Customer Reviews

Steel City 1-1/2SL Galvanized Steel Ribbed Self-Locking Mailbox, Black

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is a well built mailbox overall, however, the locking mechanism did not work when I put it together. Yes, you have to assemble this. I basically had to rebuild the mechanism. If you are not mechanically inclined - do not attempt this mailbox - that is, if you want it to lock. It is designed so that everything must work precisely, but the parts are not made so precisely. I had to put a large plastic washer on the flag since it scraped against the box and was removing the paint. The paint job is very good and the box itself is strong.

Unfortunately my mail box is on the edge of a grade school in a rural community and has proven to be a tempting target for kids wandering home from school. My old mail box was "raided" multiple times and I lost CD's , DVD's, mail, etc. Not much, just enough to be really irritating. This has stopped the idle curious to see what I received in the mail that day, but is certainly no vault. It is easily opened without a key if you know how and would be easily pried open. The lock itself is quite stiff and difficult to operate, even after lube and several adjustments. The instructions that came with the unit were not very well written, but it is a simple device and it's easy to figure out by yourself. I hate having to lock up my mail, but this mailbox is about the only option one has if you suffer from a similar situation. The rest of the box is a standard medium sized mailbox, so that part is just fine.

This was on special for under $14 shipped!
(learned about the special from http://www.dailytool.com/)

It is a solid, well-built mailbox.
It has a lock and key which I did not
need. Clear instructions- took about 10 minutes to
put on handle, lock, and flag.

When I returned to buy another one as a gift,
the price went back up to $30+

The main thing people need to realize when purchasing a mailbox is "how much abuse can a mailbox withstand?" It's a sad fact that people who go out of their way to put an exceptionally nice-looking mailbox in the front of their yard are more likely to have an incident where some punk and his buddies drive by late at night, throwing rocks and beer bottles at it.

Unfortunately, you shouldn't spend time trying to find a mailbox that matches the beauty of your home and instead search for one that can withstand such inappropriate harsh treatment. Now, this particular mailbox is going for 40 bucks at the moment. You can find mailboxes cheaper for that at your local hardware store. I found one for 15 bucks.

Where I live, I'm likely to experience someone destroying my mailbox once or twice a year. It happened this January. In fact it happened twice. Funny story. A horse from an Amish buggy knocked into my mailbox only DAYS after I bought a new mailbox (because some late-night punk with (probably) a baseball bat whacked the first mailbox 20 feet into the field). For a SECOND mailbox of mine to get bashed in only days after the first one -in broad daylight this time- was pretty bad timing. Luckily the Amish guy apologized and the situation was fixed. The punk who beat in the first mailbox never apologized and he's now become my enemy.

Always search for a mailbox that can stand up to punks and their late-night joyriding crap. Actually, your best bet would either be to buy a sturdy mailbox (like the one I'm reviewing) or continue buying really cheap ones if you live in an area where punks drive by your house all the time. Don't let those punks win.