Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido, and this week we're going
to tackle a very simple subject, but one that a lot of RV travelers need to know, and that is
how to receive packages while you're on the road traveling. So stay tuned!
Now oftentimes you're going to need to get something delivered that you can't find locally,
especially if you're in a rural area. That's something that we've encountered on numerous
occasions as we've been traveling for up to six months a year the past few years, and we'll do
so even more now that we're full-time RVers. It's actually very simple to get stuff delivered to you
while you're traveling if you know the procedures and know the different methods of delivery.
Now the way that you're going to get stuff delivered depends on who the shipper is,
and what method they are using for the shipping, and we're going to start off with Amazon because
let's face it: you can you can get just about anything you possibly need with Amazon.
And if you happen to have an Amazon Prime membership you also get free expedited shipping.
One really easy way to receive stuff is via an Amazon Locker or an Amazon Hub Counter.
The Amazon Lockers are really simple, you simply specify in the delivery address at the time that
you're placing the order (the address of the amazon locker that you wish to pick it up from),
obviously calculating in your travel time. Pick a destination that's ahead of you down the road,
and when you receive your order confirmation that it's been delivered
you simply go to the locker and enter your six digit code, open pops the door, and inside the
door is your package ready for retrieval. The nice thing about Amazon Lockers and Hub Counters is
that if you for some reason get delayed or if you get rerouted, if you don't pick it up within three
days it automatically gets returned to Amazon free of charge and your Amazon account refunded.
Amazon Lockers work very similarly to Amazon Hub Counters. The difference is an Amazon Hub Counter
is where you'll be working with a human being to retrieve your package,
be it in a local pharmacy -- a small town pharmacy -- or a local store. You just walk in, you provide
them with your delivery confirmation, and they hand you your package. Either way it works
the same. Now if you're in a really rural area it's distinctly possible that an Amazon Locker
or an Amazon Hub Counter, neither of those will be available to you. If that's the case
you need to follow the procedures that we're about to explain for packages that are coming
from shippers other than Amazon, and that all depends on what transport company they use.
There are two big ones and you know them both: one is UPS, and one is the Postal Service. Let's
first talk about UPS. You can use UPS Access Points, which are often UPSStores but might also
be in retail establishments like a CVS Pharmacy or something like that, that work exactly the same as
an Amazon Hub Counter. They will hold your package for you until you arrive in the area to pick it up
with proper identification and your confirmation code. The other huge shipper of course is the US
Postal Service, and if you're using the Postal Service it's a lot easier to receive packages
at any post office than you might think. All you need to do is go on to the Postal Service website,
either on a PC or with a mobile device, and search for a post office in the area in which
you're going to be traveling. Scroll down to where it says "available services" -- you must see there
"General Delivery." If it doesn't list general delivery, pick a different post office,
but if it does scroll back up, make note of the zip code, and addressing a package is this simple
it is your name, General Delivery, city/state and zip code. And the zip +4 extension is 9999.
So in my case, for example, would be Marc Guido, General Delivery, Draper, Utah 84020-9999.
What will happen then is the post office will hold your package when it arrives at the destination
post office, and hold it for you to retrieve at the counter with proper identification.
Now, what if your parcel is not coming from Amazon, it's coming from some other vendor and you
don't know yet how they're going to ship it? You don't know if it's coming UPS or Postal Service,
and you're kind of in the in the dark as to how they're going to ship. One easy solution for that,
that we've used successfully is to contact a local pack and ship store. Check with them see if they
will receive your package and hold it for you. Most pack and ship stores that we've talked to
are willing to do that either for free, or for a nominal fee of a couple of bucks, and they will
just hold your package until you get in the area and you can stop by and retrieve it in person.
Now one more option you have for your bag of tricks to receive packages on the road
is ship-to-store. Many large national retailers including Home Depot and Walmart,
they offer free ship-to-store services for many items that they don't carry in their stores.
Many folks may not realize it, but Walmart.com is actually the nation's second largest online
retailer, and their third-party sellers have many hard-to-find products that you won't find on the
shelf at any Walmart. Yet you can still retrieve it via free ship-to-store at any Walmart location,
and there are of course Walmart stores across the country in many, many rural towns. Now
we know this has been a short episode, but it's an important subject to tackle
and something for you to know when it comes time that you need in an emergency
some sort of package to receive while you're out there traveling.
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