While cluster mailboxes do offer many advantages for homeowners and the mail service, there are many people who find them quite inconvenient. This is mainly because of the fact someone may have to walk a short distance to the cluster mailbox unit to gather their mail. The use of cluster mailbox units is growing dramatically, with many town home communities using them or communities where homes are placed closely together.

They do offer great mail security and make it much easier on the mail delivery person because they require much fewer stops on their route. The USPS supports using these boxes mostly because they offer a more efficient way to allow them to deliver the mail.

The size of the development determines how many cluster box units are installed. Smaller developments may have only one group of boxes for the entire community while larger developments may have cluster box units scattered throughout the community to make it more convenient for the residents.

When cluster mailboxes become more popular in the 70s and 80s, many people hated the thought of being forced to use them. They enjoyed being able to walk only to their curb for their mail or even gathering their mail from their front porch mailbox. Instead, cluster mailboxes required them to walk further and they resented the fact mail carriers had become so lazy.

Now that we have progressed two to three decades since cluster box units first entered the scene we have become accustomed to seeing them. In fact, many young people moving out by themselves today are used to cluster box units due to the developments in which they grew up. In fact, some newer apartment complexes are using them, especially those that provide private entrances for the tenants. Instead of wall mounted boxes in each building they are installing cluster box units, often only one for an entire group of tenants.

The best part of using cluster mailboxes is the security they offer residents. They are designed to lock, which automatically gives higher security than a traditional non locking mailbox on a curb. In addition, they are in public (open) areas which make criminals less likely to try to penetrate them. That being said, the same people who once complained about cluster mailboxes being inconvenient are less likely to do so today because of the global switch to healthier living.