Actually, it's even WORSE than that! The email address you "delete" will continue to exist but will be frozen. You, nor anyone else, can EVER use that address again. So: No, you will NEVER see mail sent to that address; and you will NEVER be able to do anything about it. My Opinion + 79¢ will get you a Senior Coffee at most fast food joints, but here it is: Notify your contacts of your new address and then just ABANDON the gmail address by not opening it. Eventually the Inbox will get to 100% and incoming mail will be rejected. Then, one day if you want, you can reclaim the address by visitation.