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Comment by nightski | Hacker News Reader

Wow that looks like an example of over engineering if I have ever seen one. USPS has been using a simple key system for ages.

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This allows oversubscription. With keys everyone needs their own box large enough to hold any parcel they might receive (recall that Amazon sells bass guitars and jumbo packs of toilet paper)

My old apartment had a system with keys. If you got a package they would lock it in the package mailbox and leave the key in your personal mailbox.

I think that is what above comment is referring to. It is nice having a notification, so don't believe its over engineering.

Again, that's only accessible to USPS and requires a locking box per resident (your mailbox).

Every apartment I have lived has a mailbox. Not only accessible to USPS, anyone can use it.

That is a commonly held falsehood. It is against the law for anything other than postage-paid US mail to be placed in a mailbox.

https://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/tx/2010/tx_2010_0...

I rented a PO Box for years. They have big parcel lockers and the the key in your box, once you open the parcel box, you cannot remove the key.

Yes, except only USPS can deliver to the key boxes installed on my property currently.

I understand they can't use the same boxes. I just meant that Amazon's system with a built in computer terminal seems excessively complicated, expensive, and error prone.

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