But who sent it??

June 16, 2023 1:33 PM

FedEx sends me texts when a package is on its way. Generally, I get three: “a package is on its way”, “a package is out for delivery” and finally “your package from [sender] was delivered!” Is there a reason that they aren’t identifying the sender until after they’ve delivered it?
posted by Blue Jello Elf to Shopping (11 answers total)

I assume it's because they don't want to spoil a surprise if someone's attempting to surprise you with something special. Once it's on your doorstep you can see it's from See's Candy, but until then why tip their hand?
posted by potrzebie at 2:22 PM on June 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

I have no idea why they don't, but it's not because they don't want to spoil a surprise. How would FedEx/UPS have the e-mail address of the person that someone else is shipping a gift to? They don't. The e-mail is sent to the person who placed the order, whether that person is the recipient or not.
posted by jonathanhughes at 2:42 PM on June 16, 2023

The major shippers absolutely associate mailing addresses with email addresses - I definitely get email when people send me things even if I wasn't the one who ordered it. Those emails used to say where the package was coming from but I've noticed in recent years they've (sometimes) stopped doing that, presumably because those emails did in fact spoil gifts for me several times over the years and people complained.
posted by potrzebie at 2:55 PM on June 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

The e-mail is sent to the person who placed the order, whether that person is the recipient or not.

No.

If you have a registered account with a delivery service they know your name, address, and email and notify you accordingly.

Alternatively, shippers are inputting email addresses in when creating shipping labels, and the shipping companies are then using that information to contact recipients.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 3:13 PM on June 16, 2023 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: (NotMyselfRightNow is correct. I signed up for them to text me whenever they have something coming to my address. I’m the recipient.)
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:32 PM on June 16, 2023

If you have the phone app (and the website is probably the same), you can see a bit more about the package - where it's coming, sometimes in general terms ('warehouse X in Springfield') and sometimes more specific ('Acme Parts, Inc.'). Seems to work for me for FedEx and UPS, at least.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 3:57 PM on June 16, 2023

It’s probably not that complicated. It sounds like they’re just not merging any data whatsoever into the message. Each merge field is a potential point of failure, so they probably configured the merge system to include as few fields as possible. I would imagine that they included the sender’s name in the last one as a way for you to confirm receipt. If you’re supposed to get three packages in one day, and the delivery notification doesn’t include the sender’s name, but you only see two packages at your door, you can tell right away which one had the problem. But that’s not useful for the “it’s on the truck” message, so they don’t include it. Just my hunch, as someone who has configured notifications before.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:09 PM on June 16, 2023 [8 favorites]

I'm guessing part of the reason is that a lot of online retailers outsource their logistics to 3rd parties (3PL).
For example, i own an online shop called Botanopia. I use a 3PL company called Shipbob, that stores my product and ships it. Shipbob generates the shipping labels with UPS /USPS etc... on their own account. If the carrier specified who the package is sent from, it would say Shipbob. My customers bought from Botanopia and that's what they expect on their tracker.
They have never heard of Shipbob so it would be very confusing to them.
It's possible that down the line the carriers will make it possible for 3rd Party Logistics to customize the "from" name for each of the brands they work for, but right now, that's not an option yet.
posted by PardonMyFrench at 7:23 AM on June 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure why the texts don't display the sender of the package, but logging into the FedEx app shows me the senders of the packages I've received.
posted by Stephanie Duy at 9:52 AM on June 17, 2023

If you login to the "MyFedex" app/site (or whatever FedEx's flavor of this sort of thing is named), you'll get more information. The sender information is hidden before login before privacy reasons. Otherwise, anyone with the tracking number would also know who is sending you this package.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 10:17 AM on June 17, 2023

They absolutely treat the identity of the sender as private information until the recipient has the package in hand. I’ve had some very frustrating phone calls related to this policy.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:18 AM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]