Using PO boxes with DIY sites?

My friend wants to know if he can do Brandarama sites with his PO box. He is just getting into the freebie scene, and hes 24 years old but still lives at home. His parents refuse to let him use their address because they will get junk mail and think their identity will get stolen. Is it OK for him to use a PO box and will these sites still send gifts to him?

Thanks

I think if it's not allowed sites will say so in their terms. Where I see him running into a problem is in completing offers. If the offers he does ship something of any size, I know many of them won't ship to PO Boxes. That being said, it might be worth a try.

Tell him to tell his parents that their identity can't get stolen by somebody knowing your address. And you won't get junk mail, maybe 1-2 things a month. I get 3-4 a week and I'm signed up on 100 sof these sites. E-Mail spam is different, that you'll get tons of, so tell him to make a new email for freebies. And I'm pretty sure he can't use a P.O. box, tell him to call brandarama himself and ask ?

Almost all freebie sites disallow PO boxes. First, large items are either too expensive or impossible to ship USPS. Secondly because POB's are commonly used to fraud.

There is nothing unsafe about your street address being known -- it's public knowledge anyway. Lots of public records will have your street address, not to mention the phone book if your number is listed. Now if they're concerned about identity theft due to junk mail, then that's a slight risk but pretty much unavoidable. You won't get much direct mail junk from freebie sites anyway, and what you do get would hardly be useful to steal your identity. Even CC offers, which most people get regardless unless they notify all credit bureaus to opt-out of pre-screened credit offers, are hard to steal your identity from nowadays. You'd have to know an awful lot about a persons personal info to get a credit card in their name nowadays.

Typical unfounded hysteria by those ignorant of how things actually work, if you ask me. I know lots of folks that still think like that.

P.O. Boxes work for most DIY sites... They are not allowed for ref sites...

To insinuate the use of a P.O. Box is fraud is dumb... as I have many friends in small towns and rural areas that HAVE to use P.O. Boxes. It's also Ironic that most of the sites are run from P.O. Boxes... or mailboxes etc and companies like that. I actually spoke with the woman in Las Vegas who works at a shop that does just that...

...turns out Ideal is one of their biggest customers.

I also helped a friend pick up a TV they ordered off of Amazon at the Post Office.

[quote66f7d9336b="Captain All That"]P.O. Boxes work for most DIY sites... They are not allowed for ref sites...

To insinuate the use of a P.O. Box is fraud is dumb... as I have many friends in small towns and rural areas that HAVE to use P.O. Boxes. It's also Ironic that most of the sites are run from P.O. Boxes... or mailboxes etc and companies like that. I actually spoke with the woman in Las Vegas who works at a shop that does just that... [/quote66f7d9336b]
If that was directed at me, I never insinuated that the use of a POB means fraud. roll

I was pointing out that it's only one reason they are shunned. Scammers (on either side of a transaction) will always prefer POB's to street addresses for obvious reasons. I know there are cases where people can't get shipments any other way, but honestly they're a small minority these days. And they've always been at somewhat of a disadvantage because of it, and not just from freebie sites. MANY mail order vendors refuse to ship to POB's and require street addresses. I have relatives who live in very rural areas and for years, up until just recently, could only receive things by mail. It was a major PITA for them and they hated it. So it's not that unusual at all.

OTOH it's a very common practice for companies -- especially those who do business outside their local areas and/or have numerous facilities scattered everywhere -- to use POB's to centralize their mail. Due to the volume of mail they receive, it is more efficient and convenient for both the USPS and the company to receive their mail at the post office.