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A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

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Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#71

Post by mleonhard »

nandemo wrote: post #15
kristopher wrote: post #7

Amazon already has these up and running in Japan. Amazon Help Article (JP): http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId... Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js...

Yes, and it has been running for several years now. Very handy. In Japan, the customer doesn't have to mess with any lockers. In the convenience store (Lawson instead of 7 Eleven) there's an electronic terminal used for buying tickets, pre-paid cards, etc. The customer inputs the order code and key into that terminal to print a ticket. Then they hand it to the clerk who picks up the package from the storage.

7 Eleven in Taiwan has the same system. It's a delivery option for Taiwan's big online store http://pchome.com.tw/ and Taiwan's eBay http://ruten.com.tw/.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#73

Post by joezydeco »

dangrossman wrote: post #59
avree wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if that's true. I have a subscription to toilet paper and paper towels on Amazon, and they often arrive just in the box of the product, with clear branding on the outside.

It's true, speaking from experience. Both Amazon and the sex toy sellers are aware that most people would want those packages to be discrete.

That made me think: if Amazon is putting these products directly in the locker, do they even need to wrap it in packaging? It surely would save them money and time, although then it's more checking on the part of the guy loading things into the lockers.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#74

Post by joezydeco »

blahedo wrote: post #64

> ...which looks like the offspring between an ATM machine and a safety deposit box. The author evidently has never seen a modern transit station locker system. (Admittedly less common now that lockers have been removed from airports.) At Union Station in Chicago there is a wall of lockers that looks almost exactly like this; all your interactions with choosing and locking and unlocking a locker are done with the com…

You mean this one?

http://www.smartecarte.com/storage-lockers

There's a hidden aspect of these lockers, you know. TSA likes it when they can have a backdoor to these lockers when needed.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#76

Post by billpaetzke »

SwellJoe wrote: post #67
there wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I travel full-time, and have no permanent residence. do you not file a state tax return?

I don't because I am now a Texas resident, for legal purposes, and Texas has no state income tax. But, I do still have license, registration, etc. to deal with.

Did you get a Texas driver's license to replace your California one?

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#77

Post by SwellJoe »

billpaetzke wrote: post #76
SwellJoe wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't because I am now a Texas resident, for legal purposes, and Texas has no state income tax. But, I do still have license, registration, etc. to deal with.

Did you get a Texas driver's license to replace your California one?

Yes, when you change domiciles, the process is to re-register all vehicles, get new license, new plates, etc. The new state will require you to do all of that. You can't mix and match residences in order to maximize goodness (i.e. if Texas has high auto insurance rates, and it does, pick a lower insurance state for the drivers license; but use Texas for income tax purposes; and then use some other state for health insurance; whatever). So, you take the good with the bad (Texas pros: No state income tax, reasonable vehicle registration fees, conveniently located in the middle of the country for those times when you do have to physically be present; Texas cons: Somewhat high sales tax which can be a big problem when buying a new rig or boat for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, higher auto insurance rates than many places). Being half-in/half-out is sort of grey area...you probably won't get in trouble for it, but you may run into problems if you have any legal problems or have to file a major health insurance claim or something. Which reminds me, I need to get health insurance sorted. It'll save me money to move it to a Texas provider, probably, since California is among the most expensive states for health care...I just haven't gotten around to it.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#78

Post by SwellJoe »

Bluem00 wrote: post #22
SwellJoe wrote: post #9

I love this idea. I travel full-time, and have no permanent residence. Amazon Prime has been a godsend...but, even that only works when I'm staying somewhere long enough to get something shipped in (I upgrade to overnight for $3.95 per item quite often), and in a place where I can have something delivered. Fedex and UPS do not yet accept GPS coordinates as a destination for delivery (my motorhome is often parked off…

Perhaps slightly off topic, but I was in a similar situation recently (a replacement phone was overnighted from verizon via Fedex and my motorhome was not at an rv park). I don't know if it applies to your problem, but I discovered that many Fedex stores will allow you to use their service to ship packages to them for you to come and pick up, like general delivery for the USPS.

Do you live in your rig full-time? What part of the world are you parked in now?

And, I wasn't aware I could have things shipped to a FedEx store. I've considered getting a mailbox at a FedEx store in places where I stay for more than a week or two, but so far have not. But, if I can just do a "general delivery" type thing to a FedEx store, that'd be awesome. Will look into it. Though, Amazon never tells you how they're shipping an item; could be UPS, FedEx, courier, DHL, USPS, nobody knows until you get the tracking notice. So, that probably won't work for my Amazon Prime shipments.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#80

Post by ThaddeusQuay2 »

SwellJoe wrote: post #66
ThaddeusQuay2 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my state, Pennsylvania, it is my understanding that the homeless are not allowed to drive or even to receive mail, because a mailbox cannot be used for the address on their driver's license, and they cannot get a mailbox, neither from the Post Office nor from a reputable mailbox rental business, without already having an address which they can prove is their residence. Therefore, unless the rules are different in…

"In my state, Pennsylvania, it is my understanding that the homeless are not allowed to drive or even to receive mail, because a mailbox cannot be used for the address on their driver's license" I'm certain you're wrong about both of these assertions, in PA or any other US state. There are federal laws at play, and both of these limitations on homeless people would definitely cross the bounds of federal law. Also, th…

Thank you for the detailed reply. However, I am still fairly sure, although not 100% certain, that homeless people, technically, cannot have a valid driver's license, cannot receive mail, and they cannot, legally, do other, assorted, connected things, such as: have a bank account, own Internet domains, hold a passport, vote, or travel (via Amtrak and Greyhound). There is a big difference between the lofty ideals of our federal constitution and the practical nature of daily reality. Cities and states regularly get away with lots of anti-constitutional behavior, particularly against the homeless, partly because that segment of the population isn't represented by powerful lobbyists.

I am homeless, and so, my original comment was not merely hypothetical. I live in Philadelphia, which is, according to Wikipedia, the fifth most-populous city in the United States. Texas sounds rather laid back, but that's not the way it is here. Every day, I feel as if I am "an outlaw, flaunting convention and decency" because not having what's considered a "legal" residence is generally seen as a major indicator of there being something seriously wrong with me. Lacking a fixed address should not effectively make me a criminal.

You mention MBE. I just went to their website, and the first thing that catches my attention is a news item [1] stating that I need to show ID to send a package, via UPS, from an MBE location, unless I already have a shipping label prepared from an existing UPS account. On a related note, this reminds me that FedEx here doesn't take cash. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be an MBE in Philadelphia, but other mailbox places that I have come across all require ID [2] and most require me to fill out a form [3] which tells the Post Office that the mailbox provider has my authorization to handle my mail. It is impossible for me to (honestly, legally, or however you want to put it) fill out that form. Also, even if I could, somehow, get a mailbox, it would create yet another red flag on my credit reports, because the credit agencies mark, as suspicious, any address which receives mail for many different people.

I've been removed from life's DNS. :(

ICANN you hear me?

[1] http://mbe.com/ps/Pages/PhotoID.aspx

[2] http://southstreetbusinesscenter.net/mailbox_rental

[3] http://virtualpostmail.com/ps/308/usps-form-1583-in-5-minute...

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