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This strikes me as a bizarre idea, to be honest - I can't imagine many being comfortable with this, particularly in Germany, which is a pretty privacy-conscious

This strikes me as a bizarre idea, to be honest - I can't imagine many being comfortable with this, particularly in Germany, which is a pretty privacy-conscious nation. Reading the title, I thought they might be doing something genuinely interesting, by subsidising the cost of the car so long as you have a space in it which Amazon had access to which can be used for ferrying goods from X to Y based on your normal travel patterns. i.e. using personal vehicles as deadhead capacity, effectively. Edit: Further thought. What if they're about to deliver to your car, having found it from the GPS beacon, and you decide to drive somewhere. Are they going to chase you down the autobahn, waving frantically at you?! How will they manage delivery schedules? I can't help but think that this is a logistics nightmare. Edit: Further further thought. What if they can't fit it in your trunk? What if you park backed up to a wall?

thesimon 12y ago
>Edit: Further further thought. What if they can't fit it in your trunk? What if you park backed up to a wall? You'll probably get an email/text and would be able to pick it up at a nearby DHL store. Probably the same as if they are not able to deliver a package to your home.
- bentcorner 12y ago
  Plus you know they're going to deliver something, so you end up parking thinking "the DHL person is going to drop off a box in my trunk, let's make space in the trunk and park in an easily visible area."
stephengillie 12y ago
It's not too far from having similar to a mobile Locker service. What if you didn't have a key to your trunk, but Amazon paid you $50 a month (or a more appropriate value)? They could have a delivery carrier put goods into your trunk before you left for work, and retrieve the goods while you were busy working. In some ways, it's also like international drug running - identify users that work in the USA and live in Canada, break into their cars, and leave illegal materials there. Then your counterpart will break into their cars while they're working, and retrieve the illegal materials. You're exactly right that "incidental driving" would be a complicating exception. But I cling to the delusional belief that all exceptions can be handled. :)
- weaksauce 12y ago
  I imagine they'd assume the exceptions are a low percentage and abort if the car starts up. Either retrying again later or retrying again the next day with a conventional carrier.
mikeash 12y ago
I don't see the problem with your proposed scenarios. They're ultimately equivalent to ordering a package to your house, and "what if you're not home?" The answer is, you don't get your delivery that day. Trunk fit can easily be checked in advance, too. They know the dimensions of your trunk and the dimensions of the package, and all they have to do is check the two and only allow this service if the one is smaller than the other.
BurningFrog 12y ago
Handling that the package couldn't be delivered is a well established technology. They would still leave a note on your door, just like now. The point of this scheme is to make that happen less, and also that people don't have to stay home waiting for the truck to come by as much.
thetrb 12y ago
I think the main benefit is that they could easily do night-time delivery with this. Usually people have their cars parked at home during the night and they don't have to wake you when they just leave the package in your trunk.

thesimon 12y ago

>Edit: Further further thought. What if they can't fit it in your trunk? What if you park backed up to a wall? You'll probably get an email/text and would be able to pick it up at a nearby DHL store. Probably the same as if they are not able to deliver a package to your home.

bentcorner 12y ago
Plus you know they're going to deliver something, so you end up parking thinking "the DHL person is going to drop off a box in my trunk, let's make space in the trunk and park in an easily visible area."

stephengillie 12y ago

It's not too far from having similar to a mobile Locker service. What if you didn't have a key to your trunk, but Amazon paid you $50 a month (or a more appropriate value)? They could have a delivery carrier put goods into your trunk before you left for work, and retrieve the goods while you were busy working. In some ways, it's also like international drug running - identify users that work in the USA and live in Canada, break into their cars, and leave illegal materials there. Then your counterpart will break into their cars while they're working, and retrieve the illegal materials. You're exactly right that "incidental driving" would be a complicating exception. But I cling to the delusional belief that all exceptions can be handled. :)

weaksauce 12y ago
I imagine they'd assume the exceptions are a low percentage and abort if the car starts up. Either retrying again later or retrying again the next day with a conventional carrier.

mikeash 12y ago

I don't see the problem with your proposed scenarios. They're ultimately equivalent to ordering a package to your house, and "what if you're not home?" The answer is, you don't get your delivery that day. Trunk fit can easily be checked in advance, too. They know the dimensions of your trunk and the dimensions of the package, and all they have to do is check the two and only allow this service if the one is smaller than the other.

BurningFrog 12y ago

Handling that the package couldn't be delivered is a well established technology. They would still leave a note on your door, just like now. The point of this scheme is to make that happen less, and also that people don't have to stay home waiting for the truck to come by as much.

thetrb 12y ago

I think the main benefit is that they could easily do night-time delivery with this. Usually people have their cars parked at home during the night and they don't have to wake you when they just leave the package in your trunk.