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Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: PowerLifter on August 02, 2012, 03:37 pm

Title: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: PowerLifter on August 02, 2012, 03:37 pm
I'm thinking of getting a prepaid credit card (pay with cash of course). I believe you don't even have to call to activate them?

Anyway, I'll use the prepaid credit card at the automated machine to weigh packages and print postage. Any thoughts on this?

Lastly, can I buy delivery confirmation at those automated machines?

Thanks for your input!
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: Boris Badenov on August 02, 2012, 07:39 pm
I think no matter what you have to give your SS number out to get them to mail you a prepaid card. I haven't found a single one that doesn't require this. So you're back to square one.

BB
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: thisworld on August 03, 2012, 09:34 am
You CAN get prepaid 'gift cards' from major lendors (ie: visa) and use them anywhere that lendor is accepted.  I've never heard of an automated USPS machine, but my bet is there's probably a camera in it similar to an ATM. Just a guess, and maybe i'm to paranoid, but it seems like something a government agency would implement.

Best of luck!
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: PowerLifter on August 03, 2012, 02:46 pm
Right, those are what I was talking about. Prepaid gift credit cards. No SSN, no ID, nothing required you just pay in cash and use them just like any other credit card. Available at major pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, etc etc. They're great, I've used them before.

They have an automated machine at every USPS location around here. You weigh your package, insert your credit card, prints the postage right there, and you're on your way. No need to see a clerk for anything at all. Yes, I did notice a camera, but it wasn't particularly facing the automated postal machine, it was far off and recording the general area (the postal machine definitely in it's path). But don't they have cameras everywhere anyway at postal locations? In the parking lot AND inside. Which leads me to think, what's the safest way to drop off your mail? Just in like a random USPS drop box that's not at a USPS location, to stay out of the cameras eye? In that case, it would make sense to just buy prepaid stamps since it might seem suspect that you got custom printed postage from the automated postal machine but then went to a random drop box.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: brutusk on August 03, 2012, 08:00 pm
yes, APCs do accept Visa gift cards.  There is a purchase limit of $50 per day that was recently implemented due to credit card fraud, so if you are going to be buying more postage than that get your cards in groups of $50 so you don't have to wait 24 hours between transactions.  Beware, though, that the camera snaps your picture at the time of payment, and if the camera is blocked to the point that it can't take a picture the machine will cancel the transaction.  For security it is better to find a way to buy your postage anonymously and off-camera.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: Delta11 on August 04, 2012, 12:29 am
yes, APCs do accept Visa gift cards.  There is a purchase limit of $50 per day that was recently implemented due to credit card fraud, so if you are going to be buying more postage than that get your cards in groups of $50 so you don't have to wait 24 hours between transactions.  Beware, though, that the camera snaps your picture at the time of payment, and if the camera is blocked to the point that it can't take a picture the machine will cancel the transaction.  For security it is better to find a way to buy your postage anonymously and off-camera.
It's true next time you go look to see the camera, it'll be right there staring at you waiting for you to buy your stamps  :-X

The easiest and most anonymous way is to just go and buy regular stamps cash or if you're really paranoid about cameras have a friend or someone you trust go and buy them for you.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: ManaFromHeaven on August 04, 2012, 04:11 am
About the camera.  Whenever I need to use APC, I always hold my wallet over the camera like I'm waiting for the transaction to complete before puting my card back in my wallet.   No big deal and I'm certain there is no usable picture of me.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: TheNewBrutusk on August 04, 2012, 06:03 am
This is Brutusk, had to make a new login to get in...

Funny story about those cameras, a few weeks ago I was at the PO on legit business and someone had pasted a big sticker over the camera on the APC...then tried to scrape it off hahah, I laughed my ass off about that.  The first thing I thought was ah, must be a new vendor in town hehe.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: thisworld on August 05, 2012, 08:21 am
About the camera.  Whenever I need to use APC, I always hold my wallet over the camera like I'm waiting for the transaction to complete before puting my card back in my wallet.   No big deal and I'm certain there is no usable picture of me.

I'd be nervous that the camera is recording and not a still camera.. :/
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: masterblaster on August 05, 2012, 07:12 pm
My guess is the camera is responding to the presence of light, so it would be easy enough to fool it by putting your phone on it and letting it record the background.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: thisworld on August 06, 2012, 08:55 am
Unless i'm mistaken, all a camera does is make a record of the presence(and reflection) of light... 

My concern comes from the fear that it isn't just taking still shots when a transaction is being processed, but rather that it's constantly recording(ie:when you walk up before placing you phone or wallet in front of the camera.
Title: Re: Shipping - Prepaid Credit Card at USPS Automated Machine
Post by: brutusk on August 06, 2012, 10:33 pm
I've confirmed through research that it snaps a pic at the time of payment.  If it can't snap a pic you get an error along the lines of "I'm sorry I can't complete the transaction at this time."  I don't have the link to the doc where I found that info handy, but it was in a report on APCs I found on the deep web.  Although they are very cagey about what info is encoded on the stamps, I suspect that one of the data blocks is actually the snapped image encoded directly on the stamp.