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What I think the most silly thing I keep seeing in America is packages being "delivered" (read: left) on your front porch or doorstep ... like, why? Someone now

What I think the most silly thing I keep seeing in America is packages being "delivered" (read: left) on your front porch or doorstep ... like, why? Someone now can just grab it!? If someone is not home, what happens here (Netherlands) that the package gets delivered by the neighbours and you get a little note it was delivered to the neighbours. Neighbours aren't home? Try the next one until the delivery guy gives up or doesn't care anymore and delivers it the next day.

bradstewart 9y ago
Probably 90% of my packages are delivered while I'm at work. My neighbors work as well (as the least those I know--the handful of houses on either side of me). I prefer to have a few packages a year go missing (which Amazon will always replace) than always end up having to pick things up from the post office. My normal USPS delivery person is kind enough to deliver packages to my back door which helps. AMZL/UPS/FedEx aren't so accommodating though.
- bad_good_guy 9y ago
  You could try getting your packages delivered to work?
  - acranox 9y ago
    I'm sure that's been thought of. People who walk, take transit, or bike to work probably don't want the hassle of lugging a package home if it's anything larger than would fit in your backpack. Having stuff delivered to your home is a convenience. Hauling stuff home from work subtracts from that convenience. If I walk around my neighborhood in the late afternoon I see little Amazon packages on everyone's porches. No one seems to be stealing them. I can see people who will want this Amazon Key thing, but I can see a lot of people for whom this addresses a non-existent problem.
  - s0rce 9y ago
    I did this when I was in grad school and could just grab them from the mail room and the staff were friendly and knew most students couldn't easily get stuff delivered to their apartments. At my current small bay area company they get fussy when tons of personal packages are coming in. Luckily, I live in a good area and packages don't get stolen off my porch, also they are hard to see.
ghaff 9y ago
Depends where you live. I routinely get packages left at my front door without problems. I honestly have no idea of what "algorithm" the likes of UPS uses to determine if its OK to leave an unsecured package but I'm sure my rural location is well in the "it's OK" zone. Even if I'm at home, they usually just drop the package and head back to the truck. As for neighbors, I have had things that required a signature left with a neighbor but it's very rare.
- eli 9y ago
  As far as I can tell it is 100% up to the driver. Until a package does get stolen and then your address is quietly flagged to require a signature for everything for a while.
acranox 9y ago
Is package theft from your porch or doorstep a big problem in the Netherlands? Our letters in the US just get left in the mailbox too. But we don't really have a problem with people stealing those either. It's just not that big of a deal in many neighborhoods.
freeone3000 9y ago
The neighbors would be the most likely ones to steal the package. Giving it directly to them would save time, granted...
phil21 9y ago
It's all over in the US, but why wouldn't I want it left on my porch? Shrinkage (stolen packages) is so small in most areas of the US the cost/inconvenience of having to track down your neighbor (and wait for him to be home now) or going to the office far outweighs the random package being stolen here and there. For scale, I get at least 5 packages delivered a week and over the past decade I've lived where I do I have had exactly 2 packages go missing. One was the driver, the other I cannot account for and was likely stolen. It's simply not an issue. That said, many areas it is an issue and you'll have to deal with going into the office to pick it up - which completely negates the entire purpose of delivery to me. I really don't understand folks who think this is a major issue or that leaving it with the neighbors is okay. I figure those folks typically only use on-line shopping to buy high value items relatively rarely, and are okay with the inconvenience. When you are getting 90%+ of your daily life delivered, it becomes untenable. Please just leave it at the door.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Yeah, it heavily depends on one's context. Most of the stuff I order comes from at least 500km, so having to pick it up at the post office does certainly not negative the purpose of delivery for me :)
icebraining 9y ago
All PostNL deliveries I got in Belgium went to shops instead. Which is better than Bpost, since I have to get those from the post office, which closes way too early.
loganlcox 9y ago
So to avoid somebody else taking my package, they just give somebody else my package?

bradstewart 9y ago

Probably 90% of my packages are delivered while I'm at work. My neighbors work as well (as the least those I know--the handful of houses on either side of me). I prefer to have a few packages a year go missing (which Amazon will always replace) than always end up having to pick things up from the post office. My normal USPS delivery person is kind enough to deliver packages to my back door which helps. AMZL/UPS/FedEx aren't so accommodating though.

bad_good_guy 9y ago
You could try getting your packages delivered to work?
- acranox 9y ago
  I'm sure that's been thought of. People who walk, take transit, or bike to work probably don't want the hassle of lugging a package home if it's anything larger than would fit in your backpack. Having stuff delivered to your home is a convenience. Hauling stuff home from work subtracts from that convenience. If I walk around my neighborhood in the late afternoon I see little Amazon packages on everyone's porches. No one seems to be stealing them. I can see people who will want this Amazon Key thing, but I can see a lot of people for whom this addresses a non-existent problem.
- s0rce 9y ago
  I did this when I was in grad school and could just grab them from the mail room and the staff were friendly and knew most students couldn't easily get stuff delivered to their apartments. At my current small bay area company they get fussy when tons of personal packages are coming in. Luckily, I live in a good area and packages don't get stolen off my porch, also they are hard to see.

ghaff 9y ago

Depends where you live. I routinely get packages left at my front door without problems. I honestly have no idea of what "algorithm" the likes of UPS uses to determine if its OK to leave an unsecured package but I'm sure my rural location is well in the "it's OK" zone. Even if I'm at home, they usually just drop the package and head back to the truck. As for neighbors, I have had things that required a signature left with a neighbor but it's very rare.

eli 9y ago
As far as I can tell it is 100% up to the driver. Until a package does get stolen and then your address is quietly flagged to require a signature for everything for a while.

acranox 9y ago

Is package theft from your porch or doorstep a big problem in the Netherlands? Our letters in the US just get left in the mailbox too. But we don't really have a problem with people stealing those either. It's just not that big of a deal in many neighborhoods.

freeone3000 9y ago

The neighbors would be the most likely ones to steal the package. Giving it directly to them would save time, granted...

phil21 9y ago

It's all over in the US, but why wouldn't I want it left on my porch? Shrinkage (stolen packages) is so small in most areas of the US the cost/inconvenience of having to track down your neighbor (and wait for him to be home now) or going to the office far outweighs the random package being stolen here and there. For scale, I get at least 5 packages delivered a week and over the past decade I've lived where I do I have had exactly 2 packages go missing. One was the driver, the other I cannot account for and was likely stolen. It's simply not an issue. That said, many areas it is an issue and you'll have to deal with going into the office to pick it up - which completely negates the entire purpose of delivery to me. I really don't understand folks who think this is a major issue or that leaving it with the neighbors is okay. I figure those folks typically only use on-line shopping to buy high value items relatively rarely, and are okay with the inconvenience. When you are getting 90%+ of your daily life delivered, it becomes untenable. Please just leave it at the door.

icebraining 9y ago
Yeah, it heavily depends on one's context. Most of the stuff I order comes from at least 500km, so having to pick it up at the post office does certainly not negative the purpose of delivery for me :)

icebraining 9y ago

All PostNL deliveries I got in Belgium went to shops instead. Which is better than Bpost, since I have to get those from the post office, which closes way too early.

loganlcox 9y ago

So to avoid somebody else taking my package, they just give somebody else my package?