Apparently, people will buy almost anything - what recession? A relatively new startup has 600 customers in Austin, Texas, and yesterday began rolling out its expansion into (where else?) San Francisco. What's your $60 a year get? They send out folks to pick up mail that's been delivered to your postal box, drive it back to the warehouse (in a Prius, of course), then open it, scan it, and send it to your email in-box.
Using a mobile device or computer, Outbox customers can organize mail in files or forward them as e-mails, ask to be unsubscribed from junk mail, have unwanted items destroyed or request that important mail, such as a wedding invite or a postcard, be re-delivered to their home.
You'd think that the cash-strapped US Postal Service could save a bit of time and manpower by delivering subscribers' mail straight to the company's warehouse - or at least let the company pick it all up at the Post Office - but government agencies don't work that way; they insist on delivering it to an actual mailbox at the addressee's residence or place of business. No exceptions. Thus it is that company employees on occasion find themselves following the mail truck, undelivering the mail as soon as it's been delivered. Remarkable.
Now, you might think that this sort of business model doesn't seem especially likely to turn a profit, and you'd be right. But they don't plan to stop with undelivering, scanning, and emailing subscribers' snailmail; they also plan to note what sorts of catalogs subscribers receive - and they'll deliver targeted ads right along with the emails. That could help them turn the corner.
