Hacker News Reader

Comment by saulr | Hacker News Reader

Always found this problem quite interesting. In the UK, parcels are rarely if ever left on the porch. If you aren't in there's a few options: a) they deliver it to a neighbour and post a card through your door saying "it's been left at number X"; b) they leave it in a safe space (typically throw it over your garden fence); or c) return it to the delivery office for you to specify when to redeliver or pick it up yourself.

Can anyone shed any light as to why (a) doesn't seem to be used in the US?

View on HN

Most people don't know who their neighbours are, never mind trusting them with their packages.

Just knock on their door and say hello ;) But we take in parcels for our neighbours and they do the same for us. If the postman leaves a notes saying it's at no. X, if we turned up at no. X and ask for it - what could they say? "Oh we stole it" it makes no sense. Plus I live next door to them, who would fuck with their neighbours? There are easier ways to steal stuff.

We take parcels in for people we don't know (UK). Why do you need to know them?

Yes parcels sometimes go missing (suspected stolen) but delivery drivers have a pretty good idea where not to leave packages if they care.

Same here in germany. If the neighbor accepts the package, the parcel service notes his/her name on the receipt, so the responsibility has been handed to the neighbor.

If the neighbor "looses" the package, the loss can be enforced against him.

One alternative is to allow the parcel service to put the parcel in a safe space (e.g. throw it over the fence ;). Only if you allow the parcel service to do that, they will do it, because only then they are not responsibly for what happens to the package once they've put it in the "safe space".

The best invention in parcel servicing over the last few years are so called Packstationen (package stations), big cupboards with large lockable compartments. The parcel service places the packages there, sends you a text with a mobile TAN, you get the package from there whenever you have time (within the next 2 weeks or so, then it's being sent back). They are placed all over larger towns.

An easy way to think about this (for me at least) would be to think in terms of transferring liability to another party.

Who's responsible for the package/order when the package gets left with the neighbor? Would the liability/loss transfer to the customer if the package goes missing when the neighbor supposedly has/had it?

If you're a seller on Amazon/eBay and shipped the package yourself, the liability of the total value of the package is with the seller, unless you purchase insurance or signature tracking information.

For packages 13+ ounces (0.36+ kg), USPS automatically provides insurance up to $50 when sending packages Priority Mail (w/restrictions): http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/609.htm

a. People don't know/trust their neighbors enough for that. In fact, in a lot of places it'd be safer just to leave it on the porch.

b. If someone threw a package over my fence and risked breaking it I'd be pretty pissed.

c. They do that sometimes but in my opinion I'd rather risk having it stolen than have to go to the post office, it's a huge hassle and there's always a line.

The not delivered slip has that option, but ive never had it used, but c) is often used. In suburbs theres really not much problem just leaving it by the door, in the city theres not really a clear neighbor. also, nobody else is home during the day, and if youre a delivery driver its probably better for your schedule to not deliver it than go searching for someone.

c) doesn't work, because the companies don't want to carry the costs associated with it.

If you've ever been to a customer service center (or whatever they call them) at UPS or FedEx, you'll know what I'm talking about. Long lines for the single desk manned by someone who clearly does not want to be doing that job and shows it by every interaction with customers.

Also the important point is that the people who the packages are delivered to aren't the customers. The companies that ship the packages are. So unsurprisingly the carriers don't really give all that much of a shit about how you feel about their service. Unless a really egregious customer service failure goes viral for some reason.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com