New Filter: List only items that will ship to a PO Box

[goatlyones_2]

Because of my very, very rural circumstances, I must receive all packages at the nearest post office. There's no RFD here, and none of the private carriers will ship to my house. On a number of occasions, I've failed to see, or the seller failed to mention, that he'll ship only by a method that won't deliver to a PO Box. So I'd prefer to see ONLY listings for items that WILL ship to a PO Box. At present, there doesn't seem to be any such filter for the eBay search engine. I'd appreciate it if such a filter were made available.

[downunder-61]

You can not search for listings that only send to a PO Box unfortunately and it is unlikely that will change any time soon as so many carriers simply will not deliver to POBoxes.

Can you not ask your local PO if you can use their physical address and they can put it either in your PO Box or hold it for you.

If you are rural sounds like it would be a fairly small place ??? so they may be happy to oblige

[soh.maryl]

As you are well aware, there is no reason for a seller to not ship to a PO box (unless the carrier is something like UPS or FedEx).  A PO box is the safest delivery destination -- locked box in a Federal facility, accessible only by the box owner and the postal workers.  Big package? They put a notice in your box and you present it, along with ID, sometimes, at the window to retrieve your package.  

Maybe you could take a little extra time to explain to the seller that there is no risk at all in shipping to a PO box as opposed to having something sit on your front porch for hours where it's available to porch pirates or in the weather.  

[mudshark61369]

@goatlyones_2,

While it is doubtful ebay will ever give buyers a ships to P.O. box filter, you can always click on the Shipping and Payments tab on each listing to see if the seller uses a service that will ship to P.O. boxes.   You can also set up Hold for Pickup at your local P.O. then you will not have to give a P.O. box # in your package address. Have you checked with your local postmaster to see what options you have?

[magbenv0 · Accepted solution]

I, too, am a person living rural who has no mail delivery service to my home, so my mailing address is a PO Box. It's even on my state driver's license,etc as part of my actual address. In other words, it's  my official and legal address for US mail purposes.

It seems that when I put an item in my cart on eBay that a seller won't deliver to a post office box, it comes up as "there is a problem with your order..." & that's how I know. I usually just nix the item/order and shop elsewhere. It does seem to happen more often then it should tho, and not just on eBay. As long as it's under 75 lbs the post office accepts it.

I once asked my local small-town post office about using their physical address and leaving my PO Box number off, but they said "please don't". I don't blame them, it's just more work for them to do. They are busy enough.

Every once in a while I'll have a package sent in C/O to a friend's house in another town, but then I've got the hassle of driving to their home to get it, so not that convenient. A filter would be a nice thing to have.😊

[nobody*s_perfect]

USPS has a formal system for allowing PO Box holders to use the street address of their PO for deliveries.  Fill out a Street addressing form at your PO:

https://www.usps.com/pobox/customer-agreement-for-premium-po-box-service-enhancements.pdf

[woodland_gnome]

Everyone should always check the shipping on the Shipping and Payment tabs (other displays are sometimes inaccurate), and you in particular should always check the "Exclusions" to see if the seller excludes PO Boxes (as well as look at the carrier to see if it's not USPS to lessen your odds).  

That way you can avoid those who would have been excluded by the filter you suggest, and would have a clue about whether there might be a problem even if they don't set the exclusion. 

For the ones that don't set the exclusion but refuse to ship, you will at least be able to pay (since PO Box is not excluded) and leave appropriate feedback to warn other PO Box holders that the seller doesn't know what s/he is doing.

[7606dennis]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

As you are well aware, there is no reason for a seller to not ship to a PO box (unless the carrier is something like UPS or FedEx).  A PO box is the safest delivery destination -- locked box in a Federal facility, accessible only by the box owner and the postal workers.  Big package? They put a notice in your box and you present it, along with ID, sometimes, at the window to retrieve your package.  

Maybe you could take a little extra time to explain to the seller that there is no risk at all in shipping to a PO box as opposed to having something sit on your front porch for hours where it's available to porch pirates or in the weather.  

---

If the seller only uses carriers that are prohibited from delivering to PO boxes the OP must either ask the seller if they will make an exception or refrain from making the purchase.  While I agree that I see no apparent reason not to ship to a PO Box, it is a choice that is made by the seller and totally up to them.

[magbenv0]

Everyone should always check the shipping on the Shipping and Payment tabs (other displays are sometimes inaccurate), and you in particular should always check the "Exclusions" to see if the seller excludes PO Boxes (as well as look at the carrier to see if it's not USPS to lessen your odds).   

As a fellow PO Box (not my choice, USPS') buyer, the only problem with that is it's just more reading. How much reading is a buyer required to do on eBay - it goes on and on. Between checking the seller's feedback, the description, where the seller's located, where the product is located, etc, etc, etc... 

I honestly don't think there is anywhere else that I have ever shopped online that has as much reading required as eBay. It's above and beyond what your average buyer wants to peruse. Shopping is supposed to be a somewhat enjoyable past time, yes? Too much like work, imo.

I'll stick with my tried-n-true throw it in my eBay cart and see if a message pops up telling me "a problem..." Plenty of other sellers, plenty of other items, and can usually find what I'm looking for.❇️

[magbenv0]

USPS has a formal system for allowing PO Box holders to use the street address of their PO for deliveries.  Fill out a Street addressing form at your PO: 

Interesting info, thank you. Will check next time I pick up my mail and they're open. I looked on USPS' site, but couldn't find whether it was included with their standard "free" box - the one given to people with no mail delivery service. It is called a Premium Service tho, so...(?) I'll post here when I find out for anyone reading whose interested. 

[oneblindcat]

"you in particular should always check the "Exclusions" to see if the seller excludes PO Boxes"

Here's the list from the product page of where the seller  won't ship to, can you find "PO Box"? Hint: It's in there somewhere.

Excludes: New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Guadeloupe, Marshall Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Gambia, Malaysia, Mayotte, Taiwan, Poland, Suriname, Oman, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Middle East, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Senegal, Armenia, Bhutan, Uzbekistan, Ireland, Qatar, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Netherlands, Burundi, Slovakia, Iraq, Equatorial Guinea, Slovenia, Thailand, Aruba, American Samoa, Sweden, Iceland, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Israel, Kuwait, Belgium, Algeria, Benin, Russian Federation, Oceania, Antigua and Barbuda, Italy, Swaziland, Pakistan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Singapore, Panama, Burkina Faso, Jersey, Kyrgyzstan, Switzerland, Reunion, Djibouti, Chile, Puerto Rico, China, Mali, Croatia, Republic of, Botswana, Cambodia, Portugal, Indonesia, Malta, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Paraguay, Cayman Islands, Saint Helena, Cyprus, Rwanda, Seychelles, Australia, Bangladesh, Austria, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Gabon Republic, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Norway, Kiribati, Turkmenistan, Greece, Grenada, Haiti, Yemen, Afghanistan, Montenegro, Africa, Mongolia, Nepal, Bahrain, Bahamas, Asia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, United Kingdom, Dominica, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, South America, Southeast Asia, Western Samoa, France, Mozambique, Namibia, Peru, Central America and Caribbean, Guatemala, Denmark, Vatican City State, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, Nauru, French Guiana, Anguilla, El Salvador, Guam, Micronesia, Dominican Republic, Cameroon, Guyana, Azerbaijan Republic, Macau, Georgia, Tonga, New Caledonia, San Marino, Eritrea, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Morocco, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belarus, Europe, Mauritania, Belize, Philippines, Uruguay, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Western Sahara, Congo, Republic of the, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Spain, Estonia, Montserrat, Korea, South, Zambia, Somalia, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Albania, Monaco, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Laos, Niger, Venezuela, Ghana, Cape Verde Islands, Martinique, Moldova, Madagascar, Lebanon, Liberia, Bolivia, Maldives, Gibraltar, Libya, Hong Kong, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Nigeria, Saint Lucia, Mauritius, Guinea, Jordan, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chad, Andorra, Romania, Costa Rica, India, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands Antilles, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Lithuania, Trinidad and Tobago, Palau, Malawi, Nicaragua, Finland, Tunisia, Luxembourg, Uganda, Brazil, Turkey, Barbados, Germany, Tuvalu, Jamaica, Latvia, Egypt, Niue, Honduras, Brunei Darussalam, Virgin Islands (U.S.), South Africa, PO Box, Bermuda, Iran, Sudan, Burma, Cuba, Republic of, Saint Pierre and Miquelon

[magbenv0]

ROFL 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 

THAT was beautiful! I found it, eventually... 😴  ... Too much NOT like right for me, I'll pass. 

[magbenv0]

USPS has a formal system for allowing PO Box holders to use the street address of their PO for deliveries.  Fill out a Street addressing form at your PO: 

I was at my local USPS Post Office this morning and chatted it up with a long-time employee with reference to the above. 

Since I live rural and have no mail delivery to my house, I have a "free" PO Box given to me by USPS. Everyone that lives here does. My local USPS does NOT participate in that particular "Premium Service". Even if I were to upgrade to a paid-for box, they don't have it. They let me know that any mail that comes in with their building address on it gets returned to the sender as not deliverable.

According to the USPS employee I spoke with, there is no way to sign up for it unless you live in an area that provides that particular Premium Service. And, low and behold, most of the rural and non-delivery USPS offices across America don't offer it. 

USPS said that most of their offices that do provide that service are in populated/urban areas, where people and businesses have or rent PO Boxes by choice, not necessity.

So if you live in a  more crowded area, you can probably pay an extra fee and use the Post Office's address for other carriers besides USPS to deliver your packages to. As for us "rural" folks, we're stuck without that option. 

So, Dear eBay, a filter to exclude sellers who won't deliver to a PO Box would be a really helpful tool for those of us  who live out there somewhere not so easily found. 🤗

[magbenv0]

Ahhhhh, forgot to say tho... 

I've got a replacement package (they sent me someone else's order) coming to my USPS POBox currently (not from eBay) being sent via UPS and it will probably be dropped off at my post office for me. I don't think USPS has to accept it, but my local office does. There are only three people working there and we all know each other ... small town. 

Plus the UPS drivers in my area are well-aware of the problem, which I think helps. Or maybe I'm just lucky once in a blue moon when that happens. As for FedEx or any other service, I have no clue. I use USPS consistently for obvious reasons.

[quick6977]

same here, did have a po box until usps started returning my orders to seller one in four days (not ten), several others  I was not 'noticed' for, one was rts on March 10th 2023, and it arrived on March 10th 2023 - so, as I am not compliant with paying rent on a box they deny I have in order to rts my property... I stopped paying rents. To get the box I had to make up my own address, and I called and registered it with the voting registrar and it was accepted, and usps used it to collect 17 years of box rents from me - yet when a vendor idiot wanted to 'verify my address' (**bleep**? already paid for by paypal, but they have to verify my address... why??? to sell my address to some data mining company? so they know how to find me if they decide they have to come and collect more money from me?) 70 years of lead based nerve agent (tetra ethyl lead) added to regular gas to help sell lower grades of gas (antiknock compound) and vaporized into the public air supply... now the symptoms are beginning to show... oh, and cancer, lots and lots of cancer, lead is infamous for cancer... thank you so much, fossil fuel industry.