Do You All Use Your actual business or a PO box or other return address

#1

Question arose today at a local ecommerce sellers meeting.
How many of you use your actual, physical warehouse location for your packaging return address?
When Stamps.com prints our label, the return address is the address of our warehouse.
Concerns were brought up today about possibly some not so honest buyers causing issues.
Wondering how many use an alternative address?

#2

I use a different mailing address because we’ve had several incidents where buyers would show up at our warehouse looking to pick items they purchased online.

With the high rate of INR claims that is not something we allow at all.

#3

We had an incident recently, a buyer claimed they showed up at our warehouse with a return but “it was abandoned”. Surely, we don’t appear to be abandoned.
We do not have a sign out front, as we do not have a retail store. Nor would we answer the door for anyone who was passing by. UPS, USPS and Fed Ex come through our back entrance for pick ups. The back door is not marked with our name either. This afternoon, a fellow seller was commenting that he was threatened by an internet buyer, and sure enough, a short time later a strange car was seen circling their parking lot. They called police.
We don’t open our doors to anyone, there is no reason. I never gave it much thought that someone would actually show up until today.
Just bouncing some thoughts off the experts here.

Edited by: Just For Fun Stuff on May 1, 2017 5:57 PM

#4

I have been using a PO box for over a decade. I don’t have a warehouse so I am not giving out my home address.

#5

[quote=“DMM Treasures”]
I have been using a PO box for over a decade. I don’t have a warehouse so I am not giving out my home address.[/quote]

Lkiewise!

I use a UPS Store address. I work at home and there is no way I’m dropping a breadcrumb trail to my front door. My corporate name is nowhere to be found on my store, nor is my real name. For an internet business, there is no reason for any buyers to know that.

When I first started Amazon years ago, they did not have a message system and we used our actual email addresses, though mine is through a forwarding service. I got some very disturbing emails from a customer, which made me glad I’d already done quite a bit to protect my privacy.

What address to use is a decision everyone must make for themselves.

#6

Why wouldn’t you want your returns going to your warehouse/ receiving area? Are you going to pay for a PO Box just for returns? Shipping label has your physical address to ship from or buyers can do a google search to find out EVERYTHING about your business from Incorporated date to rough sales volume . If you are using a P.O. Box for your outgoing address and incoming address then it may work but most people who actually sell ALOT of items have no time to run around to get returns from PO BOX, UPS Box, etc…
I can see if your paranoid about theft of your business or have a home based business and don’t want to be harassed or have customers stop in then maybe get another address.

#7

Since we live and work out of a po box, we have no trouble giving our actual address - our po box.
Works for us.

#8

You are either very bold and brave or you are very well armed…maybe both.

#9

You can be assaulted by anyone, anywhere. I don’t understand why people fear going outside. You could be assaulted driving to the post office. I guess you can schedule pickups so you can avoid that possibility. You can also have someone deliver your groceries for you in case there’s a shootout in the grocery store.

#10

If you’re worried about someone scoping out your warehouse, there are bigger issues than a return address. Even if you used a PO box, they would just hang there until you showed up to get your mail. Whoever had that issue likely has other things going on that you don’t know about.

> We had an incident recently, a buyer claimed they showed up at our warehouse with a return but “it was abandoned”. Surely, we don’t appear to be abandoned.

It sounds like the person expected a retail location when you are located in an industrial/commercial facility. I wouldn’t think anything about it.

We are running from our home and use our home as the return address. We have had a few people come to our place unannounced but I didn’t feel it to be a threat. I’m sure there are lots of people that are out to get me and they don’t need an Amazon return address to find me.

Edited by: Caan on May 1, 2017 6:30 PM

#11

You forgot city and state. Oops!!

Edited by: Jake@SellerSupport on May 5, 2017 12:44 PM
Personal Information Removed.

#12

>

Lots of fallacious reasoning there.

#13

You figured you would double down on your fallacious reasoning?

Oh, and I use a P.O Box so I don’t have to worry about a nut case seller. Not that I ever did. Quite a fallacious point on you part.

#14

Total nonsense. Oh, only sellers who are doing things wrong could possibly have a problem with a nut case buyer. Yeah. Sure.

#15

A few years ago, there was a gang shootout in a mall area where I drop off my UPS shipments. I didn’t see it because traffic was bad. Maybe I would have been safer if I arranged a pickup.

If I was in the area and inside my car, I would have been safe because that car had bulletproof windows. But what if I was walking inside the store at the time of the shooting?

What about buying things online? Is it safe to give your address to a random seller? If you receive a defective item or it doesn’t arrive, do you not contact the seller in case they start harassing you? You never know, they might come to your house.

#16

Edited by: Jake@SellerSupport on May 5, 2017 12:43 PM
Personal Information Removed.

#17

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”

#18

Not worried about being assaulted in this case. I have a pet peeve for people who show up unannounced and expect me to engage them. I was raised to have manners and common decency. If I don’t advertise myself as a retail store that is open to the public then I don’t want or expect retail visitors.

I can’t imagine being at home with family enjoying quality time or dinner and having a stranger show up at my door step. There are crazies out there for sure but more than that folks that rude and disrespectful.

A buyer can ask if pick ups are allowed. I may consider it based on the size of item but I prefer to not do this at all. Since some folks don’t bother to ask, if they take it upon themselves to show up unannounced, they will be greeted by a nice po box.

#19

We have nothing to hide. If someone comes knocking on our door, we believe in the +right to bear arms+ and will also bare our arms (as in roll up our sleeves) if we have trouble.

Thankfully, we don’t sell products that get complaints. Maybe three in over 10 years of selling.

#20

>…
> I can’t imagine being at home with family enjoying quality time or dinner and having a stranger show up at my door step. There are crazies out there for sure but more than that folks that rude and disrespectful.
> …

If a crazy buyer stops by univited, sure, we’ll invite them in for dinner. >:>