Gibraltar Mailboxes Decorative Medium Capacity Galvanized Steel Black, Mailbox & Post Combo, T11KIT0B, 1-(Pack)

Our previous mailbox gave us 25+ years, but the wooden post had rotted below the ground and broken off, and the metal hinges of the box were rusting and warped. We needed a replacement, but didn't want to spend hundreds on something fancy or requiring a contractor to install.This mailbox has turned out to be the ideal combination of value and functionality. It was easy to assemble with just a screwdriver, and with its two pointed metal posts, I could have just driven it into the dirt ground and it would have been stable enough to last for awhile. But I decided to dig a regular hole (using just a regular shovel), shove the posts into the ground at the bottom of the hole, and then fill in the hole with Quickrete and hose it down with water. The whole project took less than an hour, cost less than $50, and the mailbox is solid, stable and looks great!It's a bit smaller than our previous mailbox, but I don't mind because we get less mail these days anyway. Still, if you are expecting lots of packages and mail, you may want something bigger.

I installed the post one foot in the ground in a hole I dug with a post-hole digger and filled with a 50 pound sack of quickcrete. Once the concrete had cured for a few days, I attached the mailbox to the post. It took me less than 30 minutes to get the post in the ground and to place the concrete. Hint: don't use a lot of water when mixing the concrete. You want a shallow slump to hold the post in position. Also, too much water will cause cracks in the concrete. I shaped the top of the concrete in the form of a shallow dome to encourage rainwater to run off and not pool around the metal post. Remember you will need a bubble level to insure the post is plumb. The result: the installation is solid and will last until the metal rusts out. Great little mailbox kit.NOTE: Be careful when weed-eating. The weed-eater string will knock the paint from the post which will encourage rust.

OK for the money. I had one like it before. After a number of years, the small frame holding the box on the poles became rusty and loose, and the box began to sag when the poles holding it in the ground began to lean. The big advantage for me is that I could easily install the mailbox. With a sledge hammer I was able to easily drive the poles into the South Louisiana clay soil. The instructions suggest using cement, but, if I did that, I might as well install a sturdier pole. I did drive some 12 inch plastic stakes into the ground next to the poles to try to add stability. The door to the mailbox didn’t want to stay shut. When I used some pliers to twist the catch at the top of the door a little, the snap stayed shut. This mailbox definitely will not last forever, but I’m 75 so, to me, forever is a relative term.

The mailbox is so easy to install and is ready for immediate use. It looks great and is so much more reasonable than other mailboxes of comparable size and height. A nice touch is the "post" which adds strength as well as a touch of "class" to the mailbox. The lid closes securely, and if I had only one complaint, it would be that you really have to push it closed hard and pull it with some force it to open. Of course, that being said, the mail is protected from all sorts of weather as it is securely in the interior of the mailbox. The red flag is easily seen by our letter carrier when we have mail that needs to be picked up. This saves us a trip to the post office, of course, just to mail a letter. One word of caution. Although this mailbox is approved by the Postmaster General, you must contact the local post office to ensure that where you want to put the mailbox is approved by them for carrier delivery. You cannot just put it up where you think it "looks nice" by your home. It must be "so many feet" from the curb, or home, and "so many feet" from where the carrier must walk to drive to deliver your mail. If you don't install it correctly, it will look great, but you won't have any mail delivered to it at all. The Post Office is very particular on how and where mailboxes are installed.

This mailbox is gorgeous and bigger than I expected. The shiny black curlicue decoration matches the colonial style of our home perfectly.Attaching the mailbox to the post is totally straightforward and foolproof - great instructions included and also printed on the box. Install, which is harder but still straightforward, will happen soon, once the ground has thawed up here in the north.The price was extremely reasonable. I bought it with slightly damaged packaging for a small discount but the mailbox itself was in brand new condition. If anything, it's great condition was undersold and I am super pleasantly surprised about that.Hopefully I'll remember to update this review next winter after it has been sitting in the ground for 6+ months and the snow plows have gone by a few times - that's what killed our old mailbox, but this one seems sturdier than the one it is replacing.