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Poll: Do you use a PO box business address?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
English to Spanish
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Tit for that piece of postage Mar 15, 2016

Philippe Etienne wrote:

No alternative, I live in the sticks.
The parcels I order are delivered at the nearest country bar-restaurant. In exchange for their kindness, I have to drink a lot there.

Philippe


Neat plan. So, how is your liver doing these days, according to your physician?



 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
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You live in Lisbon? Mar 15, 2016

Teresa Borges wrote:

No need to. I work at home and I live in Lisbon not far from the city center. Anyway, most of my contacts with clients are by email…


I might get into a PhD program with Universidade de Nova in Lisbon.

Crossing my fingers.



 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
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Postal efficiency Mar 15, 2016

Ty Kendall wrote:

Julian Holmes wrote:
Japan's courier and postal services are some of the most advanced in the world. I can buy stuff on eBay or Amazon in the states (USPS Priority Mail International also is an excellent service) and get it delivered within 5 business days, sometimes 3.


I can buy stuff on eBay or Amazon in the states (USPS Priority Mail International) and get it delivered within 5-6 weeks.

Although perhaps I'm shooting the messenger here, the last time I ordered a book from the US it only took 3 days to get from Shepherdstown, West Virginia to London, but then HMRC decided to hang onto it for 4 weeks before releasing it for the last stage of its journey.

You have to admire that kind of efficiency....*ahem*
Hear hear!



 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
English to Spanish
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How PO boxes are viewed elsewhere Mar 15, 2016

Vanda Nissen wrote:

We use it because it looks more professional. A lot of Australian companies use PO boxes next to their physical addresses.


How neat! An actual difference of use in the Anglosphere. Here in America, many sellers will not ship to a P.O. Box. In certain circles, using a PO Box is perceived as suspicious by the police (even though it's perfectly legal).


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
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The good old American post system Mar 15, 2016

When I lived in Manhattan, NY, I needed a mailbox located at a bookstore/shipping supplies shop not two blocks from my walk-up apartment. Sure, I received mail directly at my apartment building, but there are companies here that offer mailbox services (they are not PO boxes) for individual professionals and the like because a New York City street address looks more professional than a simple PO Box address.

Now that I live in a condo building (sort of co-op apartment), I also receiv
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When I lived in Manhattan, NY, I needed a mailbox located at a bookstore/shipping supplies shop not two blocks from my walk-up apartment. Sure, I received mail directly at my apartment building, but there are companies here that offer mailbox services (they are not PO boxes) for individual professionals and the like because a New York City street address looks more professional than a simple PO Box address.

Now that I live in a condo building (sort of co-op apartment), I also receive all my mail in an official mailbox inside the building. So, no need for a PO box.
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Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 11:11
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
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No Mar 15, 2016

What for?

 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:11
German to English
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Wondering at the why of the question Mar 15, 2016

There must be some thought behind it, but I don't know what it is.

If you live at a rural address you have a P.O. box number. You don't if you live someplace where mail is delivered to your door (or local mailbox as it exists here)*.
* https://www.thenetworkhub.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5875120128_d5b4c7ea15_z.jpg

Is
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There must be some thought behind it, but I don't know what it is.

If you live at a rural address you have a P.O. box number. You don't if you live someplace where mail is delivered to your door (or local mailbox as it exists here)*.
* https://www.thenetworkhub.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5875120128_d5b4c7ea15_z.jpg

Is it because P.O. boxes are supposed to appear professional?
Because it is safer to hide your street address?
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Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:11
English to Spanish
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It depends Mar 15, 2016

Maxi Schwarz wrote:

There must be some thought behind it, but I don't know what it is.

If you live at a rural address you have a P.O. box number. You don't if you live someplace where mail is delivered to your door (or local mailbox as it exists here)*.
* https://www.thenetworkhub.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5875120128_d5b4c7ea15_z.jpg

Is it because P.O. boxes are supposed to appear professional?
Because it is safer to hide your street address?


People use PO boxes for a variety of reasons, not all of them obvious to us. Here in America, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) offices that handle tax returns and tax payments use PO boxes, for example. I'm assuming these PO boxes used by government agencies are very large and spacious.


 
Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 03:11
Member (2008)
English to Russian
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Indeed:) Mar 15, 2016

Mario Chavez wrote:
How neat! An actual difference of use in the Anglosphere. Here in America, many sellers will not ship to a P.O. Box. In certain circles, using a PO Box is perceived as suspicious by the police (even though it's perfectly legal).


Funny enough, here, some sellers will not ship to a PO Box either but yes, even large companies use PO Boxes. Some do for practical reasons - if they have several offices in the same city, I guess it is easier to use one PO Box.
It almost looks unprofessional if you do not have one and use your postal address with a unit number etc.


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:11
German to English
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Well what I do... Mar 16, 2016

Vanda Nissen wrote:
It almost looks unprofessional if you do not have one and use your postal address with a unit number etc.

.... is use a postal address with a unit number on it.


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 14:11
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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Very specific reasons Mar 17, 2016

There are very specific reasons why people use PO boxes. Whatever they are, it sure looks like you don't want to show your address. For service providers, that may be a negative sign. It does not look good to hide your address, phone numbers, full name, etc. if you are a decent professional (at least, the client will likely think so). I have no reason to use a PO box, either not to show my address or to make life easier anyhow.

By the way, in 28 years of translation, my address was
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There are very specific reasons why people use PO boxes. Whatever they are, it sure looks like you don't want to show your address. For service providers, that may be a negative sign. It does not look good to hide your address, phone numbers, full name, etc. if you are a decent professional (at least, the client will likely think so). I have no reason to use a PO box, either not to show my address or to make life easier anyhow.

By the way, in 28 years of translation, my address was never ever necessary for business purposes, although my invoices do have my full address. Unless you are a sworn translator who needs the originals, why would the client need any address at all? The only types of physical mail I get are: (i) bills to pay; (ii) things I purchased; (iii) undesired advertising.


[Edited at 2016-03-17 07:34 GMT]
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Poll: Do you use a PO box business address?






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