any advice on receiving mail under stealth name?

ppthump · #1 11-10-2015

Im looking at mailbox rentals, not interested in "friends address" etc. There are tons of $10 ish mailbox places around, and I gave them the "I dont want to give out my name online" line, but they all insist mail has to be in my real name. One suggested I get a DBA for a name-sounding "company", but having dozens of dbas kind of defeats the purpose (and takes a long time). Has anyone had any issues receiving mail under a stealth name? I assume USPS is probably more sticky about it, but I was thinking a private mailbox may just get delivered to, and the owner just doesnt really care.

BTW, on a side note, I found that in CA you dont have to register a DBA is your surname is in the title. For instance, if you are John Doe, then "Doe Farming" is legal to use as a company name without DBA registration. Also "Jack Doe" etc. Im sure there is some fine print, but seems interesting.

ppthump · #2 11-10-2015

Also, how loose do we think the address matching is? Is it a bad idea to grab a couple mailboxes from the same place? They would basically have the same address, different "suite" numbers

ovidiu · #3 11-10-2015

You do not need a DBA or anything like that. For UPS Store, I have found this works...use your real name and info (of course) to set up the box, then say you want to receive mail there under a company name or two. No need for LLC or anything, just make up something innocuous like "Moving Brothers" or whatever. They will not ask for paperwork as long as they assume this is your company. Change return or shipping addresses in eBay to match this, eBay doesn't care, been doing it like this for years.

ppthump · #4 11-10-2015

Thanks, im looking at buying though, and not sure if there is a way to make people ship to a business name

yankee · #5 11-10-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ppthump

Thanks, im looking at buying though, and not sure if there is a way to make people ship to a business name

Buying is super easy.
You can add any name or address when checking out.
I often just use Initials or attn: and the initials.

It is still best to keep all ship to addresses separate although I share buying addresses with a couple very large ebay/paypal accounts. 25 main street must hold a dozen 500K plus seller accounts under 50,000 square feet. The post office is also at the same address under the same roof so the situation is unique kinda/sorta.

ovidiu · #6 11-10-2015

Buying to a business name, as long as that name is added to eBay, is no problem. People don't care, just bought a $800 laptop this way.

GhostOfAmazon · #7 11-11-2015

USPS allows you to offer "authorized users". You can add ANY name, so long as the name is on the list, they will deliver mail to the PO Box.

ppthump · #8 11-11-2015

Quote:

You can add any name or address when checking out.

Excellent, so I can setup actual mail boxes in my name so they are happy, use a stealth name with the new address, then just add "attn Me" at checkout. Do people usually follow this guideline? cause if they dont its going to bounce most likely.

USPS may allow authorized users, but all the mailbox rental places ive seen are real weenie. They want IDs for each person on the 1583. USPS mailbox is an option, but theres not that many local, and all the addresses would only differ by the #. Prob ok, but I want as much difference as I can get.

ovidiu · #9 11-11-2015

UPS stores let you add company names without checking any ID's, as long as you say the company's are yours. Piece of cake to add those names to eBay.

GhostOfAmazon · #10 11-12-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ppthump

Excellent, so I can setup actual mail boxes in my name so they are happy, use a stealth name with the new address, then just add "attn Me" at checkout. Do people usually follow this guideline? cause if they dont its going to bounce most likely.

USPS may allow authorized users, but all the mailbox rental places ive seen are real weenie. They want IDs for each person on the 1583. USPS mailbox is an option, but theres not that many local, and all the addresses would only differ by the #. Prob ok, but I want as much difference as I can get.

I believe it all comes down to your local PO employees. My PO is a neighborhood one, (there are over half a dozen different PO's in my city) so it's very easy going, and I never have issues collecting for the "Authorized users".

Best advice is try it yourself and see what happens.

You'll know if they are nazis by how they treat you about other things...do they bitch and make you pay the extra change if your package is 2 ounces over? Stuff like that.

oompaloompa · #11 11-12-2015

do name variation, the mailbox cannot blame you if sender wrote your name wrong....plus they usually do not care if 1 or 2 letters out.

I agree with the above guy...suck it and see....and if they cannot be flexible with you, someone else will get your mailbox business.....

NewYork · #12 11-12-2015

I've tried this "add a business name later" approach, privately held post box rental businesses (especially) are just all too happy to increase your monthly rate to a "commercial" rate, and as long as you've had the box for a little, they don't give it a second thought, they are just more focused on pro-rating the rate increase. You get much different treatment then if you go in and ask for a business box right off the bat- they're much more likely to ask for business license, paperwork, etc- whatever your state may suggest.

Also, I would have 3-5 smaller items shipped BEFORE anything valuable (even if they are just $1 decals, so the place gets used to your "ship to" name/info. Plus, handling tiny packages is a good way for them to get used to you while not resenting you. They'll be quicker to make it complicated for you if you suddenly get huge boxes that are hard for them to handle or take up their shop room right off the bat too. Just like at the actual post office, the more work you create, the more people will pick or look for something to pick at you about.