Skip to main content

Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

 
KateAndrews

Whose sending books to thier penpals and which online vendors have been accepted?
Received a reply back from Colorado doc and seems anyone is approved as long as they have a searchable address or PO BOX address.
I ask because sending to Colorado has been problematic with Amazon and I'm fed up. Current issue is failure to add the identification number to package. Even though it there in black n white in my address book online for past two years without change.

 
KateAndrews

The receipt is only to show that its been paid for and there is no money owed.
Therefore a gift receipt shows $0.00 balance so nothing owed this is fine. As for the address all my inmate penpals have my home address.

 
ST4s

I've sent a number of books to my Colorado pen pal via Amazon. For a while when he was in close custody, hardcover books were verboten. Now that he's on a yard, hardcover is fine. My typical program is to keep an eye on the delivery timeline, and then fax the receipt to the mail room a day or two before it lands - with a handwritten note on the receipt to keep an eye out for this incoming thing. No problems :-)

FYI: Amazon receipts will show your billing address. I wonder if a gift receipt doesn't show the dollar amount and if that might be the issue? (I have no idea)

 
KateAndrews

Amazon is allowed in Colorado. Its just its a total pain. Its never been straight forward, least for me. It should be a simple case of; Send book with gift receipt, received by facility, passed to inmate.
I emailed the Colorado doc and they gave this as a general answer;
Good morning and thank you for contacting the Colorado Department of Corrections. CDOC does not have any set list of approved vendors. Approved sources of supply are determined per policy as are defined as a publisher, retail/wholesale dealer of mail order products for books, magazines, hobby craft, faith items, and health care items, or other items determined by the administrative head, with an address or post office box and phone number verifiable with a commercial directory service. Please be aware that for books, the mailroom must receive proof of payment with the book in order to be able to issue it to the offender as all offenders are required to retain proof of purchase on any item of value in their possession. Amazon does not generally include proof of purchase with their shipments, so may need to submit it separately to the mailroom. Additionally, all reading materials received by the offender, including books and magazines, must comply with Administrative Regulation 300-26 Publications. If anything in the publication, including advertisements in magazines, appears not to be in compliance with the policy, it will be sent for review to the reading committee to make a final determination.
Regards,
Lisa Wiley

Lisa M. Wiley
Constituent Services Coordinator

Its the mail room claiming (again) that they did not receive the book (despite showing as delivered and signed by ######) as opposed to not having a receipt. Its just this has happened a few times and amazon always sends a replacement at no extra cost but then I'm running about snailmailing or faxing receipts over to the mail room in time before it's binned. It's a lot of hassle and stress for a book I could send with a receipt from a different company.

 
KateAndrews

Rins even with the gift receipt this book didn't get through. It says it never arrived but I have always had issues with Colorado.
Ohio and Texas all received theres with no hassle.
Hence why I am looking elsewhere for Colorado. I sent snailmail tonight with a printed receipt for the replacement Amazon are sending. I also screenshot it and sent via Jpay. Trouble is we only get 10 days to provide proof of postage before this one is binned. They did offer a refund but that's not the point.
Colorado has been the only state out of 11 that I've had ongoing issues with regarding Amazon.
We are trying to read the Lee child's Jack Reacher series.

 
Rins

I had to send the bill from Amazon to the Colorado mail room then he got it. Next time I filled out that lil present note that u can do at Amazon that worked fine in Colorado (Limon)

 
Xo50

Sorry to hear amazon hasn’t gotten it right with your pen pal address.  Unfortunately it’s only allowed in some states, and each prison seems to be setting up different policies? 

 
Xo50

Kate, we’re all fed up at this point.  It was just in the news here that there was a quiet ban on books getting sent in, in certain states.  Apparently they want the prisoners to pay ridiculous prices for these books and buying e-readers.  Even the ACLU has had it and is suing some of these states for this baloney.  I’ll look into it all and write a letter to my congressperson.  But I really would advise people about calling into the prisons before sending things in, if they’re making books “contraband” now.  I don’t mean to critize the COs - I think they do a wonderful job getting our mail in, and I know this stuff isn’t their fault.  Some CEO or director somewhere hands down some silly policy, acting like this is all a business, when some of us signed up to help the inmates out with education.  Grr.