eCommDirect Explained: Buying Commissary Items for Your Loved One at Allred Unit

eCommDirect is the only accepted online package program for TDCJ inmates, including those housed at the Allred Unit. Other online "package" sites won't work for sending commissary items through TDCJ. If you want to shop online for your loved one, eCommDirect is the one and only channel.

eCommDirect has quarterly spending caps. For January through March, April through June, and July through September, the limit is up to $70 per quarter. October through December bumps up to $95, covering the holiday period. If you're planning around birthdays, winter holidays, or just trying to stretch your budget, those quarterly cutoffs matter.

Here's a daily limit that catches people off guard: only one eCommDirect purchase per inmate can be completed per day. Forget something after you submit? You typically can't place a second order for that same person until the next day. Plan your cart carefully before checkout.

• ✓ Build your cart carefully before checkout, since you only get one eCommDirect purchase per inmate per day.
• ✓ If multiple people want to help the same inmate, coordinate so two orders do not get attempted on the same day.
• ✓ If you need to send items to more than one inmate, plan which person you are ordering for each day so you do not accidentally double-order for the same inmate.

Before you can buy through eCommDirect, you need to be an approved sender. TDCJ allows two routes: your loved one can add you to their Approved Visitation List, or you can register your phone with Securus to be placed on the Approved Phone List. You don't need to be on both. Either one qualifies you as an approved sender.

1. Ask your loved one to add you to their Approved Visitation List. This is one way to become an approved sender for eCommDirect.
2. Register your phone with Securus to be placed on the Approved Phone List. This is the other option, and you only need one of the two lists.
3. Confirm you are approved before you try to order. If you are not approved yet, your purchase may not go through and you will lose time waiting for the status to be updated.

For Allred Unit families, the key rules are straightforward, but they stack together. eCommDirect is the only accepted online package program for TDCJ inmates. Spending is capped by quarter (up to $70 for the first three quarters, up to $95 in October through December), and only one purchase per inmate per day is allowed. On top of that, you must be an approved sender, either through the Approved Visitation List or by registering your phone with Securus for the Approved Phone List.

• ✓ Confirm you are an approved sender (Approved Visitation List or Approved Phone List through Securus).
• ✓ Keep the quarterly cap in mind: $70 for Jan to Mar, Apr to Jun, and Jul to Sep, then $95 for Oct to Dec.
• ✓ Plan your cart before checkout, since only one eCommDirect purchase per inmate may be completed per day.
• ✓ If others are also ordering for the same person, coordinate days so you do not block each other.