Do I need a Zumbox?
Zumbox is trying to take the paper out of the postal system. It's a laudable goal, if it takes off it would stop me from feeling that I need to do this:
Signing up is easy. Enter your mailing address and Zumbox send you a letter with a verification code. Once verified you can start sending and receiving mail online. You can mail a few people for free, bulk mail is five cents per recipient.
Of course you'll only receive mail that has been sent to you via Zumbox. It's not a mail scanning service (like Earth Class Mail) so you end up with yet another mailbox to check.
Zumbox is trying to help businesses go paperless. This includes bills and other necessary communication. It also includes junk mail.
My experience so far is mainly junk mail. I did get a circular about recycling from Gavin Newsom but otherwise just a stream of special offers.
This is a big problem because Zumbox provides very little control over email notifications:
It's all or nothing. Either I get a daily email reminding me to go look at junk mail, or I get no notification at all (and might miss the next thrilling update from Gavin).
Most of my bills and statements are already paperless via email. This isn't as secure as Zumbox, but I'm not sure how much of an advantage this is as I really just need notification.
I really want to like Zumbox, but right now it's just another source of spam.
