Christmas is coming and for most people around the world that means it’s gift season, with Amazon being the first choice to purchase on many occasions, but let’s say you want to buy a gift anonymously or have some special plans with a surprise, can you gift someone anonymously with Amazon?
There’s something quite fun and cheeky about an anonymous gift, if you want to learn how you can do this, or if it’s even possible, keep reading….
Can You Send a Gift Anonymously on Amazon?
No, you can not send gift anonymously through Amazon. The reason behind this is that there are two addresses on the invoice of the transaction, the delivery address, and the billing address, these two are needed so that Amazon fulfills its protocol for security to avoid any sort of illegal or suspicious activity.
Is there a way around this? Technically yes! There are, however, a few things you need to do in order for it to work.
Keep reading to learn more….
How To Send a Gift Anonymously Through Amazon
If you are looking to send a gift through Amazon anonymously, this is how you do it:
- The first step is to purchase a gift card with the amount that you want to spend on the gift.
- Then you select your email address as the recipient of the gift card.
- You will get an email shortly after with the code.
- Go to Amazon and search for the product that you want and add it to your cart
- Sometimes there is an option for checking the item as a gift, you can choose to do it and you’ll get your gift wrapped and ready to be sent as a beautiful surprise, if the option is not there, don’t worry, it just won’t be wrapped.
- Once you have your item ready for purchase, proceed to checkout, and add the delivery address of the person that will receive the gift.
- On the “choose the gift options “page, check the box “gift receipt “ so you can hide the receipt of the item.
- Now you’ll be anonymous when you add the gift card because it won’t show up on the gift, then pay with your card and that’s it!
You could also use a fake name with a different account but we wouldn’t recommend that you do that since it’s illegal and it goes against Amazon’s guidelines, so you could get in serious trouble and lose your Amazon account privileges.
There is another option you can consider, which is sending the item to your own address and then going to the post office and sending it yourself, it’s an extra step but it’s safe legal and you’ll make sure it’s anonymous.
If you are wondering about other alternatives that don’t include Amazon purchases, well there are some worth checking out.
Looking for money saving hacks? Have you heard about Woot Amazon?!
What Other Alternatives Can I Use To Gift Anonymously?
There are a few other ways to do this so let’s go over some of the most common and review each one to see if it’s worth it or not.
Sending Gifts Via Mail
Just like we said this comes after you get the gift from any retailer, then you follow these steps:
- Once you have the item, you must wrap your gift and include a little note that says why you bought that gift. Of course, if you want to be more creative you can let them find the note with clues.
- Then you place the package in a mail or shipping box so that it won’t get damaged. Make sure you wrap it accordingly if it’s a fragile package.
- This is one of the most important steps, write down the address and the name of the person that will receive the item, but make sure there are no mistakes since you won’t be writing your own address, so you can’t have it returned to you.
- Lastly, you just mail the package with the gift through a public post office or a private company of your choosing.
Sending Gifts With eBay
eBay is another very popular retailer that features a very wide selection of used products with good reliability with its sellers, so if you are looking for that strange gift such as a vintage wonder or a very rare item this is where you buy it, and of course, this is how you gift it anonymously:
- First of all, purchase the item that you wish to gift and add the name and address of the person that will be receiving it on your eBay.
- When adding the item, use your shipping information.
- The person receiving the item will not have access to any information about you unless the packing slip is included, which will show your eBay name, however, you can avoid this by simply notifying the seller that you don’t want it to be included in the package.
After you complete every step, just keep track of the package so you know it reaches the desired destination.
Things To Look Out For When Gifting Anonymously
If you are planning on purchasing something as a gift but want to stay anonymous during the whole process, there are some things you might want to keep in mind that may happen to you.
- The person receiving the gift might return it precisely because it’s an anonymous package and it can be seen as suspicious or mistaken, so make sure you find a way this doesn’t happen.
- Not having a safe delivery place can disrupt your whole idea, so remember to keep a “plan b” ready for any situation.
- Receiving anonymous packages is obviously suspicious, so if you choose to go this route, send an appropriate gift so that it doesn’t raise any eyebrows but it doesn’t make anyone nervous either.
Want to learn more about Amazon? Check out these related posts to learn does Amazon gift wrap, can you receive Amazon gift cards In exchange for reviews, and can I use an Amazon gift card at Whole Foods.
Conclusion…
Amazon doesn’t allow you to easily send gifts anonymously but there is a way around it if you don’t mind the extra steps.
While it’s not illegal to send anonymous gifts keep in mind that if not done properly it may seem suspicious and your surprise may backfire, so take your time planning it so that it all goes well, and of course, don’t use any fake names and accounts, that could lead to some serious trouble.
Keep your alternatives safe and plan your surprise accordingly during the holidays!