http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2015/03/how-to-collect-your-amazon-packages.html
Yesterday, we drove to Mesquite, Nevada where I had purposely had a package sent to the post office there.
Happy to report that the system works perfectly!
This is fantastic news for all the RV'ers out there who have had a problem in the past with ordering things from Amazon.com.
I had ordered a variety of items, from both Amazon and third party sellers. They all arrived in one big shipment. Speaking to the girl at the post office, she said that this system should work all across the United States, but she cautioned that it's better to do it with a small town post office where there is only one post office in town. She did say that they are obligated to hold your packages for 30 days, so that should be lots of time to properly time your arrival to pick them up.
Yesterday morning, Sherman was ready to go and he fired right up, none the worse for wear from his month of sitting. He was partly under some pine trees, and I didn't notice any tree sap issues so that's good. Only one section was covered in bird poop. That bird must have had a favorite spot on one of those branches!
We left fairly early because the fridge was empty! Made a beeline for the nearest Walmart and did a big grocery shop. Kinda nice doing your shopping at 9:00am...the store was very quiet.
Most of you know that it's fairly common for RV's to overnight in a Walmart parking lot. We don't do that because we've learned that there is always a better option if you look around for one. But lots of people do it. The system isn't designed for "camping". It's simply a place to park.
I think this guy is over the line...
What's next, a tenting section?
The funniest thing is that this is in Nevada...there is a ton of free scenic boondocking spots around!
We had read that our blogging friends Croft and Norma were also in Las Vegas and I saw that we were going to be driving pretty much right by the RV park they were staying at. We've bumped into them several times in Mexico over the years, so I sent them a note asking if we could stop by.
Nice to visit with Croft and Norma for an hour.
Only a quick visit though, because we still had a drive to do!
95 miles (150 kms) yesterday from Las Vegas to Mesquite.
We arrived in Mesquite and went to the post office to pick up our packages. Also had new glasses sent there, so now we can see again! More about that in another post.
Sherman, with a nice view of the scenery around Mesquite, Nevada.
I had picked out what looked to be a nice boondocking spot about 20 miles (32 kms) further up the highway, but it had been quite a windy drive on the I-15, and I was ready to call it quits. There are a couple of casinos here in Mesquite, so we found a spot in the parking lot at one of them and spent the night. Didn't even bother to go in the casino.
Early start today, because we're heading for Zion National Park. Apparently the campgrounds there fill up quite quickly and they're first come first serve, so we want to be among the "first come" group!
One of the items I had ordered through Amazon is a new 12 volt digital monitor. It's very simple, and is designed to simply plug into a cigarette lighter. But I want to adapt it to give a constant readout of our house batteries because the digital readout on our solar charge controller has gone wonky. The charge controller itself still works perfectly, it's just the LCD has gone funny.
Yep, it works perfectly! And I specifically bought this one because of the four digit accuracy.
You can buy one here...
Our Canadian readers can do their shopping at Amazon.ca, and today they have a great special on grass seed...get your lawn looking great with this deal!
Oh...you may not hear from us for a couple of nights. We're living off wi-fi for the rest of the month and I doubt we'll have access in Zion National Park! I refuse to pay $60 USD ($76 CAD) for 3 GB's of data on the Verizon network over the next two weeks. Sorry, but that's just a rip off.
Enjoy your brief respite from the internet - sometimes it is actually nice to get away from it!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have internet at the campground but it is an easy bike ride to the Springdale library. So we made a trip here yesterday and again today to post the blog and quickly catch up on the all the news but it is rather refreshing not to be sitting if front of it quite so much.
DeleteYes, enjoy - take a break!
ReplyDeleteGuess it wasn't such a break after all! ;-)
DeleteLooking forward to your next post...whenever and wherever. Happy & safe travels. :)
ReplyDeleteWe couldn't help it, the scenery is just to beautiful to wait to share it so we have made a daily trip into the town library in order to show everyone what we have been up too.
DeleteGood stuff! I'm definitely trying this soon.
ReplyDeleteNina
It worked so well for us we are trying it again. Hope it goes as smoothly for you as it did with us.
DeleteDid the Amazon package go straight USPS, or did they use UPS SurePost?
ReplyDeleteKevin totally forgot to check and we have now thrown away the mailing info but we have another package coming for us in Wyoming so we will try to remember and check with that one and let you know.
DeleteEnjoy your internet downtime.
ReplyDeleteOther than taking out some time to post the blog at the library in town we are enjoying all the beauty that surrounds us here at Zion.
DeleteIt was great seeing you guys, thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking some time out of your day it was great getting a chance to meet up with both you and Norma again. Safe travels north.
DeleteZion National Park....one of the most beautiful places in the US. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYep, it is definitely a gorgeous spot!
DeleteHi Kevin! I would love to share your information about ordering from Amazon while on thr road with my readers. Is there a way I can do it without plagiarizing you? :-) I would give you full credit and hype up your blog? Thanks, Robin
ReplyDeleteOf course Robin, feel free to share!
DeleteLooks like my comment disappeared. SIGH............ok well I was saying thanks for this information on getting delivery on the road. Wish we'd had it these last few years. Hope we'll be on the road to use it again. Love your header picture. What a scenic bike ride. Can't wait to read about it.
ReplyDeleteWe hope you will be on the road again too Sherry! Hope David is feeling well.
DeleteYes indeed, it works!!
ReplyDeleteI have had a couple of terrible experiences getting stuff shipped via UPS and equally bad responses from their customer service. On the other hand I have had some terrific experiences with parcels shipped via USPS.
I wanted to try your method for delivery from Amazon via USPS and it worked exactly as advertised. Funny part is that though my local post office was not sure what would happen they said go for it. Another employee in same office said that I better call the national 800 customer service. The national customer service said to call the local office. In any case I gave the local office a heads up on what I was doing and exactly as you described, the package arrived on time via USPS.
That is one terrific tip you passed on.
Because of their size, I can't avoid UPS altogether, but I will try hard to limit the business that they get from me. It is amazing how bad their service can be and how they think that it is acceptable.
So glad that the system worked well for you. Kevin had checked online before making the order to make sure that the local post office did accept general delivery orders. We didn't call ahead just to test it and it worked well for us but it can't hurt to call ahead and give them a heads up. The only thing that you need to make sure of, is that you can pick the parcel up before the 30 days is up and then they will ship it back to the sender.
DeleteSo glad that we were able to supply such a helpful tip to all travelers in the U.S.