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Weird question: how can I postal mail a package without revealing my sending location

motulist

motulist

macrumors 601
Original poster
Dec 2, 2003
4,236
611
I want to postal mail (or fed ex, or UPS, or whatever) someone a package, but I don't want them to be able to see which state, zipcode, or post office I sent it from. Is there any way to do this? Do package re-mailing services exist? (I googled but couldn't easily find a place that does this.)

p.s. Don't worry, this isn't anything nefarious. I'm trying to send a surprise gift to someone, but I'm sending it from a state that would make it immediately obvious who had sent the package if they see the sender location info on the box.

Is there any way to do this?
 
I don't know how to do that, but would the receiver open an anonymous package or stuff from a stranger?
 
magamo said:
would the receiver open an anonymous package or stuff from a stranger?
Click to expand...

Hmm, I know that I would. I would speculate that most other people would as well. I mean, why wouldn't a person open a package addressed to them just because they didn't recognize the return address?


bartelby said:
Send it to someone else, in a different state, to send for you?
Click to expand...

That a good idea, and I considered it, but there's a couple of reasons why I'd like to find another way to do it if possible. Firstly, it's kind of embarrassing, because I'd have to explain that I want my friend to re-mail this for me because I want to send this girl a surprise romantic gift while I'm away in another state. Secondly, I may want to do this a few times before I officially reveal that I'm the sender, so it'd be a kind of big favor to ask a friend to re-mail 3 or 4 packages over a few days instead of just 1. If I can't find an alternative way to do it, then I'll get one of my friends to do it for me, but I'd really rather be able to do it on my own if possible.
 
depends how closely they look at it but just put a bogus return address on it. That should be enough to prevent any farther looking into it. The stamp of its location of were it was mailed more than likely would not even get looked it because of that.
 
You can put whatever you want as a return address. If they ask just say that is your address and you are visiting from out of town. Unfortunately, if the package has to be sent back, it will never get back to you. I worked at UPS, and we never looked at peoples IDs to verify the return address or anything.
 
thatoneguy92088 said:
You can put whatever you want as a return address. If they ask just say that is your address and you are visiting from out of town. Unfortunately, if the package has to be sent back, it will never get back to you. I worked at UPS, and we never looked at peoples IDs to verify the return address or anything.
Click to expand...

Doesn't the postal office stamp it though, to say it's gone through? I always thought they did, and that the stamp is unique to state/area? I'm just guessing though.

If not...then just don't put a return address? Or like others said, put a fake one.
 
Two options I can think of. First just drive away from your location and then put a fake return address.

Second there are package remailing services. Just google remailing service. It costs money.

Why do you need this service?
 
I thought you could just have two boxes, the first delivered to your friend put inside a second box addressed to the postmaster of another post office.

My understanding is the postmaster will open the package and ship the package inside.

Not sure what the rules are any more though. It's a different world these days.

You could probably call your post office (and raise suspisions).
 
kellen said:
Two options I can think of. First just drive away from your location and then put a fake return address.

Second there are package remailing services. Just google remailing service. It costs money.

Why do you need this service?
Click to expand...

He said it was a surprise.

Really the only way I've seen to do this is either use a remailing service as suggested or send from Amazon or a similar site.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
depends how closely they look at it but just put a bogus return address on it. That should be enough to prevent any farther looking into it. The stamp of its location of were it was mailed more than likely would not even get looked it because of that.
Click to expand...

This is probably going to be the best option ... bogus return address and hope they don't look at the postmark. The postmark is unavoidable.
 
How are you traveling?

Why can't you just mail it the day you leave? If revealing your home state is also a problem, then you'll have to stop along the way.
 
motulist said:
Hmm, I know that I would. I would speculate that most other people would as well. I mean, why wouldn't a person open a package addressed to them just because they didn't recognize the return address?

...re-mail 3 or 4 packages over a few days.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I guess I'm a minority then. If it were just a letter or something from a stranger, I guess I would too. But if it's a large anonymous package or something, as someone mentioned along the line of Ted Kaczynski, it'll kind of look suspicious to me... I might report it to the local police. And if it turned out to be a series of fancy presents over a few days from a total stranger, I'd be freaked out. Hmm, maybe I'm just paranoid.
 
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