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Can Consumers Fight Package Thieves With Technology? (geekwire.com)
Every year more than 10 million packages are stolen off doorsteps, according to a study by August Home Inc. -- a company which sells a "smart" door lock that's controlled by your cellphone so you can remotely let a delivery person into your house. But that's just one of the weird ways consumers are using technology to try to fight package thieves. An anonymous reader reports:
Some online shopping sites will now also text you when one of their packages gets left on your doorstep, according to GeekWire, which reports that for a thousand bucks you can also just buy a lockable iBin parcel-delivery box. But there's also a startup selling an odd new product called Package Guard, "a Frisbee sized, wi-fi-enabled device that alerts a user when a package has been delivered and set on top of it. Package Guard sets off a loud alarm if anyone unauthorized tries to remove the package."
GeekWire details the frustration of one Seattle police detective. "Bach knows the crimes are happening, he knows it all spikes during the holiday season and he knows that the few thieves who are caught are likely to see little if any jail time." (Though Bach admits "We do a wide variety of undercover stings," including a recent operation involving mobile surveillance with a "major delivery company.") One Seattle man even attempted to stop thieves by installing a Ring smart doorbell to film activity on his doorstep, only to discover that this only enabled him to watch helplessly as a thief opened his package, and then successfully stole all of its contents.
Though he yelled at the video "Bring my package back now!" that thief was never caught.
GeekWire details the frustration of one Seattle police detective. "Bach knows the crimes are happening, he knows it all spikes during the holiday season and he knows that the few thieves who are caught are likely to see little if any jail time." (Though Bach admits "We do a wide variety of undercover stings," including a recent operation involving mobile surveillance with a "major delivery company.") One Seattle man even attempted to stop thieves by installing a Ring smart doorbell to film activity on his doorstep, only to discover that this only enabled him to watch helplessly as a thief opened his package, and then successfully stole all of its contents.
Though he yelled at the video "Bring my package back now!" that thief was never caught.
to get a PO box, and have all packages shipped to you there. Its 100% secure, nobody but you can get your package. And USPS shipping is usually less expensive than other options.
The only problems are:
- many companies have exclusive contracts with shipping carriers that cannot deliver to PO boxes, and
- many companies refuse to ship to PO boxes even if they do offer USPS shipping, possibly out of obsolete paranoia.
A fat lot that will help, when the problem is that delivry firms dump the packet outside and drive off. A more sensible approach would be to have safe delivery spots - or more, since I already see them here and there: something like a wall of steel lockers, where the delivery is deposited. The recipient will then get a code to unlock it sent to his mobile.
Or legislation: the seller should be liable for the loss of the goods, unless they can show a receipt with a signature and a photo of who signed. Something like that. It shouldn't be up to the consumer to solve the problem, because they are the ones least able to fix it.
I'm a fan of the USPS.
They make sure the package gets in your hands. If you're not home, they leave a ticket in your mailbox to pickup the package at the office, which is far less inconvenient then having a package stolen.
And if it's small enough to fit in a mailbox, sure, someone might take it. But it's a federal offense. And it's far less likely to happen when potential thieves can't see what's inside, as opposed to an inviting box sitting on one's doorstep.
Seriously, why did this even become a thing? Twenty years ago, I remember when a package that came by UPS or Fedex always had to be signed for and was never left on a doorstep.
to get a PO box, and have all packages shipped to you there. Its 100% secure, nobody but you can get your package. And USPS shipping is usually less expensive than other options.
The only problems are:
- many companies have exclusive contracts with shipping carriers that cannot deliver to PO boxes, and - many companies refuse to ship to PO boxes even if they do offer USPS shipping, possibly out of obsolete paranoia.
This. It is extremely uncommon for a delivery service to leave parcels on doorsteps in England and Australia because someone might pass it and thing "I'll have that".
In Australia if you cant have someone present for the delivery, you'll have to pick it up from a Distribution Centre or Post Office. In the UK they might leave it with a neighbour.
Smart door locks are not the solution as they just expose your home to burglary. In fact like the parent poster pointed out, a solution already exists. This kind of thing just screams "solution looking for a problem".
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Option 1A: If you have a yard, get a dog that barks and make it a point to introduce it to the delivery people when you are home. A vocal canine will dissuade most would be thieves, and there's one looking for a human right now at a pound near you.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Easy: don't let distance retailers leave parcels on your doorstep!
Here in the UK, if a parcel is on your doorstep and gets stolen, it's still the retailers responsibility. Also, many large employers will let you receive parcels at your place of work, so they're received by a human into a secure building. Your neighbours can do the same thing for you if you have some you talk to (and are home when you're not). Larger apartment blocks have a conceirge. Most places I've ever worked at least have let me work at home for a day to receive deliveries. Amazon have 'Amazon Lockers' (as do a few others), and some other retailers have small shop fronts at stations and whatnot where you can 'click and collect'. I'm not sure if it died off due to disuse, but there used to be a chain called 'doddle' (funded by our rail companies of all things) that did collection and delivery services. Then my least favourite, but occasionally used option: saturday delivery. If all else fails, most couriers here will take the parcel back to their base (which is invariably a bit of a distance away) so you can pick it up from there.
Honestly, this isn't that hard.
Make friends with your neighbors, do each other favors like accepting packages when we and they are out. Build community spirit.
Maybe that guy should have bought the Ring 2.0 that shoots lasers at the thieves.
Not the seller, the courier. Leaving a package on a doorstep is no less negligent than leaving it on the side of the road and telling someone to go get it before it's stolen. This should be covered under existing law.
A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
- Various "locker" countries. Lockers at many locations, often post offices, petrol stations, 24-hour shops. After selecting a bank of lockers which is convenient (e.g. on your way home to/from work), the delivery driver gets the location and a code for sealing the locker ; the recipient gets a code for opening the locker ; the shop keeper/ station manager etc has nothing to do unless there's a dispute, but they get a rental fee. PROBLEM : multiple companies. NEAREST to me : 2 locations in my city of < 10000 people.
- At least one "warehouse chain" (no store as such, just a warehouse ; you select from the catalogue or online, pay, and the goods are brought to you at front-of-warehouse) leverage their existing delivery network for people to collect goods from their chosen store. PROBLEM : limited number of stores. NEAREST : six miles from me, but I'm often there anyway. Another one 10 miles away in a different direction..
- Locker by front door : bolt a weatherproof locker by your front door. Close it with a programmable combination lock. Set code on lock, send code to delivery company, lock locker, put paper seal on locker. When you get home, unlock locker, inspect goods. Reverse works for collecting returns. Change lock code for next delivery. PROBLEM : might be too small, might be ugly, these are your problems. NEAREST : I've made these temporarily - metal locker secured by chain through letter box.
But to be honest, the "card through the door and collect item from post office" generally works fine for me.
This is not a problem that really need sophisticated technology. Just a little of that rarest of commodities - common sense.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
No one's thieving my package; I'm wearing a cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmlUAIbcXA
Typically if I'm ordering something online, I will try to mandate that it ship via UPS or FedEx so I can obtain the tracking number. ( If necessary, I'll use the more expensive Next and 2nd Day Air options to ensure one of those two carriers are utilized ) Once I know what day the package is going to arrive, I will either telecommute or flat take the day off to ensure I take possession of the package the moment it arrives.
If the package is trivial ( read that not expensive ) then I may not bother with it.
However, much of the gear I purchase online is quite $$$ and will require a signature upon arrival anyway, so someone has to be there regardless. It never fails, if you don't stay home to catch it, they'll show up before you get off work. If you DO stay home to catch it, they don't show up until well after you would have got off work :|
For those situations, there isn't any technology that will help.
In the UK they might leave it with a neighbour.
The Amazon drivers here (USA) frequently leave my packages with my neighbors. It would be nice if they tried my house first, though.
It's fair though, as they also frequently leave the neighbors packages at my house.
I'm a fan of the USPS.
Evidently you haven't had to deal with them as much as I have. USPS is clumsy and inefficient. Their workers don't work quickly and shipping anything through them is a pain in the ass. Shipping packages through USPS is generally more expensive for equivalent service to UPS or FedEx. USPS "tracking service" is generally utterly useless. It tells you that it's been shipped and that it's been delivered and nothing in between most of the time. USPS does a fine job with letters but they are the only ones allowed to handle those so it's not like there is any alternative unless you want to hire an expensive private courier.
They make sure the package gets in your hands.
Only if you pay them extra to do so, no different from UPS or FedEx. Ship something without requiring the recipient to sign for delivery and they will not take special measures to get it to you and only you.
If you're not home, they leave a ticket in your mailbox to pickup the package at the office, which is far less inconvenient then having a package stolen.
UPS and FedEx do the same thing provided you pay them to do so. Just like USPS. And speaking solely for myself, I find having to make a special trip to the post office to be a colossally bad use of my time. It's inconvenient and the postal workers at the counter take FOREVER to do anything. It's typically a half hour trip every time I go and sometimes worse. Furthermore you can have UPS or FedEx hold packages at their depot in exactly the same way if doing so makes sense.
And if it's small enough to fit in a mailbox, sure, someone might take it. But it's a federal offense.
"Might"? Theft from mailboxes happens all the time. It's illegal to steal a package even if it isn't in a mailbox so I'm not sure why you think thieves give a shit just because the post office is involved. I've had packages I've shipped stolen right off the back of the truck long before they even got to their destination both via UPS and via USPS.
Twenty years ago, I remember when a package that came by UPS or Fedex always had to be signed for and was never left on a doorstep.
Bullshit. I was shipping packages by the thousands (literally) twenty years ago and it was no different then than it is now. You can pay UPS and FedEx extra to require a signature to deliver the package or you can just tell them to drop it off and save the extra cash. Same with insuring the package. You pay them if you want the extra handling. Some areas they will not deliver to without a signature but that is not widely true and hasn't ever been true for all packages as far as I know.
A US mail box with its trapdoor drop.
A simple system that is good enough.
Won't accept large packages - but this is a limitation of any locker type system.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
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Rather than wait for your packages to be delivered then stolen, start early. Say around October. Put your own package on the front step when you leave for the day.
Inside you can fill it with dog shit or dirty diapers.
The first time a thief takes it they'll probably think better of stopping by a second time.
Which leads to the next step. Since that thief probably won't try again you can either rinse and repeat for the next thief or go to the next level and rig a fake package to shoot out pepper spray when opened.
If you wanted to be really clever, have a package which uses compressed air to shoot out dog shit when opened. Or any comparable liquid.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
In Denmark and Germany they have a foolproof system, the mailman or delivery guy doesn't actuallly have the package in his truck, all he has is a pad of notices all saying "You weren't at home, go get your package at the post office tomorrow!"
That gets REALLY awkward when you open the front door while the mailman is coming up towards it.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
I knew it was on its way from the Amazon tracking, but the lovely deliver person at S**R just dropped it where it was convenient and headed on his (or her) way. I got a call from the shopkeeper who found my phone number on the label stuck to the manufacturer's carton, that said exactly what it was. Luckily, he was honest and let me know or he could have had a very nice christmas present.
Even now, 2 weeks later, Amazon still shows the package as undelivered.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Forgot to add to be sure and tell the wife.
UPS and USPS will deliver there (not sure for fedex) and it can be used as a business address.
Silence is a state of mime.
+1 informative (mod parent up!)
I think it occurs here in Brazil (and I don't know any stolen delivered package up to now...)
United States are not the entire world (like the discussion leads me to...), you know...
to get a PO box, and have all packages shipped to you there.
UPS will not deliver to PO boxes and in fact they cannot by law. Neither can FedEx, DHL, etc. Only the United States Postal Service can deliver to PO boxes. Since most of my deliveries do not come via USPS a PO box is rather useless to me. You can get a similar sort of service through places like UPS stores and they will accept packages from other couriers. Not the post office though.
And USPS shipping is usually less expensive than other options.
Not for equivalent service it isn't. USPS is generally more expensive and less convenient if you are paying for a similar level of service. I ship lots of packages and you can save money on postage in some cases through USPS but you generally get what you pay for.
Unless you look at the totals.
According to what I'm sure was a rigorous study by the company wanting you to buy their widget US homeowners receive on average 27 packages per year and of those nearly 11 million are stolen. The Great Omniscient Optimal Guessing Library Engine says there are 86 Million homeowners which gives 2.3 Billion packages per year
So the theft rate is about .5%. So the average home owner would see one theft per 8 years (assuming homogenized thieves).
Everybody is "a thief"... I'm one, you are one. The law is made to protect us from barbarity (that can be made with weapons, for example...) - "guns" are not the answer for nothing "civilized"...
Exactly this. Especially if the person is home and the courier leaves the package outside without even trying to ring the doorbell. We've had expensive shipments sitting outside for hours because UPS drivers don't ring the doorbells. Both of our cars are in the driveway, our lights are on, and sounds are coming from our house, but they still toss the package down and walk off. We've called UPS and they said it's their policy for drivers to ring the doorbells, but the drivers don't seem to follow through.
FedEx seems better at this by us, but this might vary depending on your local drivers. They need to enforce this policy better. Yes, it will mean slightly longer times needed for delivery (since "ring doorbell and wait 30 seconds" is longer than "drop package and walk away"), but it's worth it if it reduces package theft.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
R/C paintball gun (aka "marker), loaded with paintballs filled with indelible dye and long lasting stinky stuff (butyric acid?).
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
We've had that problem sometimes. Where my wife was home the entire day and when she opens the door (to check, not because of a doorbell ring), she sees a "you weren't at home" note. They don't even bother with the courtesy doorbell ring, just a "tag and leave." We haven't had that happen in awhile, though we have plenty of "drop package on front steps and walk off without ringing the doorbell" incidents. Luckily, Amazon sends us text messages when our packages are delivered or they might sit out there for hours and be prime package theft targets.
(I'd love to see the looks on the thieves faces when they snatch that giant Amazon.com box only to find out it contains a big package of toilet paper!)
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Shopping locally doesn't have this particular problem.
I don't respond to AC's.
Yup otherwise people will steal everything you have and you will die.
The question is can vs should, you need to be able to shoot them you should not do it unless absolutely necessary. Anything you make illegal you agree that it's worth depriving somebodys life over. Because you will get that person that refuses to or simply can not live within that rule. Police and the courts will do it for you but overall it's still depriving somebody of their life one way or another.
No sir I dont like it.
I've been to scared of losing a package to try this myself though.
How about mailing yourself a worthless test package?
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
You can't apply a technological fix to a human problem, especially if the human is an idiot.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It all hangs on this: if the retailer is responsible for the sale all way until it reaches *your* hands, then it's simple. If the problem is yours as soon as the retailer hands it to the courier then you're out of luck - talk to your law makers.
That is a negotiated agreement between buyer and seller. There are copious laws about this in the US under the Uniform Commercial Code and there are defaults if nothing else is explicitly agreed to. If you see FOB on your packing slip that details exactly who owned the product at any given time. For instance if you see FOB Destination, that means that it is owned by the retailer until you take delivery of the product. FOB Origin means that you own it the moment it leaves the shipping dock on a courier's truck.
I was wondering how on Earth is this possible.
Living in a so-called 3rd world country and the courier's contract is solid. They are not allowed to drop parcels anywhere else than in the end user's hands. No door step dropping or other fuckery.
The parcel value should be paid in full to the end user if their signature is not on the paperwork.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
This HAS happened!
Nah, combustible fake packages sitting at your front door with a timer that starts counting after it is jostled. They won't know which is which. Nothing crazy. Just some old motor oil or something.
It's not that the package is worth more. Thieves do much more damage than just the economic loss. They inconvenience everyone along the supply chain from the homeowner to Amazon and on it goes. It forces you to constantly wonder if you locked everything even when you just pop out to grab a gallon of milk. Moreover the thieves themselves frequently only get pennies on the dollar when they fence the goods so it really isn't worth it. If the homeowner catches them and holds them at gunpoint for the police great. If the thief gets brave and tries to fight the home owner then they get what was coming to them. To make the world a better place you have to weed out the bad actors. This is one of the very few things the Muslims got right.
I live in the EU.
Whenever I make an online purchase,
- I receive an SMS from the courier company with the delivery date and approximate time.
- Then I get a phone call from the courier to confirm the delivery time and place, reschedule if needed.
- I then receive the package and have to sign for delivery. Until I sign it off, there was no delivery.
- Oh, and most retailers accept cash on delivery, so there's an extra incentive for them, as for couriers, to deliver packages successfully.
Leaving packages on doorstep is unheard of.
Amazon refunds are amazing, as are their customer returns department.
Amazon is a company that gets it right in many ways, which is why when they get it wrong, hardly anyone cares.
Price.
Easy-to-order.
Tons of stock.
Huge product variety.
Great reliability.
Quick delivery (stupendously quick).
Customer service.
Even my workplace use it "officially". I work in schools and where most state schools have to get three quotes for anything large, and have to be from a specialist retailer and not some multi-store, and everything has to be signed off and approved and then ordered months later, I've found that every independent (private) school I work for just has an Amazon account.
Literally, 100 iPads, or PCs, or stationery, or furniture, or cables, or labels, or batteries, or garden tools, or anything, really. If you want it, you copy the link in an email to finance, after approval (usually a CC: to the right person gets that in seconds), they do a quick search, see if it looks like a decent price (if not, THEN they hunt around for something), and just click Buy. The finance department has more entries on the purchasing for Amazon than any other. In a place that spends MILLIONS each year.
And wherever there is freedom to buy like that, they save SO MUCH money that it's just ludicrous. And it literally arrives in hours, which is amazing for those critical end-of-term things. I've literally ordered SAS hard drives on the rapid delivery and they've arrived and started resyncing in the RAID array before the end of the same day.
You just can't beat that.
All we need is for Amazon to sort out their working practices, and make sure their taxes are in order, and we don't really have a need for any other kind of online store. Almost everyone I speak to in similar businesses hates Amazon with a vengeance - they are basically putting everyone else out of business.
I'm afraid that at least some Americans have internalized the NRA's message, "Guns are the answer. Now, what's the question?" Guns should never be used to protect property. Only to protect lives when it's the last resort, after you've tried everything else humanly possible. I agree that the responsibility lies with the delivery contractors and they should be liable for any loss or damage of parcels up until the moment the recipients physically have them in their hands.
It is, that's why I'm personally not worried if my package goes missing, I just call the seller, they file a claim with the carrier for the value and I get my package a few days later.
Our carriers will literally toss the package over the porch railing because walking up the steps and ringing a doorbell is hard work.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
It's not that the package is worth more. Thieves do much more damage than just the economic loss. They inconvenience everyone along the supply chain from the homeowner to Amazon and on it goes.
So are you planning on a quick headshot, or are you more into a gutshot so you can watch them flop around while they bleed out?
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Carriers won't put the effort of putting anything in a box or unlock anything. They literally toss it stuff at your front door from a distance, it doesn't matter anyway, it's all insured. You not the sender are going to be out of money, just out of time and the carrier charges enough to cover the claims.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Why do you want them to wait 30 seconds? USPS, FedEX and UPS all drop my package, ring the bell and leave. I don't see what waiting for me to answer is going to do for me. Also, don't you get a notification you package has been delivered as soon as they mark that in the handheld they carry?
Yes.
If the asshole wasn't stealing, he'd not be in danger of getting shot, now would he?
Depends on the state you live in, but I believe in TX, you can very legally shoot someone on your property trying to steal your property.
Get enough of this going and you'll (finally) have some real deterrent to idiots doing shit like this.
It was not that many years back, in New Orleans East, a guy in his apt saw some thieves in his car trying to steal stuff, he shot at them from his balcony, one got away, the other one was dead.
They actually tried to try this guy, but no jury around here would convict him.
I think it also had to do with in the state of LA, your car is considered and extension of your home, and many same laws about protecting it cover both.
Again, my thought is...FUCK'EM...if they weren't doing something wrong, they'd not have been shot.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Not the seller, the courier. Leaving a package on a doorstep is no less negligent than leaving it on the side of the road and telling someone to go get it before it's stolen. This should be covered under existing law.
The consumer has the power to fix this already: when ordering, request a "signature required" delivery. If the seller doesn't offer that, order elsewhere. Whatever you decide, it isn't the carrier's problem if you elect to assume the risk.
If something is high dollar, I have it sent to my office. Otherwise, it can be left at my door. In 20 years I haven't had a problem, so I'm not going to change my system.
Plus, really, Amazon can have a replacement to me in a couple of days worst case.
How about a safe delivery spot like... a room where the item is delivered, where there are people paid to watch over the item and ensure it's not stolen. To make things even more secure, the people watching the item can also handle the money - this should reduce online fraud as well.
Actually, considering economies of scale, it might be best to already have the room filled up with various items that customers can just come in and buy on the spot. How do they know where any given item will be? Well, the storage places - let's call them something hip like Storz - can each have a unifying theme. Like one would only have items related to food, and another only items to sports....
I wonder if there is a market for this
Here in California at least (and I'm sure other states as well) we have a problem with postal employees pilfering certain items before they even get to your door; you'll get your envelope, but the gift cards and money will be gone.
In the UK it's either covered by law or it's the policy of the post office not to do this. However, a few years ago the post office delivery guys started acting up in certain areas due to low pay. For a time I had several packages stolen from outside my front door. I went to the post office and spoke with the guy in charge. He outright denied that his staff were leaving parcels outside my door and challenged me to prove it. I just decided to stop getting packages delivered home since I was to move house soon anyway. The next place I moved to was more isolated, so no fear of getting stuff stole, but a new problem developed. The posties decided that it was too far to walk (about 100 m down a path) and just didn't deliver some of the mail. I found out this was happening when I got the fourth reminder to pay a traffic violation but missed the first three. The fine had gone up following each reminder. Fuckers cost me 300 bucks.
soylentnews.org
In Italy, they have another solution to avoid carrying packages to houses. During transit, the package gets some very slight damage to the outer packaging. Because of the damage, you have to go to the post office and open it there, so that they can see that the contents were not damaged in transit.
The postal workers also get to see what is in your package, as they will look over your shoulder while you open it.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
UPS stores have what are essentially PO Boxes but are not USPS. The mailing address is often an office number at the UPS store location, so 111 any street Ofc 321.
UPS and USPS will deliver there (not sure for fedex) and it can be used as a business address.
I did this for 10 years.
*Any* shipper can deliver to them.
And since the store was only one mile away, it was very convenient.
I only quit using it when new owners bought the store, promptly doubled the annual fee, then tripled it the following year.
So are you planning on a quick headshot, or are you more into a gutshot so you can watch them flop around while they bleed out?
Indoors, you go for the head shot. Otherwise they could move into other rooms spurting blood everywhere. And I don't want to have to pay the carpet cleaners for any additional rooms.
Sometime in late 2004 Martha Stewart had a great show on this. She showed all kinds of different plastic shower curtains that looked great on the floor. Which was really convenient for keeping the mess to a minimum. She also recommended using duck tape to wrap the perp in the shower curtain for easy removal and cleanup. These days you can get all kinds of patterned duck tape too, so you shouldn't have much difficulty finding one that matches the shower curtain.
Awesome, so I can't take the risk as the buyer?
That's stupid.
When I ship, I have the option of leave safe on front porch, neighbor or recipient sig required, or recipient required.
As far as reviving, I've have had hundreds of packages the last two years, one theft, and my stuff was returned even.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Well, let's be realistic.
When you're having to shoot someone, you aren't going to be playing "Lone Ranger" and trying to shoot to wound....and you also don't get any "points" for trying hard things like headshot.
You aim for the largest target mass of the person,the torso.....land about 3x hits with a .40 cal and they'll likely not be bothering you again any time soon.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Once the storz specialize as you describe, they become as inconvenient as stores.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
It's less likely about "hard work" and much more likely to be they extremely high quota they have to make. They literally can't afford the time to walk up and ring every doorbell.
Go ahead an paint them as lazy as you demand cheap or free shipping.
Why not?
Depending on the state you live in, you are perfectly within your rights to shoot a thief on your property.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'm able to have everything delivered at my office. Safer that way.
Many post office offer street addressing as an option for your PO box.
So instead of simply dropping the prohibition against delivering packages to a PO box, USPS put an additional layer of abstraction on the problem with a quasi-fake street address that points to a post office box. This is why USPS sucks. They rarely do anything the easy or efficient way.
Although unpopular among many here, in Canada we are moving towards a system of community mailboxes, which is essentially what you describe. Rather than a postal worker delivering mail to each house, there are banks of mailboxes where people get their mail (all their mail). You are issued a key for your mailbox so you can go get it whenever you want, and it is secure. Packages that fit inside the mailbox just go in the regular spot. There are also compartments for packages that are larger to accommodate larger packages. In this case, you receive a key in your mailbox and the box that your package is in. You retrieve your package, and then drop the key off into the mail slot again for reuse.
Works pretty well and for most packages, solves the problem.
Please don't get a dog for this. We all know who owns dogs in the neighborhood and hate them for the constant barking. The most I might do if your dog is barking constantly at someone taking your package is to file a noise complaint.
I'm not sure where you live, but during delivery hours, most places don't have noise laws unless the volume level exceeds a set number of decibels. During those times you can't lodge a complaint that will be pursued.
Unless your dog can actually bite someone taking your package they aren't much of deterrent, and even then be ready to pay for the hospital bill since the bite occurred on your property (yes, you are liable).
This is very location dependent.
"you can kill someone that invades your property" is a value that exists (absurdly, I think...) in the Brazilian Constitution...
and if hi's not stealing? "Shot first, ask later", huh?
I understand the absurdities made by US police nowadays: there's public support!
But that kinda defeats the whole purpose. While selection is nice, one of the big selling points to ordering stuff online is that it comes to you. If I have to go pick it up, where's the advantage over just going to a brick and mortar store that carries what I need?
Look, this is getting ridiculous. If you just use the post office for package delivery, you know what happens if they can't deliver it into your hands? It goes back to your local post office, and they hold it for you-- you go by and pick it up whenever convenient. A postal worker is not just going to abandon your package on your doorstep pretending that you live in Mayberry RFD...
This is the key thing here: UPS sucks. They don't maintain anything like the network of post offices managed by USPS, and instead they like to gamble with the safety of your packages in ways the post office simply won't.
Blaiming the USPS for being "less efficient" is crazy: they *do more* for you. UPS cuts corners, and the result is a theft problem everyone is looking for slick technical fixes for.
Yeah, but if you don't use Amazon, that problem goes away and you help make the world a better place.
Many companies, huh? There's a remarkable inability to diagnose a problem, if the result requires one to admit y'all fucked up by making some idiotic fad the "new standard"...
Yes, and everyone loves working in their warehouses. But y'all have a nice life.
Me, I've always appreciated that little checkbox at bn.com to only use the USPS for my address. If you check that little box, the entire theft problem we're talking about goes away.
You too can join the commie socialist revolution: support your local post office.
This happens in the US too. I just missed a shipment from UPS the other day. They hold at the nearest location which in my case is a UPS store two miles up the road. USPS holds it at the post-office. Low-value items can be delivered without a signature. It's not a very profitable criminal enterprise to steal low-value packages!
Is renting a post office box. UPS, FedEx and other carriers can ship to PO box.
The thief seems to think so if they are stealing in a castle doctrine state.
... when you order an item that was being shipped to your home, the delivery person rang the bell or knocked on the door. You then signed something that showed that you'd received it, and you took your package inside. Some shippers still do this. In fact, I have signed for two packages in recent weeks. If I'm not home, a note is stuck on my front door telling me that I missed the delivery and that they'll be back tomorrow. Or I can drive over to the depot, sign for the package, and bring it home.
I'm sure someone's now thinking "Oh, that's too inconvenient!" Really? More inconvenient than have the package stolen off your front porch? Live in an apartment? Always opt for he delivery option where someone has to sign for the package. If that's too hard for ya, there's still brick-n-mortar stores.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
I would think "Hang on, I am still loading" would be best...
There were 3.78 billion packages delivered in the U.S. in 2013. Judging by the trendline we're probably over 4 billion by now. If 10 million were stolen, that's a theft rate of about 0.25%. FedEx reports a lost package rate of 0.55%, so they're actually losing more packages during delivery than are stolen.
125 million households in the U.S., so on average a house gets a package stolen once every 12.5 years. If you figure the average package value is $50, that's a cost of $4 per year due to theft. A small enough amount that most people would just shrug and let the retailer's/shipper's insurance take care of it rather than actively try to combat it.
One of the issues in the UK was (it seems to have improved in the last year) that delivery schedules were essentially impossible for mortal humans to meet, and there was no time to hand over the package, get a signature, etc. Given that the odd pension funding requirements have put UPS under strain and UPS might be understaffed and having similar issues.
You are making the common confusion between UPS (united parcel service, a private company) and USPS (united states postal service, a government charter company). USPS has your so-called "odd pension funding requirement", the private UPS/IBT offers a pretty standard pension for its employees. Neither pension issue seems to have a effect on staffing levels of these companies.
Although USPS pension "pre-funding" issues have made the news, most folks are unaware that the UPS also has a completely different pension issue. Current UPS workers in the US have their pensions handled by a UPS/IBT union-partnership company, however prior to 2008, UPS outsourced the management of pensions to CSP (aka central-states-pension fund). They eventually decided to take bail on that company, but only take current employees to the new plan and a pay several billions of dollars to CSP to fund the pensions of retired employees remaining on CSP.
Now the old pension management company CSP is becoming insolvent (because most of its clients are trucking companies that are going bankrupt and didn't pay up like UPS) and CSP is poised to slash benefits checks as part of a reorg plan sponsored by the US treasury. Note that this crisis doesn't UPS, or current workers at all, but is of course a kick in the butt for those UPS employees that retired before 2008. Unlike the coal pension fund, congress hasn't been pressured to bail out this pension fund. If the pension fund would go bankrupt and taken over by the the pension guarantee insurance, only a fraction of the pension payments are generally covered by insurance and this negotiation with US treasury is designed to hopefully avoid the BK/insurance option for pensioners.
FWIW, the USPS pension would likely not have this insolvency issue because they are "odd-ly" forced to pre-pay their pension obligations, and not pay-as-you-go as other pensions funds. The observer is left to decide if pre-funding liabilities is an "odd" requirement or not given the fact that many industries can face an eventual future where in their growth phase, multiple employees are supporting a single pensioner, but as they shrink into obsolescence a single employee is supporting multiple pensioners. This is a just microcosm of the future effect of automation and aging populations will have on many western economies.
When companies are "doing-well", it's always tempting to improve benefits for pensioners over the amounts actually supported by the contributions the pensioners and the company when the employees were working. The argument that companies are "doing-well" and "should-contribute-more" is always compelling (and this argument often made by unions when negotiating contracts), but of course we see that generally violates the laws of economics long term and we see the results of this lack of foresight. Ironically the people who allegedly are qualified to plan for the retirement contracts for the employees are ignoring any planning for the retirement of their industries.
Next up on the pension crisis... Calpers (the california public employee pension fund)
We have the same system here in Auburn, WA. Packages to big for the little box AND the big box still go on the doorstep. It's a pretty shitty neighborhood,
and I order online A LOT. Sometimes, the delivery guy will walk up onto my porch, open the screen door and sort of hide the package between the wood and the screen. Other times, the package is left on the outside corner of my deck. There is a lot of real shitty foot traffic on my street, and more than one larger package has been stolen. So far, the carrier has replaced each one, after they send a driver to "check the package" by leaving another slip of paper saying so on my door.
Other-times, using Amazon prime, a haggard looking driver will show up in a private car, late in the evening, and hand me a package without speaking a word. I'm guessing he speaks no English, and has been on the road all day making amazon prime free(not really) next day deliveries. Works good, he gets paid and does it right.
There are also Amazon lockers I can use in town if I was to order something really stupid off the internet. I keep saying I'm going to setup a spring loaded dog-shit-glitter name-brand-computer-box every-time something goes missing.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
On *rare* occasions I've had products not arrive. Stolen? Delivered to wrong address? Don't care. Until I receive the product from the vendor, this is NOT my problem. Investigating failures of the vendor's delivery agent is also NOT my problem.
Most vendors realize that delivery is not complete until they can show it was delivered. Most of them will also take the risk to ship without signature; it's more convenient for them and their customers are generally happier with it. But it's their risk. If the delivery fails, usually calling the vendor and complaining will cause them to "reship" the product and require a delivery signature. In the rare cases this doesn't work, the below has worked for me 100% of the time.
Last time I had to do this was over a year ago, with bogus hotel charges, not package delivery. Vendor did eventually do what they were supposed to, but not before the Visa dispute. They knew they were wrong and tried to run out the clock. When the dispute went through they refunded to avoid a ding from Visa.
The statement at the end gets Visa out of any liablity; they do NOT care. Because if you're committing fraud, the vendor can go after you.
$Date
$Credit Card Issuer
$Address
cc/
$Vendor
$Address
Re: Visa $AccountNo: Dispute Transaction ID $TID
On $Date I ordered and paid for $Product from $Vendor using Visa $AccountNo.
The transaction ID for the purchase follows:
$TID
By $Date, $Vendor has failed to deliver $Product.
On $Date I contacted $[email address or phone number], representing $Vendor.
I explained that $Vendor has not delivered $Product after $Days and that the period to dispute the charge is running out, therefore I am following up the issue.
$Vendor is unable to confirm they have delivered $Product to me, however $Vendor has refused to refund $Price or to agree to deliver $Product by $Date.
I have therefore made a good$faith effort to resolve the issue with $Vendor.
I dispute Visa charge of $Price to $Vendor. Refer to Transaction ID above.
I affirm under penalty of perjury that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Signature
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
Claymores (landmines) don't need to be present. If you have to, you could fill them with paintballs. Get an alert that someone is in the area of your door and if they take anything with them trigger the device remotely. (obviously, I don't condone anyone actually do this, but I shouldn't have to say that)
Insurance. Duh.
But many companies skip the insurance, because it is cheaper to just cover the losses themselves, IF the consumer actually insists on them doing so.
Unless the company can prove personal (signature) or secure delivery (delivery to a locked box), it is on the sender. "Proof" that a box was left in front of a door is not sufficient.
And of course insurance will require that a signature be obtained.
It's just companies cheaping-out, and the lack of convenient alternatives. We need more pick-up points like Amazon Lockers, now that an increasing number of purchases are made online and delivered to the home.
As a consumer, it is NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to install security systems to catch thieves. And it is NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY if the package is lost. If you want to spend some $$$ on cameras and such as a CONVENIENCE so that you will not have to have packages re-shipped, go for it! Otherwise, don't bother.
Even insured, it is the responsibility of the seller - THEY have to file the claim. But they largely don't want to be bothered. In EITHER case, if you have any trouble, start a credit-card charge-back. First, the company will threaten you, saying "oh, charge-back, we can't talk to you any more!". Then, if you insist, they will offer to replace the package once they have proof that the charge-back has been removed. If they don't follow-through, just start the charge-back again.
Go with concentrated skunk spray.
Everybody is "a thief"... I'm one, you are one. The law is made to protect us from barbarity (that can be made with weapons, for example...) - "guns" are not the answer for nothing "civilized"...
An armed society is a polite society. I bet if we go back to everybody carrying a sidearm, a lot of people will suddenly get a lot more "pleasant" to be around. Not only do weapons change the risk reward calculation in a big way, but they have an uncanny ability to remove the worst decision-makers from society... permanently.
The real world aint exactly civilized. Any of-age, responsible adult who says otherwise lives in a bubble of money and culture that is "protected", as you say, from the rest of us "barbarians" here in the real world.
Protect yourself (and your packages?) Learn to shoot, and stop fearing firearms. The life you save may be your own.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
There's no good reason for someone to break into your car at night.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
But then again, I very much respect the US having "states' rights".
That gives the citizenry choice, to live in areas where the laws, regulation and lifestyle of an area are closer in terms to what they want for their lives.
That's why a large Federal one-size-fits-all system is not the best system.
But I don't have a problem with shooting someone on my property, stealing or damaging my property.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'm afraid that at least some Americans have internalized the NRA's message, "Guns are the answer. Now, what's the question?"
Guns should never be used to protect property. Only to protect lives when it's the last resort, after you've tried everything else humanly possible.
Its just about numbers. If one person used a gun to protect property, 9 other people don't have to, and its a decision our society has already made. Right now, we pay civil servants to do it for us.
Unfortunately, they've become pretty scary good at figuring out "who" shot you while taking your wallet, "where" it happened, and "why" it happened, but remain pretty bad at using their guns to stop it from happening in the first place.
On the other hand, they are great at using those guns to protect corporate property.....
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
Using one of the Amazon Locker dropoff locations is pretty secure if there's one near you.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
A police officer suspecting a theft can not occurs?
I can think of guerrillas in Colombia and Favelas in Rio, as counter-examples
Are US the only "real world" possible, huh? You even know other places?
I know how tho shoot: I've served the Army here, in Brazil, several years ago...
Who are these people who get packages delivered to their homes when there isn't something there to retrieve them?
Why do these people trust that a package will sit on their doorstep for hours and no one will take it?
What time period do they think we live in?
I don't get the naivete.
Almost every week I hear something through the grapevine that someone in my neighborhood had a package stolen off their porch. It's a good thing I'm not on FB or it would be hard for me not to ask the hard questions of those who have things delivered to their homes when they aren't there.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
She was able to track the package online, but only when the package arrived at a USPS facility. UPS and FedEX scan the packages when they arrive and depart any facility.
That's why USPS tracking is basically useless. Tracking updates should happen any time someone handles the package. USPS doens't have the infrastructure to bother. Technically they have "tracking" but it's pretty much worthless except for proof of delivery.
No, UPS and FedEx aren't always cheaper.
No not always but pretty routinely. And you tend to get what you pay for.
I recommend you to watch this movie, from 2004 (twelve years ago): Dear Wendy
maybe they thought it was Italian.
With UPS I can go to the website and have deliveries held at the local service center.
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't even be able to use them. Fedex you can only do that if the sender paid extra!(!!!!)
Unfortunately where I live currently is a nice house with a lot of low income foot traffic passing by, and any packages left on a porch in this neighborhood will disappear within minutes. I had to stop buying from Newegg entirely, because they just don't offer good shipping where I'm confident I'll receive the package. They do use the Fedex service, but they can't promise it will be available on all orders; you might, after placing your order, find out it can't be held for pickup! They don't list what products that would happen to, so when they put that warning up I have to assume it covers whatever I would be ordering. I'm normally an optimist, but if you tell me maybe it really might be all the way empty which is not half full.
Why do companies think it is OK to leave packages out on urban doorsteps without express per-package permission from the recipient? Why are the delivery companies not 100% responsible for those losses? It makes no sense, but it does at least increase local purchases.
Why is every "free shipping" or "-saver" shipping option one where they just leave it out for anybody? It seems to me that lower cost shipping should still be received, just slower. And wouldn't it be even cheaper for the shipping company to just let me pick it up from the nearest warehouse? Why is that such a rare service to get? It saves them money!
I had that at my last place and it was great! The ones here in the US simply retain the key; there are separate keys for the carrier and the recipient. The carrier uses their key to open the box, which releases the recipient key. They place the recipient key in the correct box. Now when the recipient unlocks that box, the key stays in the lock and the box remains unlocked.
The only problem is, only the postal service can use it. UPS and Fedex packages still get stolen off the porch.
If the police would bait some fake packages with dye packs like the bank uses it might be a deterrent. Bait a porch in an area that has been having this problem. Use surveillance cameras and put a small gps tracker in there as well. With any luck you can see him drive 2 blocks and become a blue smurf. Kind of like bait car.
Did you read his post? He said U.K., unless im wrong, I don't think the U.K. has a USPS. Given that it stands for United States Postal Service.
As a matter of fact, I did read the post. "Given that the odd pension funding requirements have put UPS under strain" and I pointed out that the UPS does *not* in fact have any "odd pension funding requirements" (even in the UK) and pointed out his confusion might be related to the USPS stuff that made the news.
Then I went on to hash about my own political agenda about the actual UPS pension situation (in typical /. off-topic fashion).
Depends on the laws of your state.
In TX, you can pretty much shoot anyone that is illegally on your property trying to steal something.
In many other states, like LA, your car is considered legally and extension of your home and you can defend it the same. Lots of other stand your ground law states too that have very liberal interpretations.
The more the better I say...after awhile if thieves think they'll get shot for stealing shit, it might finally act as a deterrent.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'm not terribly afraid of cops breaking into my car.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Hey man, free butt wipe is free butt wipe!
USPS, FedEX and UPS all drop my package, ring the bell and leave. I don't see what waiting for me to answer is going to do for me.
What if you aren't home? If they don't wait and just dump, then your package is sitting unattended for ... hours? If they do wait and you don't answer, they can leave a note and take it with them. This "does for you" a bit more security on the package before you get it. And if you happen to be away for a few days, it "does for you" a bit of security for your home since thieves won't see the same package on your front step for three days and know you aren't home.
Also, don't you get a notification you package has been delivered as soon as they mark that in the handheld they carry?
Their handheld is connected to the carrier's computer system, not mine. No, I don't get a notification of delivery.
With UPS I can go to the website and have deliveries held at the local service center.
That's only if they haven't already just left the package unattended unsecured. Once it's dropped on your front step they aren't going to come back and pick it up and hold it somewhere for you.
The last time I checked, they wanted extra $ if you got the note and wanted them to deliver the package to a different place.
Why do companies think it is OK to leave packages out on urban doorsteps without express per-package permission from the recipient? Why are the delivery companies not 100% responsible for those losses?
You answered your first question in the second. AKA "because they can".
pick it up from the nearest warehouse? Why is that such a rare service to get? It saves them money!
It costs them warehouse space and people to man the front counter.
or a neighbor, or a friend who stays/works at home..
Jeez, technology isn't always the solution.
I'm sorry but you're missing the point.
Shipping price is dictated by the offer/demand balance. Carrier quota is not something I can change or alter or control as a customer. From my position as customer, I can only control the carrier I choose, and not even that's applicable at all times.
It is normal for me to expect my parcel to arrive in my possession, intact, within the agreed amount of time, at the agreed cost. I, as a customer, am looking at a straightforward, simple process: go to website, pick product(s), add to basket, pay online, wait for parcel. everything else is outside of my control.
Now, if a carrier comes to me and says "help me, my quota is too high and I have literally no time to deliver all parcels to everyone", I could file a complaint against the carrier company mentioning that the person who delivered my parcel said they are overworked. That's pretty much as far as I could go.
Interestingly, no earlier than last week I was reading an article about one of the largest private postal companies from my country. Its CEO was whining that they can't find enough drivers/carriers, and they had to increase salaries to almost 350 dollars a month in certain regions (frame of reference: the average salary for my country is a bit above 400 dollars a month). The obvious solution is: increase it some more and people will come.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
In Australia if you cant have someone present for the delivery, you'll have to pick it up from a Distribution Centre or Post Office.
Heh - in Belgium they'll pre-fill the "you weren't at home" notes and just put them in your mailbox instead of ringing doorbells etc. ....
Of cause, then you get the post office (yay, bepost) and the driver "forgot" to empty his van full of undelivered packages
In my city, there is a rowhouse with a sign that says something like "Deliveryman: Don't even think about putting a package on my doorstep, it absolutely WILL get stolen." I want to put a fake package on that person's doorstep, with a cell phone and a stun gun. A little app would upload the coordinates and video to the internet in realtime. The resulting video would be priceless.
*Total darkness* "Hey Bob, let's see what we got now! *tearing noises, light, a human face appears* Wow, looks like it is a cell ph...Gzzhzhzzzzzhzhzhzhzhzhzhhzhzzzzz AHHH F***K!!
Evertime my packages are lost it has never been actually stolen. In one instance it was lost after the shipper gave it to the post office, but before it made any progress.
I've had various shipping companies drop packages off at my neighbors. Fortunately they have been honest, albeit a little annoyed. My last package was delayed 2 days because my neighbor didn't feel like braving the cold or the rain. The funny thing is it said apt 3 and they dropped it off at a house.
With shippers like mine who needs thieves?
My box of guns was stolen you insensitive clod!
Make America grate again!
Use common sense! Have packages delivered to the office. Send to an Amazon delivery locker, have variable delivery times and take delivery when you're home..Got a retired person in your neighbor hood who could take delivery for a couple bucks or a friendly chat? .
come on people - think.
This seems weird to me. In my country, if the letter/package is small enough to fit in my mailbox (which is locked, the postman will not put letters in mailboxes that are not locked), then it is put there. If not, either the package gets delivered to my house and I have to sign for it or I get a notice and have to go to the post office to pick it up.
Under no circumstances does the package get left unattended on the outside of the fence. Now, as my fence is relatively high (about 2 meters) compared to my neighbors, some couriers called me and asked if it was OK for them to just throw the package over the fence. Sometimes I let them (if I knew the items won't get damaged and I was coming home soon). In addition to making it difficult to access, the fence also prevents other people from seeing that the package is there (unless they saw the courier throw it), reducing the likelihood of theft.
When you're having to shoot someone, you aren't going to be playing "Lone Ranger" and trying to shoot to wound....and you also don't get any "points" for trying hard things like headshot.
My point is that if you are going to terminate someone for stealing a package, and even consider it, You really, really want to have the joy of making someone else die.
But the issue is, do you want that clean kill, or watching the corpse quiver, or if you really are enjoying yourself, run off a couple clips, and show them that a slow painful death is the price for stealing your toilet paper.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
+1 Informative
And if you read the responses, you'll see the truth of it. I have firearms, and if it's a matter of mortality, I'll use them on another person. But unlike some people in here who I suspect have masturbated while thinking of killing someone, I sure as hell don't want to.
But some groups really love the idea of using firearms to kill other people.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Here's a good article on this:
http://www.latimes.com/busines...
That amazon prime guy isn't as happy as you think:
http://www.latimes.com/busines...
Guns controlled by your cell phone?
Ezekiel 23:20
Right, you have multiple days from when the tracking ID becomes valid until it has been sorted at your local warehouse. Once the tracking ID is valid and they have the package in their system, then you can change the delivery to local pickup. Then instead of being ready "sometime today," it is actually ready anytime after customer service opens on the same day it would have been delivered.
UPS, DHL, and Purolator use the following routine...
* attempt to deliver to residence
* if an adult is not present to sign a delivery receipt, take package back to warehouse
Some of them try 2 or 3 days. Then you have to go to their warehouse, with 2 pieces of ID, and pick up the parcel. Leaving stuff outside is stupid. In addition to theft, it can get rained/snowed on, and leaving a PC outdoors in -20 weather is not exactly healthy for electronics. Before I retired, I'd sometimes specify that they not try delivering at all, but that I'd come to their warehouse and pick up myself. One nice thing about living in a condo is that I can authorize security to accept the parcel for me, then I'd pick it up when I get home.
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
Once the tracking ID is valid and they have the package in their system, then you can change the delivery to local pickup.
Assuming you know the tracking number ahead of time. I have yet to be informed of the tracking number for any UPS package that was delivered to my house in the last 20 years prior to reading it off the package itself or the non-delivery notice. By then it's on the truck, and if you don't call before the local warehouse closes today it will be on the truck tomorrow, too.
I can think of guerrillas in Colombia and Favelas in Rio, as counter-examples
No, you can't, because those aren't armed societies, those are societies where gangs and criminals are well armed and the society AS A WHOLE is not.
So why aren't the authorities mailing themselves a lot of GPS units with big batteries and pinhole cameras and prosecuting whoever takes them? Or are thefts so few that it's not worth it?
It's really simple. Have the package redirected to a secure drop location for pickup. It's dumb to have things left on your doorstep.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
I get all of my packages delivered to my workplace, it's so much more convenient.
Eat the rich.
If you just use the post office for package delivery, you know what happens if they can't deliver it into your hands? It goes back to your local post office, and they hold it for you-
That is simply not true as a general proposition. I get packages left on my porch by USPS on a routine basis if they don't fit in my mail box. And there is no meaningful difference between putting a package in an unlocked mailbox and putting it on your porch. Furthermore I'm not particularly worried about package theft where I live so if I'm fine with it being left there why is that a problem?
UPS sucks. They don't maintain anything like the network of post offices managed by USPS, and instead they like to gamble with the safety of your packages in ways the post office simply won't.
UPS will do exactly what they are paid to do. Same with FedEx. If the person sending the package tells them to leave it on the porch then that is what they do. If they pay them to hand it to a specific person then that is what they do. It's up to you. If you are too cheap to pay for signed delivery then the risk is on you if the package gets lost.
Blaiming the USPS for being "less efficient" is crazy: they *do more* for you.
If they were more efficient with packages there would be no need for companies like UPS and FedEx. I have literally shipped tens of thousands of packages though companies I've owned and worked in over the years. I've used pretty much every major package courier (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL etc) plus a large number of LTL carriers. USPS is BY FAR the biggest pain in the ass to do business with, has the most clumsy handling procedures, operates the slowest, their software sucks (and is usually third party anyway), and for packages above a few pounds are routinely among the more expensive options if you ship any kind of volume at all. They certainly don't do more for me - not for anything I actually need. They have a bunch of needlessly complicated postage options which add cost and slow things down. I've NEVER seen a postal worker in a hurry. If I need a package delivered quickly (i.e. tomorrow), USPS is a terrible option. Stand in line at the post office? I've had to wait 20 minutes for them to deal with a 5 person line and nobody ahead of me was doing anything complicated or unusual. That is just absurd.
There is no abstraction.
It is the very definition of an abstraction layer. USPS won't allow delivery to a post office box so they substitute the street address of the po box and pretend it is a "street address" when it is not. A FAR simpler solution would have been to simply allow third parties to deliver to PO boxes and not waste everyone's time with street addresses that really aren't street addresses. So they added a layer of complexity to "solve" a problem that they created instead of eliminating the actual root cause of the problem.
look: theintercept.com/2016/12/13/mae-e-filha-sao-abandonadas-por-autoridades-brasileiras-e-americanas-em-centro-para-deportados-nos-eua/
in english: theintercept.com/2016/12/13/a-mother-and-child-trapped-in-obamas-brutal-family-deportation-system/
Yup, I am opposed to that.
I think this is one thing that is analogous to states respecting other states' driver licenses....so, I'm ok with that. That is actually the sort of thing between states that the Feds do and should have some authority to help regulate.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
lol it comes in the email from the sender. The ones that tell you when your product shipped.
I'll bet your email history is filled with exactly the information you don't think you received! For example, you've never made a single purchase from amazon or newegg. It is possible, maybe 100% of your online purchases are from individuals off ebay, and 100% of them are doing it part time and don't have customer service? Maybe so! Certainly possible, however unlikely. Less likely than being clueless, however.
One reason why they always send you that email is that here in the US you're not allowed to charge people credit cards for most mail-order items (people get confused here, but when you order physical deliverables online, that is mail order) you have to wait until you ship the item to charge the card. It is just better customer service to send you an email that says, "Your item has shipped!" than to send one saying, "your card has been charged," but for high-information customers they might need that notice. And creating their shipping label and moving it to their shipping department is usually enough for their billing department to be allowed to consider it shipped; that's why all the retailers do this the same, and why it is so easy and pervasive for them to put the tracking code in that email; it actually proves that they charged your card at the right time! That's also why you "always" have to wait a few hours from when you receive the tracking code before you can actually track it on the courier's site.
lol it comes in the email from the sender.
I'll save the time of replying to your repeated asinine assumptions point by amazingly ignorant point by saying this: UPS carries packages when people pay them to. Sometimes it's the sender who is paying. Sometimes the sender doesn't have the recipient's email address. Sometimes the sender wants the package to be a surprise.
You assume I've never ordered anything from any "mail order" (thanks for the lecture on what that phrase means, by the way) because I've never gotten advance notice for anything shipped to my house. Perhaps you are unaware of the generosity of some employers in allowing personal packages through the work receiving department -- which is how I ALWAYS have things delivered when I order them. (It would take a special kind of ignorance to not know about such an option since it has been mentioned in this thread many times already, however.)
So, I'll repeat what I said -- your claim that you can go to a website and have things held at the sorting facility only works if you have the tracking number before the first delivery attempt is made. That emphasized bit is not always true. It is amazingly difficult to have UPS hold a package at their facility (10 miles away) AFTER they have already broken open my front screen door and hidden it there, for example.
So, I'm glad that in your little bit of the world you never get anything you haven't paid someone else to send to you, and that they always send you the tracking info ahead of time, but your little bit of the world isn't how it works everywhere else. Your instructions on how to solve the problem of UPS simply dropping things on your front step or sidewalk doesn't solve the problem for everyone else.
LOL it sounds like you're getting shit service where you don't have to because you want an extra human to be in the loop and have to fuck around with your orders.
You seem logic-challenged. You're just attempting a "so are you" without noticing that it isn't the same thing. I talked about the existence of a mitigation strategy for package theft that often works with one carrier, but is also often unavailable with certain merchants or carriers. You replied to me and challenged what I was saying and denying that it is normal to be able to access shipment tracking. To support this you denied ever having received a tracking number! But it turns out that's because you use concierge and have relationships with people where even when they're sending you a package they're not going to try to interact with you first. But that in no way refutes that when you order something with UPS, you can have it held for pickup at the local warehouse. If you use concierge for everything, that's nice, you don't order things. You use concierge but you can't be bothered to use a private mail box address?!? That is a really pathetic combination of elitist helplessness and cheapness.
"... enabled him to watch helplessly as a thief opened his package." Why do thieves open packages on someone's front steps? Why not grab the package and throw it in the car, wouldn't that be faster and easier for the thief?
(We had a discussion about this on our neighborhood email list, with several claiming that thieves opened packages to see if there was anything worth stealing, and me claiming that they wouldn't do that. It looks like I'm wrong, but I'm curious why.)