Amazon and General Delivery do not mix.

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Twice now, I have ordered through Amazon with a delivery address of General Delivery at a U.S. Post Office. I had double-checked with the Post Office that they will accept General Delivery packages shipped via UPS if necessary. I did a lot of online research to figure out how to specify my address so that Amazon would only ship via USPS. Supposedly, if you put "PO Box: General Delivery" in the address, they would always ship via USPS. 

Yeah, not so much. With both orders, one of the packages was shipped via UPS instead of USPS. The first time the package was returned. Amazon's web site said "Customer did not want" which was BS. They told me I would receive a refund. Instead, they turned the package back around and re-shipped it via USPS, but without telling me anything about it. So, when it came to the Post Office, I had no idea and it was just sitting there till yesterday, when I went in to pick up other packages. 

The second order, they shipped one of the packages via UPS again. But this time it was received at the Post Office. However, when I went to pick it up, the Post Office charged me an additional $9.45 for them to receive the package. 

So, until Amazon restores the ability for us to choose the shipper on orders, I will not be ordering anything from Amazon again. 



Yes, yes, I know. Amazon does that because they choose the cheapest shipper for each and every individual package. I don't give a shit what their reasons are. I don't like the outcome. I would rather have to pay for shipping up front than have to wonder whether I will ever get my package or not, or whether I will be charged a ransom after the fact. 


Yes, yes, yes, I also know that there are other ways to receive packages. That is not what this post is about. I was hoping to avoid having to pay a fee for someone to just receive my package. Especially since we have this glorious invention of Benjamin Franklin's which I already paid for through my taxes. And, in my current situation, getting a box at a local mail service wasn't reasonable. However, now that I will be working at the same place, as a camp host, for five months, it may be worth it to get a mail box service near where I will be working. 



Soooo, I just wanted to rant, and to warn people that getting Amazon to ship to General Delivery at the Post Office is NOT as easy as some people make it out to be.

 

[Kaylee]

Thanks for sharing!
Have you tried asking Amazon for a refund or credit for the extra charge?


In case it makes you feel better...

Last fall I did my first ever experiments with General Delivery, as prep for my dispersed camping travels.

Walmart was a complete foul up.
Their system failed to recognize it would be a problem (I put "GENERAL DELIVERY", so it should have been easy to parse).
Their shipper held the package about an hour's drive away from me, but never emailed me to tell me what was going on.
I went to the nearest Walmart (about 20 minutes away) and tried their customer servicer desk. They looked up the order, found where it was, but were unable to do anything.
I tried phoning Walmart, got nowhere.
Finally, I tried FedEx, and was able to get them to re-route it to the closest Walgreens.
Took multiple phone calls and two trips over a few days.
Grrr! Argh!

I'm currently waiting on a resend of a crucial part from Amazon.
This time, I had them send it to my PO box, and will leave only when the USPS Informed Delivery & Amazon both think it's physically in my box.

I've had problems with other vendors, when shipping to PO boxes and other non-standard but well-defined alternative locations.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

We've been in Phoenix for medical care and while we have been here, I've been having things delivered to Amazon Lockers. If it is too large for a locker, often I'll buy online at Wal-Mart or Home Depot and pick it up there. We also use my kids' addresses to receive large items.

Where we are in NM, there are no Amazon Lockers, but there is a Wal-Mart.
Ted

 

[MrNoodly]

I spent a summer in a town that had no home mail delivery. Everyone needed a PO box. If something was mailed using the street address the post office would usually send it back. However, UPS and FedEx delivered to street addresses. Since some Amazon orders get sent from their "fulfillment centers" and some get sent from other companies, and since small items tend to be sent via USPS if they're not boxed with a larger order, I had to give Amazon both the street address and PO box number, then cross my fingers.

My current mail forwarder is also in a town without street delivery of mail, so there's the two address situation again—a PO box for mail and a street address for shipments.

I tried Walmart's order-online-pick-up-at-the-store service a couple of months ago. It went okay after the clerk figured things out. I think it was her first time handling one of these.