Rural porch pirates: ideas?

[jmc]

I'd like to minimize delivery trucks on my 5/8 mile, soft-when-wet lane. Thinking about mounting a job box or similar down by the road and train the drivers to lock packages in it instead of racing up to the house as fast as the potholes will allow them to drive. Seems like they would cooperate since deliveries/day is one of their metrics, and it's 2 minutes drive time each way. Anybody tried this or see any problems?

BTW, Consumer Reports reviewed plastic drop boxes targeted at more urban areas and mentioned urban theft is 16% vs 8% rural theft. (A plastic box at my place would just be a beacon.)

 

[ericm979]

We have a box by the gate. Half the time the package is on the ground near the box. The delivery companies put drivers on a super aggressive schedule, so they are in a hurry. It doesn't matter that we saved them time. Drivers have told us that their delivery companies GPS track them and want them to take the package to the house.

 

[bunyip]

We don't get deliveries except on large items that need mechanical assistance to unload, the post office have lockers with 24hr access and when there is a parcel they SMS 6 digit code which I have to enter followed by my mobile number, soon as this is done the box springs open, you never know which one it will be and there are a variety of sizes depending upon the size of the parcel, anything from a padded A4 bag to 24 bottles of wine.
A free service and allows me to pick up when it suits me.

 

[Rob41]

I'm sure some people do something like that with good results. Like you said, it could be a beacon as well particularly if nobody has line of sight on the box.

At my rural home, I have about a 200' paved driveway. Some carriers put items in the garage (yay), some set the packages at the garage service door, and others walk up on the front porch and place items next to the front door. Getting all your carriers to get on the same page might be a challenge.

Is it at all possible for your packages to get delivered to a trusted neighbor? Good luck, I hope you end up with a solution that works for you.

 

[Rebeldad1]

how about putting your box a couple hundred feet up your driveway. would be away from the road. could also put a couple working or dummy game cameras on posts near the entrance to make the thieves aware someone is watching

 

[Midniteoyl]

Put a decorative shed ~100ft up the drive and have the packages dropped off there..? Would need to provide a turn around as well.

 

[Diggin It]

For the potential money and risk involved, would it be better to have gravel laid once every year or two?

 

[jaydee325]

How close are you to a post office, UPS store, or Fed Ex store/drop point (one is at my local Walgreens.)

You can then set it up to have your packages dropped in those related locations.

For example, I've done the free sign up for UPS that allows me several perks. One of them is instead of dropping your packages at your home, they will deliver to the UPS store/drop point where you can pick up.

 

[Midniteoyl]

How close are you to a post office, UPS store, or Fed Ex store/drop point (one is at my local Walgreens.)

You can then set it up to have your packages dropped in those related locations.

For example, I've done the free sign up for UPS that allows me several perks. One of them is instead of dropping your packages at your home, they will deliver to the UPS store/drop point where you can pick up.

This is a good idea. I know I have several places for both FED Ex and UPS in town.

 

[seville009]

I rent a mail box at the local ups store and have all my deliveries shipped there. Works out pretty well.

as described by jaydee325 above, some shippers also have drop off locations; Amazon has "lockers" at various locations.