Frequency Asked Questions

Find answers to some of the more common questions about In Out Parcel. Can’t find your answer? Contact us and we can assist you personally.

All/Automated Locker/Billing/General/Shipping/Tires/Tokens/USPS 1583/

You can make deposits online so you don’t need to visit the service counter to pay for your parcels. Deposits made online are credited to your account instantly. If there are any payment issues, please let us know by email immediately so we may assist you personally.

3 Ways to reload with a credit card:

You can also pay any amount using Canadian cash, United States cash, or credit card at the customer service counter during staffed hours.

Most packages are filed by 3pm on the day of delivery.  If you do not receive a email from us by 3pm, please email us the tracking number and we can investigate for you.

The automated locker area is always available for access as long as you have a parcel pickup PIN for one of our pickup terminals.

Our staffed hours are:

Mon to Fri 10:00am to 4:30pm
Saturday 10:00am to 3:00pm
Sunday Closed
Lockers 24 hours access

Yes, you just need to give them the 6-digit parcel PIN to pickup the package on your behalf, either at the Automated Lockers (ensure your balance is at zero or positive), or at the service counter.  We do not need your IDs for your pickup if the 6-digit parcel PIN is provided.

Including your customer ID number allows us to quickly file your package to our automated locker system for retrieval. If there is no customer ID on the package, we will have to manually look-up the package information for a name or phone number match.  This manual package processing will cause additional delay as these parcels will be placed aside and processed after all other parcels containing the customer ID are filed.  Additional delays will also occur if we have multiple matches for the same name.  If your package is delivered and you haven’t received our email notifications by 4pm that day, please send us an email with the tracking number and we can investigate for you.

You can make deposits online into your account at any time so you don’t need to visit the service counter to pay for your parcels. Deposits made online are credited to your account instantly. If there are any credit issues, please let us know by email immediately so we may assist you personally.

3 Ways to reload with a credit card:

  • via our website
  • via your mobile phone using our in-store Wi-Fi
  • at one of the three pickup terminals.

You can also pay any amount using Canadian cash, United States cash, or credit card at the customer service counter during staffed hours.

Yes the color of the terminal will be sent to you either by email and by text if you’ve opted in for this option, along with your 6-digit PIN code.

Detailed instructions with pictures can be found here: Pickup Instructions.

When your parcel is ready for pickup, we will email you with a unique 6-digit PIN-code. When you come to pick up your parcel, enter the PIN at the door access keypad to gain access to the inside (if after our staffed hours). Once inside the building, enter the same 6-digit PIN at the assigned terminal (we currently have 3 terminals–GREEN, BLUE, and RED).  You must pick up your parcel from the terminal that was assigned. For example, if your terminal is GREEN, do not go to the RED terminal to enter your 6-digit PIN. When you enter the PIN at the terminal, it will also display the balance on your account, the locker door number to retrieve your parcel, and the number of parcels left to pickup. Once the parcel has been picked up, you will get an email confirmation of the pickup.

Your account must be verified to use the self serve locker system.

Yes and no. If you prepaid your account, you can fully utilize our automated package retrieval service. Our locker system operates optimally on a prepaid basis–parcels received will be loaded into our lockers and the parcel fee will be automatically deducted from your balance.

If you don’t want to prepay your account, you can still order online and have the goods shipped to our location. Parcels received will be loaded into our lockers, and an inactive PIN to be used with the automated locker system will be sent to you. To activate the PIN for use with the automated locker system, you will need to pay the pickup fee at our pick up terminals or service counter during staffed hours. Once paid, the PIN becomes active and you can now use the PIN to retrieve the package at the automated locker system.

With our prepaid system, it saves you a lot of time and we highly recommend maintaining a credit on your account for the best experience.  Any remaining/unused credit will remain in your account for future services.  If, at anytime, you want to clear out and close your account, just email us letting us know and we will refund the balance back to the original payment method.

3 Ways to reload with a credit card:

  • via our website
  • via your mobile phone using our in-store Wi-Fi
  • at one of the three pickup terminals.

You can also pay any amount using cash or credit card at the customer service counter during staffed hours.

No. The amount of money you load into your account will never expire. We do not charge you any monthly or yearly fees for having an account with us. For convenience, you can always put more into your account so that you get to enjoy the full parcel pickup experience with our automated locker systems.

There is no additional cost to setup an account with In Out Parcel or to use our 24/7 parcel retrieval automated locker systems. Parcel receiving fees are as follows:

Prices
Under 20 lbs$4.25
20 to 35 lbs$5.50
36 to 50 lbs$7
51 to 80 lbs$10
81+ lbs$15
Tires (each)$5
Letter (each)
Must be enabled
under "My Profile"		$1.50
Freight
(no forklift service)		$20
(every 2 days)
Pallet Disposal$10
Box Disposal (each)$1

Pricing in USD
We prefer not to take boxes as they go to the landfill directly since there is no commercial recycling at Point Roberts. Littering anywhere in Point Roberts will result in a $5-$20 fine per box depending on the situation. We do not accept box disposals/garbage from other businesses, doing so would be classified as littering and will be reported.

If a parcel has a large size-to-weight ratio, dimensional weight may be used to assess fees instead of actual weight.

Receiving 20+ packages a month? Contact us for commercial rates

A token is a free credit that can be used for receiving a parcel of any size except freight shipments. This will be deducted from your account on the day of parcel arrival before any credits are deducted when a parcel arrives.

A token is a credit that may be obtained and added to your account for promotional purposes, contests and various other customer appreciation incentives.

Tokens expire 45 days after they are given. If you are given another token during this time, all your tokens expiration resets and the new expiration is 45 days from the day that the latest token was given to you.

Take advantage of the free packages and make sure you use the tokens before they expire!

Our largest rectangular lockers are 18 x 20 x 80 inches (width x depth x height) and square lockers are 22.5 x 30 x 24.5 (width x depth x height) inches. We also have an oversize shelving area if the item is too large to fit into a locker. We have one BIG LOCKER that can store your over-sized package for after hours self-served pickup.  Simply reply to the package ready email for your over-sized package to book a pickup date.  We will place the package in the BIG LOCKER for you to pickup on that date. This service is free but you must pickup the package on the date you specified.  Failure to do so will result in additional filing fees deducted from your account for the BIG LOCKER storage.

Not recommended.  We would still file the package to the customer number listed on the package.  But since all customers must fill out a USPS Form-1583 if they ship USPS parcels to our location, the Customer ID will be tied to that particular customer, and their respective name.  Which also means the account owner is responsible for all packages shipped to their account.  If you are allowing third parties to use your Customer ID for shipping, please ensure they use your name. We highly recommend any third parties to signup an account and create their own unique Customer ID.

Account Owner’s Name
145 Tyee Drive, #_____
Point Roberts, WA 98281

Account Owner’s Name
#_____ 145 Tyee Drive
Point Roberts, WA 98281

Account Owner’s Name, #_____
145 Tyee Drive
Point Roberts, WA 98281

Any of the above formats would work.  Some merchants crops off the numbers after the street address due to auto address correction.  If that is the case, then you can put the customer ID behind your name.  The blank space is the area where you enter your unique customer ID. The number must be used in your mailing address for proper filing into our system and USPS compliance requirements.

Yes. We accept letter mail and we can file it inside a locker just like a parcel. Each letter costs $1. A letter is any media or envelope that does not have a tracking number and under 150g. They include but not limited to bank statements, credit card statements, magazine subscriptions, post cards, gift cards and regular letters. Any catalog, junk mail, or flyers will not be processed and will be disposed of.

We do not accept deliveries of dangerous goods, flammable materials, refrigerated goods, goods that need special handling, or COD shipments. We accept freight shipments and pallets, however, we do not have a forklift so keep that in mind if you intend to buy something extremely large and bulky and cannot be lifted by human strength. LED, plasma, or any large TV shipments are also accepted. We accept bicycle or car tires. If in doubt, let us know what you intend to ship and we can work something out. Inspection of any goods on our premises by either US Customs & Border Protection or Canada Customs is welcomed at any time.

You can update your phone number under My Account and clicking on Edit Profile. If you need to change your name or email address due to a typo, please do not re-register another account. Email or call us so we can assist you personally to update your information.

The easiest way to fully verify and enable all options in your account is via our online verification.

If you prefer to submit the form in person, please read the information below.

If you never receive packages via USPS, then you do not need to fill out the form. The USPS Form 1583 is for customers who ship packages (and letter mail) to In Out Parcel via USPS.

We highly recommend coming in during business hours on your next package pickup, and filling out the form at location as it takes only a minute or two to complete.

You can get more information here.

If your tires fit in an available locker at time of delivery (usually tires with R18 and under will fit), then we will place them in a locker for 24/7 access.  We have one BIG LOCKER that can store your tires, rims, car/truck bumpers or other large items for after hours self-served pickup.  Simply reply to the package ready email for your over-sized package to book a pickup date.  We will place the package in the BIG LOCKER for you to pickup on that date. This service is free but you must pickup the package on the date you specified.  Failure to do so will result in additional filing fees deducted from your account for the BIG LOCKER storage.

The free service is for the free use of the BIG LOCKER.  You will still be charged for each packages’ receiving fee.

The same principle applies as automobile tires. If your bicycle tires are packaged in a box, then they would be treated like any other parcel that we receive and they would be scanned into a locker and charged based on the weight of the shipment. If they are not packaged in a box by the shipper, then we can go by the weight of the tracking number (in case where multiple tires are bundled together), or the receiving cost per tire, whichever is lower.

Example: Your shipment of 4 bicycle tires arrives in one bundle, unboxed. The total weight of the shipment is 35 lbs. You would be charged $4.75 (20-35 lbs = $4.75) as this is the lower cost vs. charging you for 4 tires @ $5 ea. ($20).

We go by the weight of the tracking number (in cases where multiple tires are bundled together), or the receiving cost per tire, whichever is lower.

Example: Your shipment of 2 automobile tires arrives in one bundle. We calculate the weight of the bundled tires versus the per tire rate of $5. Each tire weighs 30 lbs for a bundled weight of 60 lbs. The fee calculation using weight for your bundle of 2 tires (60 lbs) would be $12 (51-80 lbs shipment at $12). Our fee for receiving a single tire is $5 per tire ($10 for 2 tires). In this case, we would take the lower of the two calculations, $10 using the per tire fee vs. the bundled weight of 60 lbs at $12. In this case, we will charge $10.

We accept all types of tires (automobile, truck, bicycle, dirt bikes, etc…) that can be delivered by UPS (except UPS Freight), FedEx (except FedEx Freight) and USPS.

Of course you can pay the exact amount at the pickup terminals or at the service counter.  You can pay any amount you like at the service counter during staffed hours, before or after package arrival.  Just keep in mind that the 6-digit parcel pickup PIN only works when your account has a zero or a positive balance.  Our staffed hours are posted here.

If you no longer require our service, please send us an email request and we will refund any remaining balance back to your original payment method.  Cash deposit will receive cash refund.  Credit card deposit will receive refund back to the original credit card.

Our largest rectangular lockers are 18 x 20 x 80 inches (width x depth x height) and square lockers are 22.5 x 30 x 24.5 (width x depth x height) inches.  We have one BIG LOCKER that can store your over-sized package for after hours self-served pickup.  Simply reply to the package ready email for your over-sized package to book a pickup date.  We will place the package in the BIG LOCKER for you to pickup on that date. This service is free but you must pickup the package on the date you specified.  Failure to do so will result in additional filing fees deducted from your account for the BIG LOCKER storage.

Dimensional weight reflects the density of a package. This is the amount of space a package occupies in relationship to the actual weight of the package.

Dimensional weight is calculated by multiplying a package’s length, by width and by height to obtain the cubic size in inches. The measurements would be taken from the longest/widest point of a bulky package. All measurements would be rounded up. See UPS’s dimensional weight guide for more information.

Yes, because filing and storage service has been rendered, we would need to charge for the services provided.  If you know you will be refusing a package, please contact the sender or the shipping company to prevent them from delivering the package to our location.  Due to the volume of the packages that we received, we cannot check each package and refuse your package at time of delivery.  Any packages that we received will be charged the standard receiving fee and will need to be paid off before the package gets returned to sender.

Yes, we do outbound mailing using UPS at the retail rate as posted on the UPS.com website.  If you have a package with a return shipping label from USPS, Fedex, or UPS, you can drop off the package at the service counter and we will hand it to the carrier for you.

If you need to return something after hour that have a return shipping label attached, then you can place the package in any empty lockers during your parcel pickup.  When you are home (or use our free wifi), email us the locker number so we can pull out your box the next day and hand it to the carrier for you.

If you must drop off a package after hours and the package requires postage, you can place the package inside any empty lockers.  When you are home (or use our free wifi), email us the locker number so we can pull out your box the next day, prepare an UPS shipping label for you, and charge your account the UPS shipping cost.  You can add credits to your account to pay for the shipping cost.  Please ensure both your information and the recipient information are on the package.

If you need to return a package but the return label is not immediately available, just leave the package in any lockers.  When you are home (or use our free wifi), email us the locker number and also the return shipping label.  We will pull out the box, tape it up if needed, print out the shipping label, and apply the label to the box and return it for you.

All the above services are free, except for the UPS postage fee if you need us to prepare a shipping label for you.  We want your package return experience to be as easy as your package pickup experience.

We have a limited numbers of large lockers for tires, jumbo boxes, and long tubular boxes.  If we are out of these lockers, we will send you an email your package is placed on the shelf, waiting for an available locker.  Your package will then be queued for the next available locker.  If you urgently need the package, please reply to that email informing us, and we will prioritize your package.  Please note that it is impossible to put every packages into a locker, as the packages are in all shapes and sizes.  Packages in the “Waiting For Locker Space” status will not be charged any storage fees, only the initial Receiving Fee will be charged.

If you have 3 or more packages waiting for pickup and you want to pick them up from one locker, just instruct us via email and we will gather all the packages and place them in one locker.  If you only want certain packages to be consolidated, just let us know which packages via email and we can gather those packages and place them in one locker for you.  There is no cost for this consolidation service (we still charge the usual receiving fee per package).  Just another way to make it more convenient for you to pickup packages.

We hold packages indefinitely as long as there is a positive balance on the account.  We will only dispose a package if its been over 80 days and your account owes more than $50.  We will also send you weekly email reminders and a final email when we dispose your package.

If, for whatever reason, you do not like to submit the USPS-1583 Form or this ID Verification Form to verify your account, you can still use our service.  The following conditions would apply:

  • you can only pickup packages during staff hours
  • at the service counter, we would need to visual inspect your driver license, Nexus card, or passport.  For the security of the package, the name on the ID must match the name on the package.
  • you will not be able to use the automated lockers after hours.
  • locker access will require the assistance our service agent, simply proceed to the service counter and we can further assist.
  • Your account will remain unverified.

Unverified accounts have all of their PINs deactivated after hours and can only pickup packages during our business hours.

During unboxing and inspection, if you need to leave the box behind, please leave them below the inspection table and we will deduct $1 per box from your account when we clean up the area.  We suggested taking the boxes home as there is no commercial recycling facility in Point Roberts.

  • Disposing the box or littering anywhere in Point Roberts will result in a $5-$20 fine per box depending on the situation.
  • Disposing the box in a garbage bin at other commercial locations such as grocery stores or gas stations is also not okay, as these store owners will contact us to retrieve those boxes at their location.  They do not want to be burdened with boxes from other parcel places.
  • If your packaging box is found on the street or in the park area anywhere, the park ranger might report this to the border guard.

We just wanted you to be properly informed to ensure a trouble-free package pickup experience.