Battling the E-comm Porch Pirates

Battling the E-comm Porch Pirates | LoadProof

Sad to say, the e-commerce sea is besieged by porch pirates…that are trying to make sure that the electronic gadgets, tools, and equipment that consumers order never make it to home port. I have been robbed by these rascals even here.

We are located in a multi-tenant building and our shipments get lost and delayed. And we are not alone. Part of the mix is a new level of thieves dubbed porch pirates, who some amateur sleuths have even caught red-handed on camera.

Image by 849356 from Pixabay

These modern-day pirates look for boxes, hopefully filled with expensive electronics or other items, to steal from people’s porches. E-tailers are doing their best to respond. Amazon has introduced the Amazon Photo on Delivery, in which a photo may be taken of an item sitting in the porch after it is delivered. The photo shows up if you track your order. UPS and the United States Post Office haven’t started doing this yet, but it will come.

Many people have attempted to solve this problem. One Atlanta entrepreneur has come up with a lock called BoxLock. The idea is that the receiving customer puts the tracking number of the expected package into the lock and then the delivery person scans the box which then opens it so the shipment can be locked inside. A house master key allows you to open the box when you get home. It’s a good idea, but I think it still has some kinks to be worked out. First, the lock is battery powered so it needs to be charged and might run out of power. The other reality is that the porch pirate probably could steal the entire box (although it would make it less inviting). Perhaps the box should have a wall mount.

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