Using 2007 ACS data, it is estimated that a person in the United States can expect to move 11.7 times in their lifetime. The proposed idea addresses the difficulty to manage your mailing address in the event of a move.

This submission proposes to create a web service that allows an individual to create a unique alias for their mailing address in the form of a code. The code would be used by the shippers to identify the most up to date mailing address. In the event of a move, the user needs to update the address only once through the service. As long as the code is active, the address is automatically updated!

Here’s how it works:
Step 1: The user creates an account, inputs the mailing address and generates a unique code.
Step 2: When making a purchase with delivery, the user communicates their name and the shipping alias code.
Step 3: The seller or the carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx…) lookup the code in the database to obtain the most up to date mailing address.
Step 4: The user can update the account with the new mailing address in the event of a move. All the mail follows automatically!

There are no particular issues with privacy as the user's name is not communicated through the service and the address would have been communicated to the sender either way.

Premium features could include:

• The ability to create multiple codes or single use codes to limit the sender’s ability to access the most up to date mailing address.
• The ability to reveal the shipping information exclusively to the carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx…). That would allow protecting the privacy of sellers and buyers for example when shopping online on platforms such as eBay or Craigslist.
• The ability to create custom codes, instead of a randomly generated hexadecimal codes.

Preliminary market research didn’t show the existence of such a service. The service is expected to save time to users through convenience of use. The cost of the product is expected to be limited to running a database.