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Something similar has been around in Germany for 10 years now. The boxes there are not owned by Amazon, but by the Deutsche Post AG.[0] This allows competitors

by soult 15y ago

Something similar has been around in Germany for 10 years now. The boxes there are not owned by Amazon, but by the Deutsche Post AG.[0] This allows competitors to use them as well. 0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation

cromulent 15y ago
Itella in Finland have them also (SmartPost) for use by any online merchant. As a merchant, you can also use them to drop your parcels off.
- kiiski 15y ago
  Only around Helsinki it seems. Although that's not much of a problem since Matkahuolto has the next best thing already (delivery to a store nearby).
- soult 15y ago
  The German version allows you to send packages by putting them into an empty box in the Packstation. Same for the Austrian version. Deutsche Post also maintains so-called "Paketbox"es, which are only for sending stuff. The Österreichische Post AG (Austria) is testing a new system where they install a couple of boxes right inside apartement buildings, typically next to the residents' post boxes. When a resident isn't home they simply drop the unlock code in his post box and put the package in one of the boxes. (The package is obviously too big to be dropped directly into the resident's post box.) Packages can be exciting ;-)
rb2k_ 15y ago
They english marketing page about the Packstation: http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/packstation.html http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/packstation.html
silvestrov 15y ago
In Denmark too, there is a lot of them in Copenhagen and they're adding more. Design: http://www.postdanmark.dk/cms/da-dk/images/8428-large.gif http://www.postdanmark.dk/cms/da-dk/images/8428-large.gif It is cheaper to send a package to this locker than to an residential address. You get an email and SMS whenever there is a package for you, and you have 14 days to pick up the package before it is returned to sender. Way better than UPS, Fedex etc who seems to be completely unable to ring the door bell or who just skips delivery completely if they're busy. Of course, they are not too busy to tell the system that the customer were not home at the time.
rb2k_ 15y ago
There is a nice talk about the security of the packstation card. http://vimeo.com/26025789 http://vimeo.com/26025789 (audio german, slides english)

by soult 15y ago

cromulent 15y ago

Itella in Finland have them also (SmartPost) for use by any online merchant. As a merchant, you can also use them to drop your parcels off.

kiiski 15y ago
Only around Helsinki it seems. Although that's not much of a problem since Matkahuolto has the next best thing already (delivery to a store nearby).
soult 15y ago
The German version allows you to send packages by putting them into an empty box in the Packstation. Same for the Austrian version. Deutsche Post also maintains so-called "Paketbox"es, which are only for sending stuff. The Österreichische Post AG (Austria) is testing a new system where they install a couple of boxes right inside apartement buildings, typically next to the residents' post boxes. When a resident isn't home they simply drop the unlock code in his post box and put the package in one of the boxes. (The package is obviously too big to be dropped directly into the resident's post box.) Packages can be exciting ;-)

rb2k_ 15y ago

They english marketing page about the Packstation: http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/packstation.html http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/packstation.html

silvestrov 15y ago

In Denmark too, there is a lot of them in Copenhagen and they're adding more. Design: http://www.postdanmark.dk/cms/da-dk/images/8428-large.gif http://www.postdanmark.dk/cms/da-dk/images/8428-large.gif It is cheaper to send a package to this locker than to an residential address. You get an email and SMS whenever there is a package for you, and you have 14 days to pick up the package before it is returned to sender. Way better than UPS, Fedex etc who seems to be completely unable to ring the door bell or who just skips delivery completely if they're busy. Of course, they are not too busy to tell the system that the customer were not home at the time.

rb2k_ 15y ago

There is a nice talk about the security of the packstation card. http://vimeo.com/26025789 http://vimeo.com/26025789 (audio german, slides english)