Silk Road forums

Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: deathomen on August 25, 2011, 06:45 am

Title: New mail box
Post by: deathomen on August 25, 2011, 06:45 am
I have cameras around my house and right now my mail box can barely be seen my them.  I want to know if I am allowed to move my mail box anywhere along the side of my property as long as it's 6 inches from the road.  For instance in my case I want to place mine right next to my sidewalk in the middle front of my property instead of on the side of my property near the driveway.  Would this be a problem?  Also I was thinking of getting a secure mail box so no one could steal my mail or any valuable packages.  Would anyone have any ideas on what to get?  I live in a bad neighborhood so I think this would be a good investment.  Thanks for the advice.
Title: Re: New mail box
Post by: keldog09 on August 25, 2011, 02:50 pm
Unless you order infrequently, I would recommend not sending your packages to your home address and instead renting a P.O. box or finding another address to mail it to that's legit (Good examples: girlfriend's place, friend's place, etc. Bad example: abandoned buildings, places of employment, etc.).

Moving your mailbox shouldn't be a problem as long as it's still easily accessible to the postman. I'd check with your post office just to make sure though because some cities can have ridiculous ordinances.
Title: Re: New mail box
Post by: deathomen on August 25, 2011, 03:17 pm
What would be the difference between a legit po box in my name and my house address.  I get packages delivered on the regular from amazon newegg and other websites a few times a month so I don't see why the package traffic should be a problem.  There's no way any one's going to pull a sting on me I have cameras all over my property and know my postman so I don't see the problem with the package flow.  I've always received a lot of packages.  I don't see why it should matter what I receive as long as it's packaged properly and isn't suspicous.
Title: Re: New mail box
Post by: captainjojo on August 25, 2011, 05:42 pm
Actually it isn't recommended that you ship to anything other than your own address or one you control. 

Buying a P.O. box is also not a good idea.  In order to get one you need to provide ID, so its hard to hide ownership.  And if you do use a fake id of some kind you open yourself up to mail fraud charges.  It also shows intent that you rented a P.O. box to receive illegal substances.

Use your own address but change the spelling of your name slightly.  Change 'George White' to 'G Whit', that type of thing.

You will have reasonable grounds to say, that's not me, I didn't order anything.

Remember, never sign for anything you weren't expecting to sign for (and you should order anything from SR that requires you to sign for it).  Even if you do, you can always say 'The postman said sign, so I signed, I had no idea what was in the package.

Remember, deny, deny, deny if it ever comes down to it.

If you get a love letter from customs, ignore it, you didn't order anything and you weren't expecting a package.

There is little they can do to you if you do not admit to anything.  The best they can do is confiscate the package and send you a letter.

Don't ship to friends unless the friend knows and agrees to it.  It is not a nice thing to do to a friend, having packages delivered there without telling them what's in it and warning them to not sign and never admit anything.

Some people have it shipped to their work place, but I would be extremely careful about that.  Unless you have control over the mail there, it could end up being opened by someone you do not want opening it.

So, as I said, ship it to yourself, change the name a bit, don't sign, and deny, deny, deny if anything happens.  Otherwise just relax and wait for your surprise.  The actual number of packages that get seized is remarkably low.

Good times.  :D
Title: Re: New mail box
Post by: keldog09 on August 26, 2011, 01:41 pm
Actually it isn't recommended that you ship to anything other than your own address or one you control. 

Buying a P.O. box is also not a good idea.  In order to get one you need to provide ID, so its hard to hide ownership.  And if you do use a fake id of some kind you open yourself up to mail fraud charges.  It also shows intent that you rented a P.O. box to receive illegal substances.

Use your own address but change the spelling of your name slightly.  Change 'George White' to 'G Whit', that type of thing.

You will have reasonable grounds to say, that's not me, I didn't order anything.

Remember, never sign for anything you weren't expecting to sign for (and you should order anything from SR that requires you to sign for it).  Even if you do, you can always say 'The postman said sign, so I signed, I had no idea what was in the package.

Remember, deny, deny, deny if it ever comes down to it.

If you get a love letter from customs, ignore it, you didn't order anything and you weren't expecting a package.

There is little they can do to you if you do not admit to anything.  The best they can do is confiscate the package and send you a letter.

Don't ship to friends unless the friend knows and agrees to it.  It is not a nice thing to do to a friend, having packages delivered there without telling them what's in it and warning them to not sign and never admit anything.

Some people have it shipped to their work place, but I would be extremely careful about that.  Unless you have control over the mail there, it could end up being opened by someone you do not want opening it.

So, as I said, ship it to yourself, change the name a bit, don't sign, and deny, deny, deny if anything happens.  Otherwise just relax and wait for your surprise.  The actual number of packages that get seized is remarkably low.

Good times.  :D

Oh conflicting information in the interwebs.

I've always been told never to ship to your home address. I personally have a friend who let's me mail things to him, so I don't have much experience with a P.O. box besides things I've read online (it's worked apparently). I feel like the "that's not mine" logic can apply the P.O. box as well (assuming one is smart about it aka mailing more than just SR stuff to it), because anyone can send you anything without your permission.

Also, wouldn't it be difficult to prove that one rented a P.O. box solely for illegal purposes? Unless there was a clearly defined paper trail, I don't see why it wouldn't be handled any differently than if one was caught at their home address (assuming that the owner didn't admit to doing anything wrong). Granted I'm not a lawyer, so I suppose it could be possible, but without the paper trail they don't have anything besides the physical package(s) and the owner's denial.

Either way, if you play your cards right things should be okay.
Title: Re: New mail box
Post by: captainjojo on August 28, 2011, 02:58 am
The problem with the P.O. box is not so much the fact that it might stop you from denying the package is yours (you can always do that and always should).

The problem is more that they can add mail fraud to the charges and show intent.  It becomes harder to deny the package is yours when you went out of your way to rent the box.  If they start asking you why you rented the box, you better have a good reason ready and you better have some proof that you used it for other packages, especially if you already have a home mailbox.

If I was going that route I would setup the mailbox under a company name, even if I had to use ID to rent the box.  Then I would make sure some mail was delivered to the box that would support that scenario.

In some places it is possible to rent a P.O. box that does not in fact have a P.O. box number.  These are usually business oriented services for self employed or small home businesses that want a P.O. box but don't want their clients to know they are sending to a P.O. box.  You usually get a real address and instead of a box number you use a suite number or they simply know from the name what box to put it in.  These are usually private services.

Whether you use your address, a friends address or a P.O. box, make sure you give some thought to what your response will be if you are ever confronted by LE or customs (The more you have worked out the response in your head, the less likely you are to show nervousness if it happens).  Always deny it is yours, deny your ordered it.  If you have a box make sure you have a nice simple explanation for why you have the box, don't make things more difficult for yourself with some sort of complicated story.  You rented the box for privacy, so your spouse/brother/roommate wouldn't read your mail, you wanted an address to make your home business look more professional, that sort of thing.

Any way, keep things simple, deny if ever confronted and try to relax and have a good time when that package arrives.

 :D