How it works
Send With a Friend helps you organize a chain of people to get a package from one place to another — the way people have always done it (“my cousin is driving up Sunday, he can take it”), minus the phone tag.
The words we use
- Package
- The thing being sent. Each has an 8-digit number like
4821-9930and a 4-digit PIN. - Sender
- The person sending it. They create the package and manage its route.
- Recipient
- Who it's for. They can follow along and help find couriers on their end.
- Courier
- Anyone who carries it for part of the way. No account needed.
- Leg
- One part of the trip: a courier carries it from one area to another.
- Open leg
- A leg nobody has taken yet. Open legs are listed on the Board.
- Route
- All the legs, in order, from sender to recipient.
- Handoff
- When the package passes from one person to the next. Couriers confirm it themselves by replying to a text or email (or on the website): the receiver replies GOT, the giver replies DONE.
- Board
- Where packages with open legs are listed so people going that way can offer to carry them.
- Offer
- A courier's proposal to carry all or part of an open leg. The sender, recipient, or whoever holds the package accepts it.
- Trip
- A courier's upcoming journey. Senders can ask a trip's courier to take their package.
- Label
- An optional printout for the package: number, PIN, QR code and whatever details the sender chooses. Helpful, never required.
No smartphone? No problem.
Every courier the sender adds gets their next step by text message or email: who they're picking it up from (name and number), where, and who to hand it to next. Handoffs are confirmed by the couriers themselves — they just reply:
- GOT — I have the package
- DONE — I handed it to the next person (or delivered it)
- NO — I was told I have it, but I don't
- HELP — send me my steps again
- CANT — I can't carry my leg anymore
- PROBLEM plus a note — something went wrong
A basic flip phone is enough. If you're on more than one package, add the package number: GOT 4821-9930.
If one person says they handed it over but the other hasn't confirmed yet, the route shows “waiting to confirm” and the receiver gets a message asking them to reply GOT (or NO).
Labels are optional
Nothing needs to be printed. A label is a helpful extra: if the package ends up with someone who isn't on the route, they can scan its QR code to see where it goes and record that they have it. Plain paper on any printer works — tape it to the box or fold it into the bag. Or just write the package number on it.
Privacy
Phone numbers are only shown to the people directly before and after you on the route. The recipient's exact address is only shown to the final courier. The Board shows only cities/areas.
Open vs. secure (if you print a label)
Open (default): anyone holding the package can scan it and tap “that's me” — perfect when couriers are friends who don't want to sign up for anything. Secure: scanning shows only basic info; people must sign in and be on the route.