Yale Daily News

Students looking to receive packages on campus will now find their deliveries in the depths of the Yale Bookstore. 

This new receiving center seeks to address frustration that built up around the previous 200 Elm St. location, and is now the only student package receiving center at the University. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the University operated one central package receiving center, located at 250 Church St. During the 2020-21 academic year, residential colleges also opened up their own package receiving centers for the first time to avoid long wait times and crowding at the centralized center. 

During the 2021-22 academic year, Hurricane Ida-related flooding damage caused the 250 Church St. package center to close temporarily for repairs at the beginning of the fall semester. This prompted the University to open a temporary receiving center at 200 Elm St., as well as separate receiving centers for nine residential colleges.

KaLa Keaton ’25 said that although the current Yale Bookstore package receiving center is an improvement in regard to staffing, she prefers the situation from last year. The college-specific receiving center, Keaton said, was not only a convenience for her but also a benefit for students seeking on-campus employment.

“I know it was selected as a job because it was a relatively low-maintenance job,” Keaton said. “From that perspective, it was a much more valuable, beyond just convenience thing.”

Madelena Ruedaflores ’25 said that when last school year began, “lines were incredibly, incredibly long” at the 250 Church St. center. 

Randy Picker, an employee at the Yale Bookstore package receiving center, said that while he has heard from students that the current center is an improvement from last year, the package processing system still experiences some technical issues — namely, there is occasional confusion surrounding the packages of students with the same first or last names.

Picker said that students will receive an email from the center when it has received their package. Then, they can expect a second email saying that their package is ready for pickup. According to Picker, students must come in to pick up their package within three days of getting this second email.

“We haven’t been sending back packages that have sat here for longer than [three days, but] … we’re probably going to start doing that soon,” Picker said. “If you’re not here to pick up a package, all you have to do is give us a call and we’ll make sure that it’s not sent back until you’re able to receive it.”

Student P.O. boxes and Amazon lockers still remain viable options for those seeking to receive packages.