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Why is it standard practice in the US to leave undelivered packages on the porch of people's homes? With the reports of stolen packages and Amazon having to put

Why is it standard practice in the US to leave undelivered packages on the porch of people's homes? With the reports of stolen packages and Amazon having to put dummy packages to catch thieves, as a non-American I'm struggling to understand why they don't just put them back in the truck and let you arrange a later delivery or pick-up at the closest parcel centre.

ctulek 8y ago
I don't think it is standard practice but depends on neighborhood. Trying to re-deliver a package should be more costly than covering the cost of lost package when the crime rate is low.
benjaminl 8y ago
Because in much of the country it is incredibly rare to have a package stolen off of a porch. For example I have never had a package stolen nor do I know of a person who has had a package stolen off of their porch. The person sending the package can choose if the package is left at the door or if it requires a signature. Amazon and others like them have decided that the increased convenience is worth the occasional cost of reshooting a package.
- dboreham 8y ago
  I know of two separate cases of package theft so...ymmv.
mdasen 8y ago
Ultimately, if I'm not home on Monday between 9am and 5pm, I'm not going to be home on Tuesday between 9am and 5pm. That might sound like a simplistic answer, but I want my package and I don't want to have to pick it up at the service center or stay home to wait for it. I also think that package theft is reasonably rare - to the point that retailers are willing to put up with it and just re-ship the packages. I live in a major city and in a decade I've never had one package be taken (at 5 addresses in different neighborhoods). Personally, I wouldn't want them to attempt re-delivery for days and then tell me to come to their service center to pick it up. Companies like UPS and Amazon also have options if you're worried about theft. UPS can leave it at lots of convenience stores for pickup. Amazon has their lockers all over the place. Still, given that I've never had a single package stolen including shipments of laptops and such, I don't really want to have to travel to pick up my package.
- jryan49 8y ago
  Packages get stolen here so often, that every other door in our neighborhood says "Please do not leave packages out front".
zbuttram 8y ago
Being from the US, I'm actually surprised to learn it isn't the same everywhere. How do people get their packages if they work during delivery time every day? Does everyone just drive down to the shipping warehouse? Also, I'm not sure how it works outside the US, but here frequently packages with higher value items will require a signature and therefore wouldn't be left on a porch.
- cesarb 8y ago
  > How do people get their packages if they work during delivery time every day? One option is to have the package delivered to the work address, or if you live in a building with a reception, the receptionist receives the package for you. (Also, where I live a house's porch is normally behind the fence, so to leave a package in the porch it would have to be thrown over the gate.)
- macintux 8y ago
  I have a mailbox at a UPS store. Solves the signature problem and the theft problem.
- wtmt 8y ago
  In India, people may prefer to get these delivered at work. For those who give their home address but aren't available there, usually what happens is that the delivery/courier person calls the recipient and figures out what to do (come back later or hand it over to building security or leave it with a neighbor, etc.). In some cases, the courier delivery person may not call, and then the package may just go back to the sender, involving lengthy processes to get it shipped back.
repiret 8y ago
It varies greatly depending on where you live. Where I live, an Amazon package was stolen once six months ago and it literally made front-page news in the local newspaper. People don't lock their houses, they leave their keys in the car. Most of the time, nothing comes of it. Most of the country is somewhere between here and "thief follows UPS truck and steals all unattended packages," but there's lots of places where leaving packages unattended makes good economic sense.
CamperBob2 8y ago
Because forcing everyone to drive someplace to pick up a package is extremely annoying to customers who have a reasonably-secure location to leave packages.

ctulek 8y ago

I don't think it is standard practice but depends on neighborhood. Trying to re-deliver a package should be more costly than covering the cost of lost package when the crime rate is low.

benjaminl 8y ago

Because in much of the country it is incredibly rare to have a package stolen off of a porch. For example I have never had a package stolen nor do I know of a person who has had a package stolen off of their porch. The person sending the package can choose if the package is left at the door or if it requires a signature. Amazon and others like them have decided that the increased convenience is worth the occasional cost of reshooting a package.

dboreham 8y ago
I know of two separate cases of package theft so...ymmv.

mdasen 8y ago

Ultimately, if I'm not home on Monday between 9am and 5pm, I'm not going to be home on Tuesday between 9am and 5pm. That might sound like a simplistic answer, but I want my package and I don't want to have to pick it up at the service center or stay home to wait for it. I also think that package theft is reasonably rare - to the point that retailers are willing to put up with it and just re-ship the packages. I live in a major city and in a decade I've never had one package be taken (at 5 addresses in different neighborhoods). Personally, I wouldn't want them to attempt re-delivery for days and then tell me to come to their service center to pick it up. Companies like UPS and Amazon also have options if you're worried about theft. UPS can leave it at lots of convenience stores for pickup. Amazon has their lockers all over the place. Still, given that I've never had a single package stolen including shipments of laptops and such, I don't really want to have to travel to pick up my package.

jryan49 8y ago
Packages get stolen here so often, that every other door in our neighborhood says "Please do not leave packages out front".

zbuttram 8y ago

Being from the US, I'm actually surprised to learn it isn't the same everywhere. How do people get their packages if they work during delivery time every day? Does everyone just drive down to the shipping warehouse? Also, I'm not sure how it works outside the US, but here frequently packages with higher value items will require a signature and therefore wouldn't be left on a porch.

cesarb 8y ago
> How do people get their packages if they work during delivery time every day? One option is to have the package delivered to the work address, or if you live in a building with a reception, the receptionist receives the package for you. (Also, where I live a house's porch is normally behind the fence, so to leave a package in the porch it would have to be thrown over the gate.)
macintux 8y ago
I have a mailbox at a UPS store. Solves the signature problem and the theft problem.
wtmt 8y ago
In India, people may prefer to get these delivered at work. For those who give their home address but aren't available there, usually what happens is that the delivery/courier person calls the recipient and figures out what to do (come back later or hand it over to building security or leave it with a neighbor, etc.). In some cases, the courier delivery person may not call, and then the package may just go back to the sender, involving lengthy processes to get it shipped back.

repiret 8y ago

It varies greatly depending on where you live. Where I live, an Amazon package was stolen once six months ago and it literally made front-page news in the local newspaper. People don't lock their houses, they leave their keys in the car. Most of the time, nothing comes of it. Most of the country is somewhere between here and "thief follows UPS truck and steals all unattended packages," but there's lots of places where leaving packages unattended makes good economic sense.

CamperBob2 8y ago

Because forcing everyone to drive someplace to pick up a package is extremely annoying to customers who have a reasonably-secure location to leave packages.