5 ms·

I am not going to repeat the existing comments, instead I will point out something obvious. Parcel lockers are only really good for small and light items. The

I am not going to repeat the existing comments, instead I will point out something obvious. Parcel lockers are only really good for small and light items. The moment you get into heavy or bulky or both then parcel lockers are a waste of time. Who wants to go to a parcel locker and haul a 16kg package back home ? Or if you have multiple deliveries, who wants to go to a parcel locker and haul 10 boxes home ? I think this new Japanese "follow-me" system is genuinely a much better idea. Parcel lockers are yesteday's technology in comparison.

marcosdumay 1y ago
How does the "follow-me" solve heavy delivery? Heavy deliveries will always be a problem. It existing doesn't invalidate usefulness of things that solve light delivery.
- devilbunny 1y ago
  Really heavy deliveries will be. A system that lets you specify a certain weight cutoff for location to deliver might be useful, but even then sheer quantities can be an issue. I get anything valuable coming from a major delivery service (DHL, FedEx, UPS, US Postal Service) sent to my office. They're already stopping there (it's a hospital with plenty of doctors' offices in their attached tower, lots of stuff is delivered daily), someone can sign for it and lock it up. I have a key to get into my office whenever I need to, and if it's during the day I can borrow a cart or a dolly/hand truck to take it to my car. Can usually rustle up a spare cart even in the off hours. Done it for almost 20 years. If it's a TV or something else large (appliances, furniture, etc.), it's going to be a custom delivery anyway, so I'll pick a time that I know I'll be home.
KronisLV 1y ago
> Parcel lockers are yesteday's technology in comparison. They're still wonderful for small deliveries, which are maybe 95% of everything I order. You can even redirect them or reschedule them easily, since a lot of it is based on web based systems that you can access with the code they send you and additional verification. I actually had my computer case ship to a pickup point instead of a locker near me, so I could just go there when I had free time after work and haul it back to my apartment in the city (was like a 10-15 minute walk). It ended up being cheaper than getting it delivered to my door and was functionally identical to a package locker, just with a person verifying the code and giving me the larger item. It seems like some of those locations are in convenience stores, others in gas stations over here, a bit more relaxed than traditional delivery, for which I have to be present at a time I don't know exactly. For the big items (such as a ladder, or a lawnmower or something for the countryside, or new fridge or stove for the apartment), there is still courier delivery, which brings it to your door, or can help you carry it upstairs if needed, though obviously more expensive and not worth it for anything but the bigger items. I think all of those methods compliment each other nicely. No reason to scoff at one method if it helps others be more efficient: split up the load, less awkward logistics of the courier needing to talk with each individual recipient to make sure they'll be there in like 15 minutes after the call, but instead being able to take a lot of the less expensive small packages and just put them in the locker and letting the people sort the rest out themselves, handling a bunch of those packages in one go. I even shipped my old GPU to some friends across the EU with DPD and the process was similarly simple - I just prepped the order online, put the info sheet on the package and put it in the package machine. They received the GPU a few days later. Fewer queues than a postal office.
szszrk 1y ago
I do. I do that all the time. So does my wife. Especially if she has a baby stroller to use. Or we just pull by the locker on our way somewhere, it takes just 2 minutes. So do our neighbors who do the same. That's how I buy all my house chemicals, electronics, diapers. That's how I got a bulky coffee machine as well. Multilockers are great too. Wife does a lot of tiny clothes transactions (both buy and sell), so it's great to have 4-5 things in one locker, picked up instantly. All is in an app, but can be a text message as well. It's insane how big that revolution is. My elderly mom confirms. I can't possibly imagine that someone would actually say it's not convenient after seeing how it actually works. The only failure I see here is that it would be hard in a high crime rate areas. That is something technology can't really change easily.

marcosdumay 1y ago

How does the "follow-me" solve heavy delivery? Heavy deliveries will always be a problem. It existing doesn't invalidate usefulness of things that solve light delivery.

devilbunny 1y ago
Really heavy deliveries will be. A system that lets you specify a certain weight cutoff for location to deliver might be useful, but even then sheer quantities can be an issue. I get anything valuable coming from a major delivery service (DHL, FedEx, UPS, US Postal Service) sent to my office. They're already stopping there (it's a hospital with plenty of doctors' offices in their attached tower, lots of stuff is delivered daily), someone can sign for it and lock it up. I have a key to get into my office whenever I need to, and if it's during the day I can borrow a cart or a dolly/hand truck to take it to my car. Can usually rustle up a spare cart even in the off hours. Done it for almost 20 years. If it's a TV or something else large (appliances, furniture, etc.), it's going to be a custom delivery anyway, so I'll pick a time that I know I'll be home.

KronisLV 1y ago

> Parcel lockers are yesteday's technology in comparison. They're still wonderful for small deliveries, which are maybe 95% of everything I order. You can even redirect them or reschedule them easily, since a lot of it is based on web based systems that you can access with the code they send you and additional verification. I actually had my computer case ship to a pickup point instead of a locker near me, so I could just go there when I had free time after work and haul it back to my apartment in the city (was like a 10-15 minute walk). It ended up being cheaper than getting it delivered to my door and was functionally identical to a package locker, just with a person verifying the code and giving me the larger item. It seems like some of those locations are in convenience stores, others in gas stations over here, a bit more relaxed than traditional delivery, for which I have to be present at a time I don't know exactly. For the big items (such as a ladder, or a lawnmower or something for the countryside, or new fridge or stove for the apartment), there is still courier delivery, which brings it to your door, or can help you carry it upstairs if needed, though obviously more expensive and not worth it for anything but the bigger items. I think all of those methods compliment each other nicely. No reason to scoff at one method if it helps others be more efficient: split up the load, less awkward logistics of the courier needing to talk with each individual recipient to make sure they'll be there in like 15 minutes after the call, but instead being able to take a lot of the less expensive small packages and just put them in the locker and letting the people sort the rest out themselves, handling a bunch of those packages in one go. I even shipped my old GPU to some friends across the EU with DPD and the process was similarly simple - I just prepped the order online, put the info sheet on the package and put it in the package machine. They received the GPU a few days later. Fewer queues than a postal office.

szszrk 1y ago

I do. I do that all the time. So does my wife. Especially if she has a baby stroller to use. Or we just pull by the locker on our way somewhere, it takes just 2 minutes. So do our neighbors who do the same. That's how I buy all my house chemicals, electronics, diapers. That's how I got a bulky coffee machine as well. Multilockers are great too. Wife does a lot of tiny clothes transactions (both buy and sell), so it's great to have 4-5 things in one locker, picked up instantly. All is in an app, but can be a text message as well. It's insane how big that revolution is. My elderly mom confirms. I can't possibly imagine that someone would actually say it's not convenient after seeing how it actually works. The only failure I see here is that it would be hard in a high crime rate areas. That is something technology can't really change easily.