Hi I've done a quick search on the subject but results are scattered. Maybe I'm not searching right so please allow me to pick from your experiences? I like anonymity and will go an extra calculated mile/buck to keep it that way. So I buy f2f or from shops, cash/bank deposit only. My question is when I order online to be delivered to a work address - another recipient (eg. friend) what are the risks for them? ( besides getting robbed ) What about posting to my own work place? efs.
I say it's fine if it's an irregular occurrence but you just never know. I've had stuff delivered to work before without any hassle, it was a small building and secure enough. By far the best thing to do for anonymity is either PO Box or 'care of' your local post office.
I get everything delivered to my work address and I use the same address on all correspondence. My mail room is swipe card activated, open 24hr a day, 7 days a week, there is someone on the front desk who will sign for things in my absence, the communications manager knows who I am and will often give me a call if there is anything waiting for me to pick up. All in all, not as secure as a PO Box but much cheaper. It gives me a relative amount of anonymity and it is a public place for F2F should I need it.
I use my Work's PO Box for 'stuff' Just get the sender to clearly mark the packages as "Personal" Most of the time I just have a package collection slip left on my desk when I get in from the field. As such, my personal I.D. is required to collect my.... goodies
I'm just paranoid so would never deliver anything to home or work address. What if you win an eBay dispute with some asshole who decides to get back at you by phoning your employer up. Use a po box
Don't deal with assholes on eBay. If you are concerned about safety one of the first things to look at is who you are giving out your details to. Stick to reputable bullion dealers or people with a good reputation and you will cut down on a lot of your problems. Going through eBay may save you a few dollars, but often it doesn't as items sell here for less. I only use eBay for rare or hard to find items and I generally tend to buy from dealers rather than individuals. By using eBay you are putting yourself at risk, from fraud, from counterfeiters and from people who have more time than people skills. I wouldn't spend the money on a PO Box as Julie suggests but maybe a bullion vault would be a good idea, if I hadn't lost everything in a boating accident.
PO box can cost as little as $70 a year I've received letters at home that were addressed to a different but similar sounding street name who knows how many of my letters the other address has gotten in the past and just tossed away recently I even got an express post letter that was supposed to go to a completely different suburb lucky for the recipient I was honest enough to hand it back to the post office I could have just opened it and seen what was inside GET A PO BOX !!
Even if you don't want to get a PO box, you can always use AusPosts's Parcel Lockers for delivery of goodies
Didn't realise ebay had an 'I am an asshole' checkbox for sellers I'll have to look for it before deciding who to deal with btw I never buy bullion on ebay - just using that as one example of a risk I guess using your work address would be OK if you owned the business or worked in a small place and you could trust everybody else that worked there. If your workmates don't know what you are buying what happens if a package arrives with a big hole in it and they can see what is inside ?
Granted my neighbour at Number 64 often brings me my mail which should have been delivered to 6A but when you work at a major hospital the chances of them getting the address mixed up is very slim, plus $70 a year is more than I have ever lost in the post. If I was doing a lot of eBaying or purchasing then I might consider getting a box but for the amount I do it is not cost effective. If your concern is being broken into then any address that is not yours is the chief aim, whether that is through a PO Box or work they both work. I wouldn't get it sent to a friend's house though.
That would make life so much easier, unfortunately the feedback and the way they phrase the listing is about the only indication you get Fortunately my workplace is big, you can't miss it and nor can the postal service. They also take security pretty seriously for their mail because of patient information but if my parcels turn up later than expected I do wonder if someone has come in and had a rifle through my pigeon hole, luckily I am the only person in my department but occassionaly someone takes pity on me and collects my mail. I get pretty heavy letters on occassion...
Tis. Although every time I've used it, people ask what it means so I just request for it to be sent 'care of'. Same same.
This is a really good point, given the number of times my non-PM parcels came with holes in them, I should give this some thought. Also just the other day I received a parcel with two out of four nespresso sticks stolen and package resealed, some dishonest Austpost contractors there, I've filed a complaint.
I've used Poste Restante in the past also. It was always interesting queuing up with people from around the world all collecting letters or care packages.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#Australia