I live in the middle of nowhere and have had ongoing Amazon delivery problems for years. We don’t get U.S. Mail here, and sometimes Amazon refuses to send something to my P.O. Box (always something small, lightweight, and perfect for a P.O. Box, such as Bandaids). Finally, a smart Amazon rep told me how to thwart that maneuver: instead of my address line being “P.O. Box 98”, it must read “PMB 98” (stands for Personal Mail Box) and then for the town, still “Middleof, NW 02222-0098.” It works most of the time. If I ask for something to be sent to my physical address, Amazon still assigns it to USPS and then it goes astray to my tiny town’s Post Office (my Box is in the next tiny town over), where the nasty Postmistress sends it right back to Amazon. However, that rarely happens and if I call and beg her forgiveness at 8:00 a.m., she will let me come and pick it up.
I made a lot of money while I was trying to figure this out, since every time a package would go astray, Amazon used to give me a free month of Prime. Then it was $10. Then $5. I could have taken advantage of this by asking everything to be sent to my physical address once Amazon shifted 98% to USPS instead of UPS, but I didn’t because that would have been unethical. Now, when something goes astray, I don’t even bother to complain.
So I’m willing to give Walmart a try simply in the hope that I can get more reliable delivery either to my P.O. Box or to my front door. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been relying on Amazon for 100% of my paper products and cleaning supplies, very successfully. I get most of my edibles either, until October, at our Farmers’ Market or at tiny little local stores which have expanded their offerings beyond snacks, beer, and wine, so I haven’t had to deal with either shopping carts, conveyor belts, nor sneezing baggers since mid-March.
So thanks to everyone for mentioning this option. We actually have several Walmarts in my state, with the one closest to me about an hour away. It’s pretty scruffy, so this will be an interesting experiment!
}=>———>>>> |
