Thank you for the response, but I feel like we might not be on quite the same page.
The current iteration of custom items is perfect for our needs, as they aren't actually "items" but custom-made artwork and virtual rewards not related to forum/community functions. Users being able to buy/use an item and needing it to be manually rewarded by a mod is completely fine, as it fits the distribution process. There's no need for address information or anything additional on the user's end.
My concern is related to the time frame between using/redeeming an item and the item actually being awarded. I.e. right now, if a user buys and uses a custom item immediately, if they miss that "purchase" pop up, there's no way for them to tell they bought anything. There's no record of it in their inventory (because it's been used), nor in their log (because it doesn't show here). If that popup is missed, they won't know they bought anything until it's awarded.
Having said that, the second part of our inquiry was actually more important to our needs. Would you advise if a word count-based point reward is possible? Per post is "okay," but per word would be ideal for our community.