Best Mail Forwarding Service

[dkgood]

We are looking to change our residency to South Dakota. Would appreciate recommendations for the best mail forwarding service. Thank you for your assistance

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

We have used My Home Address in Emery SD for 9 years. We chose a very small town in the middle of the state because of the attention to our mail.

[JRP]

"Best" is always a matter of opinion. SD is fortunate to have at least 3 very professional and very good mail forwarders. I chose Americas Mailbox 8 yrs ago and have had no reason to change, very happy with their service.

[kountryguy1]

x2 on My Home Address for 14 years now.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

 

Surprised knowone has mentioned it but Escapees now offers mail service in South Dakota and Florida.

 

"Happy Trails"

Chiefneon

[nana25k]

We have used My Dakota Address for 8 years. Terri is great and has handled so many things for us. Our mail always goes out same day because the post office is literally across the street.

[rynosback]

We have used My Home Address in Emery SD for 9 years. We chose a very small town in the middle of the state because of the attention to our mail.

I agree completely. I just start with them last Fall and Terry is the BEST!!! She has been very kind and helpful with any question that I have asked. Not to mention that she is one of the least expensive ones out there is a bonus. I would post a link, but I'm not sure how on my new iPad.

[Kirk W]

Surprised knowone has mentioned it but Escapees now offers mail service in South Dakota and Florida.

I suggest that you take a look at this one. Since you are already a member of Escapees it would be very cost efficient and while I have not used the SD domicile service I can tell you that you will not find a better mail service. Keep in mind that Escapees is much more than just a mail service and they are by far the largest of mail services.

 

For some reason, folks seem to become remarkably loyal to the service that they use, in spite of the fact that so few of us have experience with more than one of those who offer the service. I'm not quite sure why that happens, but unless you have actually used several different companies services, it is really not possible to say accurately that one is better than another, only that the one you use has been satisfactory for you.

[nana25k]

I suggest that you take a look at this one. Since you are already a member of Escapees it would be very cost efficient and while I have not used the SD domicile service I can tell you that you will not find a better mail service. Keep in mind that Escapees is much more than just a mail service and they are by far the largest of mail services.

 

For some reason, folks seem to become remarkably loyal to the service that they use, in spite of the fact that so few of us have experience with more than one of those who offer the service. I'm not quite sure why that happens, but unless you have actually used several different companies services, it is really not possible to say accurately that one is better than another, only that the one you use has been satisfactory for you.

 

Changing mail providers is no simple task. Lots of businesses to contact, banks etc, dealing with new address with DMV. I assume that like us, we have been so happy with our mail service, changing doesn't even enter our mind. Why change what isn't broken.

I applaud Escapees move to include new states, however we have all the same type of mail option available if we need it

[Kirk W]

Changing mail providers is no simple task. Lots of businesses to contact, banks etc, dealing with new address with DMV. I assume that like us, we have been so happy with our mail service, changing doesn't even enter our mind. Why change what isn't broken.

The answer to your question is in the first post. He wants to change states of domicile and if he goes with Escapees, it will have the advantage of giving the ability to choose from 3 different states without the headache that you are concerned about.

[whj469]

I would give the Escapees mail service a try. They seem to have a good reputation. Good Luck

[sushidog]

It appears Pennington County does not have a wheel tax, a minor but recurring unnecessary fee that can be avoided by using Escapees mailing service.

 

On the other hand My Dakota Address is located in Lake county which imposes a $4 annual wheel tax ($16 annually per vehicle max). At first this may seem like a nickle and dime fee, but over time, this can add up to quite a bit of unnecessary expenses - especially if you have a lot of toys you travel with as motorcycles and ATVs are also included in this tax. So for a guy like me traveling with a truck, trailer and 2 motorbikes this equals $48/yr (more if you travel with atvs, a toad, etc.. If I have my vehicles registered there from my retirement t age 62 till neither my DW or I are no longer able to safely drive, let's say age 85 (23 years) this totals over $1,100 in extra fees I would have to pay - easily avoided just by choosing Escapees as our mail forwarding service. Plus there's talk of raising it to $5/wheel in some counties, (some have already done so) so I expect it to rise even more in the future, making an even bigger difference between counties that charge a wheel tax and those that don't.

 

Plus there's the difference in fees charged and services provided by each mail forwarding company.

My Dakota Address charges from $120/yr for their medium level, bi-weekly service ($96 for the basic once/month mailing service.)

Escapees only charges $115/yr for their medium service ($95/yr. for basic service.) You must be a member of Escapees, but if you are already...

Plus service wise, (most important, IMHO) Escapees is superior, letting you select from daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly forwarding even with their basic plan - not so with MyDakotaAddress who charges $216/yr. for on demand mail forwarding (to get weekly, etc mail forwarding).

Compared to Americas Mailbox, (who is also located in a county without a wheel tax) they also forward your mail whenever you wish, and charge $149/yr for their silver plan. Step up to their gold plan that screens your junk mail (saving you unnecessary postage) and you'll pay them $189/yr. If you have a small business with heavy mail volume you'll need their platinum plan which costs $229/yr.

 

Dakota Post, formerly Alternative resources also resides in a county which charges a wheel tax - now $5/wheel up to 12 wheels/vehicle according to their website. http://dakotapost.net/vehicle-registration

They are even more expensive as their once/mo forwarding service is $144/yr, their twice a month service is $180/yr and their weekly delivery costs $204/yr.

 

There are other players like Your Best Address which charges $120/yr (they charge monthly - no annual contract) and $1/ forwarding that is also in a wheel tax charging county; and SD Mail Forwarding, LLC (also in a wheel tax county) which charges $225-$250/yr depending on the service requested.

 

BTW, SD excise taxes on vehicles brought into the state is now up to 4% (on the net cost of your vehicle - less trade in of your old vehicle), which has been recently raised from the 3% they used to charge.

 

Chip

[s106300]

South Dakota has different wheel taxes by county so be sure to determine what county your mail forwarding service is in and what tax will be assessed based on that address. That was one of the factors that went in to our initial decision to go with America's Mailbox.

[ezdays]

I don't think Escapees helps with getting your SD registration, plates and driver's license. America's Mailbox does and I assume

the others in SD do also. Helps a lot to have someone you can talk to when you are new at doing all of this. Plus they have

all of the forms needed to get it done. Haven't started this process yet but probably will go with AB for that reason alone.

[Bigtrailer]

I changed my Arizona registration to South Dakota. Arizona won't give us a non commercial plate. It is all about money, and having a CDL. I still keep mine current, but don't want commercial plates. One call to "Your Best Address" in Sioux Falls, and I am now a non commercial pull truck semi.

Fast, friendly, inexpensive, (compared to Arizona), and legal. I would recommend them and, they have forwarded my mail with no delays.

 

Bill

[missourijan]

Another vote for My Home Address in Emery, SD. We have used them for over 9 years. Always friendly & helpful. There are other services that offer scanning service (opening mail, scanning & emailing to you) but we've been happy with My Home Address and haven't seen a need to look into others. I've never seen a bad review for any of them in SD, everyone seems happy with the service they have. Google mail forwarding in SD, call several of them for rates and see what you think.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

We are using Dakota Post in Sioux Falls. We have been with them about 2 years, great staff to work with.

[sandsys]

My perspective is different--no surprise there as it often is. We used Alternative Resources in Sioux Falls for five years and were very satisfied with them. But, if we were going full time now I would either go with Escapees in Texas or the one in South Dakota that has its own campground. The Patriot Act has created new demand for an actual street address which I think is currently best provided by a mail service located where you could actually live. Just something else to consider when picking a domicile. I would likely pick Texas because the need to sign a statement now that you plan to live there when you come off the road would be hard for me to do in South Dakota.

 

Linda Sand

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

South Dakota has implemented the Real ID law is a way that all the SD mail forwarding services can handle the establishment of residency and drivers license.

[dkgood]

Howdy!

 

Surprised knowone has mentioned it but Escapees now offers mail service in South Dakota and Florida.

 

"Happy Trails"

Chiefneon

Escapees is not at this time offering the service. They delayed until an unknown date.

[dkgood]

I would give the Escapees mail service a try. They seem to have a good reputation. Good Luck

Escapees is on hold until an unknown date. We currently use them and would like to continue but they don't know when it will be available.

[dkgood]

I suggest that you take a look at this one. Since you are already a member of Escapees it would be very cost efficient and while I have not used the SD domicile service I can tell you that you will not find a better mail service. Keep in mind that Escapees is much more than just a mail service and they are by far the largest of mail services.

 

For some reason, folks seem to become remarkably loyal to the service that they use, in spite of the fact that so few of us have experience with more than one of those who offer the service. I'm not quite sure why that happens, but unless you have actually used several different companies services, it is really not possible to say accurately that one is better than another, only that the one you use has been satisfactory for you.

You should keep up with the news before giving suggestions. Escapees is not currently providing the service until an unknown date. We have kept up with them and would like to continue with their mail service but they don't know when they will be available.

[dkgood]

South Dakota has different wheel taxes by county so be sure to determine what county your mail forwarding service is in and what tax will be assessed based on that address. That was one of the factors that went in to our initial decision to go with America's Mailbox.

Thank you for that information. You actually provided some useful information and didn't do any preaching.

[sushidog]

If Escapees is not currently offering mail forwarding in SD or FL they should remove the information from their website saying they do. https://www.escapees.com/support/mail-service

 

It would appear then that America's Mailbox is the most economical choice for a decent plan. (I would go with their $149/yr silver plan.) Not only do you save the wheel tax (which should be considered when comparing what other mail services cost), but you save the $1 fee for each mailing (Get a mailing once per week = $52/yr. Twice/mo = $24/yr added savings) that Your Best Address charges. Of course not everyone's priority is saving the most money, but if there is no material difference in the service you receive, why not save what you can on a recurring expense?

 

Chip

[dkgood]

If Escapees is not currently offering mail forwarding in SD or FL they should remove the information from their website saying they do. https://www.escapees.com/support/mail-service

 

It would appear then that America's Mailbox is the most economical choice for a decent plan. (I would go with their $149/yr silver plan.) Not only do you save the wheel tax (which should be considered when comparing what other mail services cost), but you save the $1 fee for each mailing (Get a mailing once per week = $52/yr. Twice/mo = $24/yr added savings) that Your Best Address charges. Of course not everyone's priority is saving the most money, but if there is no material difference in the service you receive, why not save what you can on a recurring expense?

 

Chip

Thanks for the information Chip. I agree with your comment about the Escapee mail service. We talked with them on Friday and they had no idea when they would be able to provide the service. We are wanting to complete everything before summer is over. Again, thanks.