How A Virtual Lawyer Sends Non-Virtual Mail

snailmailr

Everything’s online these days. My email’s here, my files are scanned and accessible here, even my faxes come to me by email. The circle, however, is incomplete.

Some days you need to send out a piece of paper through the old-fashioned US Postal Service.

Well, maybe not. There’s this cool service called SnailMailr.com. The premise is so gloriously simple I nearly broke out into cheers when I heard about it. You type in a return address, then type in your recipient’s address. Once done you can either type a message for inclusion or (glory glory!) upload a PDF for them to print in 4-color (that’s full color, folks). Pay $0.99 for up to two pages (including the postage stamp) via Amazon’s payment mechanism and you’re all set.

This isn’t a substitute for serving litigation-related documents (but you already use CertificateOfService.com, right? RIGHT?), nor is it a really good idea for mass mailing needs. But for the times when paper mail is the only option, this may be a winner.

For example, you’re on vacation and speak with a new client. You need to get out a retainer agreement but the client doesn’t have email – or doesn’t have a printer so he or she can sign the document. With SnailMailr you just upload the PDF and it gets mailed. You go back to drinks with umbrellas on the beach, client gets the retainer for signature, and the world is good.

Sure it’s $0.99 to send out two pages, but it includes all the grunt work involved with sending out mail (print it, fold it, lick the envelope, affix the stamp, get to the mailbox) and it’s full color. Not a bad price overall, I think.

Have you used it? What do you think about it? Sound off in the comments below!

mikegort

I wonder if they also do mail merge?

Chuck Newton

This is need to know information. Single shot regular letters and mail is the most difficult thing to replicate online for a virtual lawyer. There is still a need. Most often, for my practice, it is mail to a client that does not have email, or does not use it effectively. It is getting a retainer agreement to them and getting it back. We usually provide a self-addressed envelop. Certified mail for service of process is not a problem in adversary proceedings with http://www.onlinecertifiedmail.com/ . It is cost effective. The problem with all of the regular mail services is pricing. I am a skinflint, admittedly, but SnailMailr, even with the logo, gets too expensive at 25 cents a page. However, like I said, it is good to keep in mind, while we continue to dig for more techie ways to get around some of these problems and avoid mail altogether, which is increasingly easy to do.

JayFleischman

I agree that Snailmailr is not a cheap alternative, but it's better than nothing. Someday we'll get everyone away from snail mail entirely and the world will be a better place.

Chuck Newton

I think it did not work only because it was a little before its time. It landed when most people were still on dial up and then most people were not working quite as diligently online. But, the Postal Service use to offer service online. It was a little complicated to use in that you had to upload the letter in one format and the address in another format (but again, that was before The Cloud). I remember, however, that the Postal Service charged 3 cents per imprint. This was a page of print, even if it was back and front. There was a fee of a few cents for the envelop. There was a slight fee for the service, but this was partly made up by the cheaper postage rate you received at the time in that the Postal Service then could add a bar code and sort per postal route resulting in less postage. Ultimately the service failed and was ended because very few people used it. It was then temporarily (maybe still, I don't know) replaced by a postal service outsource company, but they charged a minimum of $2.80 per letter no matter what the ultimate costs. Snailmailr is better than this alternative by the private contractor, but I think this is going to have to get down to an easier version of what the Postal Service use to offer to succeed. My concern with SnailMailr is not the 99 cent cost for a small letter. It is that most of what we mail contain more than 2 pages and the incremental costs of this service is too much. A good part of keeping a virtual practice like mine in good order is controlling overhead. SnailMailr is not much doing the job for any mailing, like a copy of a pleading to a client, that has to go out in the mail.

Kevin

Hi Chuck,

I am Kevin Trowbridge, the founder of Snailmailr.com -- thanks for your honest critique regarding our high additional per page cost.

We have plans in the works for a accounts which, given a certain volume of mailing per month, will lower the additional cost per page down to a manageable level.

We recognize that Lawyers are one of the vertical markets that Snailmailr serves and we are interested in coming up with a solution that will work for you as a group.

I'd obviously love to have your feedback on the kind of pricing that would work for you ... that is ... what kind of volume could you anticipate needing, and what would you like to pay for it?

Please feel free to contact me directly via the contact form on the Snailmailr website (http://snailmailr.com/about/contact) and we can have a private dialogue.

Thanks very much,
Kevin Trowbridge
Snailmailr.com

Dana K.

The only problem is getting out your signature. Whatever is special enough to require snail mail will probably also require a true ink signature, don't you think?

JayFleischman

Sure, but I'm looking into using it as a way to send client letters and retainer agreements that do not require my "wet ink" signature. I can send the letter to a client or adversary without having my "wet ink" there; if it's a retainer the client sends back their "wet ink" through the snail mail system.