.

Update. I started signing up with bongous.com but hit a snag and had to online-chat with them. The agent insisted that the credit card I used to sign up with had to be the same as my address (in Australia) to which I would be forwarding. I explained that defeated the purpose of their service for me - I was moving to Australia and needed to maintain my US cards so I would be changing their billing address to the new bongo address I would be assigned. They said they couldn't stop me doing that but wouldn't recommend it - citing they have been the subject of fraud :confused:

I don't understand why I would be forced to use an Australian CC (along with exchange and foreign use fees) when I have a perfectly fine US credit card :confused: I am still waiting for a manager to contact me - 3 days and counting.

Response from BongoUS directly
 

Alect, please allow me to formally apologize for the information you received from our live chat agent. The information you were provided is not correct. I am a customer service agent for http://www.BongoUS.com and can assure you that we will indeed accept a US credit card if you are moving to Australia. Please feel to send us a message at [email protected] and we will be sure to resolve this issue for you.

Additionally, if anyone else on this forum has any questions about the service, I would be happy to respond.

Wow thanks - that was an unexpected surprise. Having not heard back from anyone, I was about to give up on Bongo. I will PM you so that I can actually progress my signup.

Wow, I am so glad i stumbled upon this thread.

In general, how do these forwarding companies deal with customs regulations when your mail is forwarded? (Assuming your shipment contains, for example, online purchases, etc?)

In my experience, when I tell them to ship my order I need to fill out a list of its contents and their value. I always ask them to repackage my items to send them in a single smaller package, so they see pretty much everything anyway, but it's up to me to specify the details which they then use when filling out the customs forms.

On the receiving end, it's my responsibility to pay any customs fees and taxes that might be charged on my shipment. Those will vary, of course, depending on the destination country.

Thanks for the answer! ^

I'd have to weigh this out if these services don't actually make customs any easier. it's been my experience that 1 in 3 shipments get totally screwed up and take weeks to clear, and a few have even been sent back. The hassle factor + having to pay VAT AND customs duties makes forwarding services far less appealing for online purchases. Better to buy a cheap ticket across the pond and buy in person. :D

For other things, though, this sounds great.

Have any of you used Earth Class Mail? I am thinking of signing up, but would like to hear some opinions on how good it is.

I've been using US Glob al Mail for a while - online purchases can be held in Texas then when I am next in the US I can have them bundle up everything and send it to me in a hotel. It's far better than trying to get online merchants to ship to a hotel directly - lots of them won't because they don't trust the purchaser; and others are imprecise about shipping dates so they might miss your visit.

Earth Class Mail
 

I have been using them for about a year and half and I LOVE them. My work uses them for our outlying offices and when I moved to London I started using them.

I hav never had any problems with Earth Class themselves. Few issues with DHL, but that is on DHL as they SUCK!

ECM also lets you use a card from any country and you just have to have the billing address for the card.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will help you out.

What are the DHL issues? Do they let you use companies other than DHL?

Amazing. This is exactly what I was looking for. I'd love to see peoples experiences using these services.

watch out! and any more advice?
 

this is a nightmare for me as I've moved back to Asia and need to get a US mailing address for my US bank account. :confused:
i've been searching relentlessly and there are way too many services and too little customer reviews or bogus ones.
Don't use:
MyUsPostbox - shady, doesn't answer emails, I cancelled my subscription right away, luckily I did a monthly so I only lost 19.95.....but better to be safe

and also, found a review for USA2ME


I prefer to pay by paypal because I really would not be able to sleep at night after photocopying both sides of my CC.

I've heard a few of you talk about http://maillinkplus.com/ , can you give me more advice please?

Thanks!!!

Security
 

Does anyone know about the security policy/procedures for the services?
How do they ensure your information is kept secure if they are requested to open the mail and scan it and is the scanned filed secured?

Thanks!