Is there something called general delivery where you can have packages letters sent to the post office for pickup without an address.
The two purposes are if I’m traveling through an area with no set address or I just want to get something from somebody who I don’t want them to know my address.
Regardless of the reason I’d like to know if there’s such a thing.
Send it to a convenience store.
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I used that service somewhat successfully when I first arrived here, in the late 90s.
But that may be about as valid as telling you there were payphones everywhere back then, and you could get a phone card to make cheap international calls.
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yes, it still exists:
https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/U_english2/index.jsp?ID=1639967302153
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Do this. DHL will deliver to most family marts. Very easy process.
And they’re open 24/7, post office is not.
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I think you would just put the closest family mart in as your address when you ship/buy the item. Once the package hits the border and you complete the EZ-Way import process you’ll get sent a link from DHL to go through the process to arrange delivery at a family mart.
Ha ha ha … I always carried 10 dollars or so in 1NT coins to feed into the payphones. They would spit out the unused coins but they would not make change.
I also had a beeper. …
You said you used that service somewhat successfully. Would you mind sharing some anecdotes of of your successful and sometimes unsuccessful attempts of using the service?
I’m a nostalgia fiend and love simple anecdotes of everyday life and objects.
Can you give me an example of the address people wrote to get you the letter? Did you use the term general delivery in english?
The late '90s, did you remember the moms letting the toddlers take dumps in the open sewers or drainage ditch? I spent my first 2 years in Keelung and Kaohsiung. I used complain to my girlfriend about that.
Good idea. I can do that while buying items or sending from one branch to another because they’re in the system.
But how would someone from abroad or outside the convenience stores system address their letter?
Oh …
So what should I do? Visit family mart and ask them for their special DHL code? Then I could send the code to my friend abroad to use with their local DHL agent?
What’s this EZ import process? I’m used to receiving mail the old fashioned way. Anonymously.
Some one sends me a trinket, it arrives in my mail box. If it suspicious, they will leave a note to visit the post office where I tell them that is indeed a used object. Here’s where it was dropped. No duty fee please, thank you.
It’s been about eight years since I received objects…
Thanks Izzy. So its English name is Poste Restante.
Thanks.
I’ll give it a try with some trinkets and stationary items.
last time I used it was 2006, read about this option in a lonely planet book. had stuff sent to the post office near daan park.
cant guarentee how it will work in 2022.
Very dim memories, and I’m not 100% sure if it was in Taiwan. I’d finished a year traveling in Southeast Asia and throughout that I was telling friends and family “If you want to send me anything, I’ll be in Kuala Lumpur in late July, so you can send it to Poste Restante in Kuala Lumpur; or I’ll be in Bangkok in September”, and so on, but I presume I dug up more details on which specific post office.
I believe I did something similar for Tainan, and I think I sent myself a package there before arrival. But it’s all hazy for me. “Mixed success” because inevitably there were people who said they sent things but I never received them - but I’m not sure where on the road that happened.
Yup, that’s exactly how I learned about it as well!
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The old Post Restante system worked pretty well, and very much as described above, although in places such as India things did tend to go missing, but Que Sera.
Not sure how this works these days though, I don’t think you could buy something off e.g. Amazon and give the address as Post Restante Taipei, or for that matter have a unsolicited Amazon delivery sent to your local Family Mart. I believe they will accept parcels for services they are signed up to, e.g. PC Home etc., but not just any delivery.
I have looked at some places, usually those offering services to those who want a physical company address, which will provide a delivery address, but usually at a fair old cost for just the odd parcel.
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Convenience stores are easy within taiwan, but you will sill show your ID, so not that anonymous. But the sender doesnt have your address.
International, a po box would be useful. We have 2 they are so cheap and so useful. I think arount 30nt/month plus refundable key deposit. 400ish per year i think. That way your address is still unknown to sender, but not useful if travelling. Foreigners with arc can get them easily. Bring stamp.
Find the address for your local family mart. Provide that to the sender.
About a day after the item is sent you will get an email or SMS from EZ-Way, which works with customs brokers, to provide additional information to fill out an import form. Alternatively a customs broker from DHL will email you with a form to fill out.
Once this is complete you will get an SMS or email from DHL which directs you to a special portal on their website. Here you can pay the customs fees or give them delivery instructions. This includes delivering the package to a family mart for pickup.
This is a different process than receiving a package by post.
Can I send any package to any convenience store address from any e-commerce website, even if they don’t have the convenience store option to send it there?
How long will they keep the package? How do I get notified it arrived?