Amazon wants to deliver packages inside your home, not outside

Possibly pairing with Amazon’s fleet of white delivery vans in metropolitan areas, the online retailer is currently beta testing package delivery that’s left inside your home or garage. Running a test in Seattle, Amazon is linking up with August (smart lock company) and Garageio (smart garage door company) to make this happen.

This is likely how it works: When you place an order that’s eligible for Amazon white van delivery, you would have to option to check a box for in-home delivery. The courier of your order would be issued a one-time access code that would work with an August smart lock or a Garageio smart garage door opener.

Via the smartphone app, the delivery driver would open your front door or garage door to leave the package, then close / lock the door when leaving. This feature is becoming relatively common for smart locks. August rolled it out during 2015, basically allowing people that visit your home, like dogwalkers or cleaners, to access your home without you having to be there.

Conceptually, this could be a savings for Amazon as they wouldn’t have to pay for that familiar brown box that gets left at your front door. Whatever you order could be delivered packaging free, since there’s no need to hide it. Hypothetically, Amazon could release their own set of smart devices that accomplish this as well, all with voice assistant Alexa communicating with your delivery driver.

Of course, this creates a glaring security issue for homeowners. Do you really want to give a stranger access to your front door or even to your garage? Let us know in the comments below.

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3 Comments

1. 

   H LAND

   October 4, 2016 at 12:34 pm

   …never.

   As a Prime member, why not issue/deliver/make available a “locker” or “secure bin” for a fee that is rebated incrementally by each order placed? If the locker costs 100.00USD for Prime members and is reduced 5.00USD per order to help “reduce costs for Amazon, then after 20 orders the locker still belongs to Amazon, but the savings has now offset the initial costs for both parties. Amazon can continue to save money and use those “saved funds” (if necessary) to replace damaged units.
   Or design a “delivery app” to work with Echo. A delivery code is issued to your account and when a delivery attempt is made Echo can confirm your order and remotely unlock your Amazon issued storage locker.

   Reply
2. 

   JACK BRONNER

   October 1, 2016 at 10:59 am

   WHY NOT HAVE AMAZON MAIL BOXES AT EACH HOME?

   Reply
3. 

   Test

   September 30, 2016 at 3:52 pm

   I doubt the shipping box is as expensive as the additional cost of insuring delivery personnel allowed access inside of homes, plus the slight additional time needed to do this instead of just tossing it on the front porch which could mean more delivery personnel are needed.

   Another issue increasing cost might be failed delivery attempts due to people who forget that in order for the smart lock to work, they have to remember to program in the one time use code, and can’t leave their 2nd lock, locked.

   The August lock is meant only for deadbolts, wouldn’t be good as a knob or lever lock replacement on single lock doors. Of course you could replace the other lock with a lockless version but I doubt a lot of people are going to do it, and will continue locking that 2nd lock out of habit.

   Reply