Nothing like winter-weather-induced cabin fever to get your home decorating juices flowing. Spurred on by your utter contempt for everything you currently own, these inexpensive living room decorating tips will keep both your local donation center and bank account happy. Once you’ve charitably pilfered your goods away, keep reading to shop for some creative albeit budget-friendly decoration upgrades.

Carry About Vase

Toss your grandmothers keepsakes that you never wanted anyway. Replace them with these Carry Around Vases, sold as one but worth buying a couple extra. Adding height and reflective surfaces to your living room is a quick and simple way to open up the room.  These will do wonders for your coffee table or curio cabinets. Pop in a trio of wild flowers or start a miniature succulent garden to capitalize on their airy, clean appearance.

Check Prices on All Modern

Olivia + Poppy Simoney Peonies Floral and Botanical Peel and Stick Wallpaper Roll

It’s not for commitment phobes, wallpaper that is. So this gorgeous Olivia + Poppy peel + stick is a great starter version for those interested in upgrading their living room without the responsibility or expense. This type of inexpensive decoration works for dorm rooms, apartments, rentals, and small spaces. With a super sharp pair of scissors and a couple extra ounces of patience, a steady hand and weekend are all you need to master this temporary, impactful upgrade.

Check Prices on Perigold

Tucson Console Table

High on stuff but low on funds? This Tucson Console Table slides behind your sofa and gives your Roku remote, library book, Kindle, cell phone, tablet, wine glass, and growler a resting place for the evening while you Netflix and chill without the clutter. For less than the cost of a night out on the town, this gives you just one more excuse to stay in. #treatyoself

Check Prices on Target

Sunnydaze Decor Zen Ventless Bio Ethanol Tabletop Fireplace

If your recent outdoor Tinder date went as well as you expected, there’s a chance your going to want to bring them over for a glass of wine by the fireplace. But as luck would have it, your condo didn’t come with a fireplace. Or washer and dryer, but that’s another issue entirely. This sweet little tabletop fireplace brings some zen to your den on the cheap, firing up the night in a safe but affordable kind of way.

Check Hayneedle for Prices

BelleBotanica Watercolor Herbs Print Set No. 1

There is something so elegant and ethereal about this print set from BelleBotanica. It’s simple. It’s clean. It’s quick. Pick up some 5×7 inch frames from Hobby Lobby on the super cheap to square out your new art gallery. Bonus points to the weekend warrior that also plants some of these varietals on their back porch for a true upgrade.

Check Prices on Etsy

Litex Brushed Nickel Mesh Min Pendant Shade

Here’s a bright idea! Replace all the lamp shades on the pendant lights suspended from the ceiling above the coffee table in your living room! This inexpensive upgrade will make the whole room shine in a brand new way! The brushed nickel mesh also helps to give your living space a more masculine feel, which works well in conjunction with the more flowerly items seen earlier in this post.

Check Prices on Bed, Bath, & Beyond

6 Inexpensive Items to Upgrade Your Living Room this Weekend

It seems like the school year starts sooner every year. With tax holidays, sales flyers and special promotions to keep track of, it’s tough to make sure you’re saving money when filling up your shopping basket with back-to-school clothes, electronics and more. Be sure to check out the main Ben’s Bargains deal feed updated multiple times daily with the latest back-to-school deals for the new school year.

With nearly two decades of experience under our belt, we have seen countless back-to-school sales and promotions. In order to give you an accurate forecast on when you will be able to get the best deals on back-to-school shopping, we compiled historical data on all back-to-school sales and deals.

Specifically, we looked at the popularity of each deal within our community, the volume of deals within a product category and the average price of those deals. On a monthly basis, our data set included between 4,100 to 4,400 deals. That’s approximately 17,000 deals over the four-month period between July and October.

While we have provided a handy guide below to help figure out when to start shopping for  back-to-school products, here are a few of the highlights:

1. When shopping for back-to-school clothing and shoes, there’s no better month than August. Specifically, prices of apparel deals are about 18 percent lower than September and October. Shoes are discounted at an even larger margin, approximately 30 percent cheaper than waiting until September or October.

2. If you can wait until early October to purchase a new laptop for your student, you will end up saving nearly 10 percent over prices in July and August. Obviously, waiting until the Black Friday shopping period would offer even greater savings, but your student would be without a laptop until the end of November. Keep an eye on Amazon, Newegg, Dell, HP and Lenovo for the best deals.

3. Mid to late September is the best time to purchase mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and eReaders. Many manufacturers introduce new models prior to the fourth quarter, thus previous generation models are heavily discounted. Smartphones are a particularly good buy during September at Best Buy and Amazon, about 15 percent less than other back-to-school shopping months.

4. If you’re outfitting a dorm room or college apartment with home theater gear like televisions, headphones, media players or speakers, September is your best best. However, if you need furniture, kitchen appliances or tools for that first place away from home, it’s best to wait until October in order to save the most money. Of course, your college student will have to get by on cheap Craigslist couches and a handheld can opener until then.

Ben’s Bargains Back-to-School Shopping Guide

(Click to expand)

6 More Back-to-School Shopping Tips

1. Take an inventory of what you already have. There’s no reason to purchase a duplicate of something that you purchased last year, as long as it’s still useful. For example, with computers, look to upgrade your current hardware over purchasing an entirely new laptop or desktop computer. Simply adding an SSD hard drive or more RAM can significantly boost the performance of your computer without breaking the bank. Simple tutorials for both upgrades can be found on YouTube.

Regarding basic school supplies, set up a central location within the home to collect and store all supplies. This will help you see what you have and restock as the school year progresses. Watch for major back-to-school sales at Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples during the first half of August.

2. Figure out what you shouldn’t buy. Put yourself in the shoes of your student. Do they really need a printer or can they print off their assignments in a computer lab? Do they really need a USB flash drive or can they simply use a service like Dropbox to share data between computers? Are the majority of school assignments going to be submitted digitally? If so, reduce the portion of your budget dedicated to office supplies.

3. Don’t pay sales tax if you don’t have to. Be sure to check out the list of 2018 sales tax holidays to see if your state participates. While mostly offered in Southern states, some states offer huge savings for families. For instance, South Carolina has no cap on back-to-school purchases that qualify for the no sales tax benefit.

4. Team up with other families for bulk purchases. Reach out to other families within your school’s community and talk about purchasing school supplies in bulk. Many times, warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco will offer great deals, but the quantity is too big for the traditional family. Joining forces with another family can cut down the cost even more and allow you to split up the supplies.

5. College students should investigate textbook rentals. Textbook rentals are extremely helpful in order to avoid insane textbook prices at the college bookstore. While the go-to retailer is Amazon for physical textbook rentals, be sure to check out the Google Play store if your student has an Android device and wants to rent a digital textbook. Chegg is also an option.

6. For big ticket items, set up a deal alert. If you are shopping for something expensive like a laptop, let us do the work for you with a deal alert and send you an email notification when something hits your price point. With the 17,000+ deals we publish during the back-to-school period, we can definitely help you save money this year. You can also take a quick look at the main Ben’s Bargains deal feed to see the best deals on any given day.

The Best Time to Find Amazing Back-To-School Deals

Possibly planning ahead for another surprise October Prime Day (like during 2020), Target has announced a pre-November, Black Friday-style event that will kick off the retailer’s push into the holiday shopping season. Deals will be available on the store’s website, on the app and within physical Target locations.

As of publication, Target hasn’t released a significant number of details on what will be on sale during the Deal Days even beyond mentioning categories like TVs, video games, kitchen appliances and vacuums. There’s no cost to participate in Deal Days as it does not require a membership like Amazon & Prime Day.

October 10 is also the kick-off date for Target’s, limited-time, price matching event. Any Target purchases made between October 10 and December 24 can receive a price adjustment if Target offers a lower price later in the holiday season. In addition, Target offers competitor price matching for 14 days after the date of purchase.

Saving even more on Target Deal Days

As always, we advise setting up your Target account prior to Deal Days to make sure you have quick access to checkout options, in the case of hot, limited inventory deals.

• If you have a RedCard, you can receive an additional 5% off your Target purchases. In addition, there’s frequently a deal that offers a bonus $40 to $50 gift card for signing up for a card. (For example)
• If you have a Discover IT card, you can sign up for an additional 5% cashback from Target during Q4. In addition, that card offers 5% cashback on Amazon and Walmart.com.
• Be sure to check Target Circle and look for additional 10% coupons that bring the overall cost down even further. These coupons are usually targeted at specific accounts.
• Look for deals that offer additional gift cards as a bonus for purchasing. Target frequently uses this tactic during Black Friday in order to entice customers away from competitors like Walmart and Best Buy.

Target schedules “Deal Days” event during October 10 – 12, 2021

Starting last year, Amazon has continued to offer a bonus credit when trading in an old Amazon device (or related devices from other brands).

Amazon is offering the largest discount on Echo devices, specifically 25% off on the purchase of a new Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show. In order to qualify for the discount, you have to trade-in older Echo devices.

For instance, a 1st generation Amazon Echo in good condition will get you $25 back in a digital gift card as well as a 25% off coupon on a new Echo device. You could go from 1st generation to 4th generation for roughly $50, which is half the cost of the 4th gen Echo speaker.

You could also pursue a large discount by trading in a third gen, Echo Dot for $5 (ideal for anyone that took advantage of the Echo Dot for $9 deal last year) and use that 25% off discount to get $62 off the new Echo Show 10.

Beyond 25% off on new Echo devices, Amazon is offering 20% bonus discounts for trade-ins across a barrage of categories:

• 20% off Fire TV with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Kindle with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Fire Tablets with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Ring security with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Eero Wi-fi Mesh with trade-in: LINK

Regarding trade-in value, Echo devices appear to offer some of the better trade-in values while Fire TV devices off the worst. But if you were planning on upgrading anyway, it’s going to be worth it for the additional discount.

Two things to keep in mind to save even more money:

1. The % off discount is automatically applied in your cart when you purchase the new device through midnight on November 30, 2021. That means the discount will be available during Prime Day as well as Black Friday & Cyber Monday. You may save even more money by waiting for additional sales on your new device.
2. Watch for bonus % back offers on the Amazon Prime Visa card. The base is 5% back, but Amazon likes to offer additional discounts on Amazon devices during Q4. Potentially, you could save up to another 20% by using that specific credit card during checkout.

Want to pay less for a new Amazon Echo? Get an extra 25% off with a trade-in.

If you are interested in snagging Prime Day deals (or deals at all the other competing sales), here’s a guide that will help you be online at the right times.

Already Active: Best Buy

Best Buy has been relatively quiet this year. Last year, Best Buy announced a competing sale one week before Prime Day. This year, radio silence. On Sunday, they launched “The Bigger Deal Savings Event” which is expected to run through the end of Prime Day on June 22.

Our assumption is that more impressive deals will roll out from Best Buy as we get closer to Prime Day, likely on Sunday. We will be listing all the best deals in the Best Buy specific feed.

Live on June 20: Target

Starting on Sunday June 20 and running through Tuesday June 22, Target will continue their trend of competing with Prime Day sales with a digital sale event. Target will be pushing out sales on electronics, home items, essentials, toys and more. 

Unlike Prime Day deals, there’s no membership required to access the discounted pricing. Target is also offering the ability to visit a Target store to pick up your purchase, assuming you prefer to get it immediately rather than wait for a delivery.

As of publication, Target hasn’t announced what specific items will be on sale. It’s possible Target will release that information as we get closer to the launch of the sale. You will be able to find all the best Target deals in our Target-specific store feed here.

Live at 7 p.m. ET on June 20: Walmart

Starting on Sunday June 20 (at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT) and running through Tuesday June 23, Walmart is calling their sale “Deals for Days”. Walmart is claiming to offer “Black Friday savings” on categories like electronics, home, toys, beauty, and fashion. This will include online only deals as well as specific in-store savings.

Some of the announced sales include a 40″ Hisense Roku LED TV for $178, a Straight Talk A32 5G Phone for $199, a Pioneer Woman 14-pc. Forged Cutlery Knife Block Set for $40 and a HP 11.6” Chromebook 4GB RAM for $159. There will also be apparel discounts on Reebok, Champion, Skechers, Levi’s, and Michael Kors products ranging from 20% to 70%.

Of course, you can find all the best sales here in our Walmart-specific deal feed.

Live at 12 a.m. PT June 21: Amazon, Newegg & Kohl’s

There have been a handful of early deals released by Amazon already. Here’s a link detailing all the sales:

• Early Prime Day Offers at Amazon
• Amazon Prime Select Streaming Channels for $0.99
• $10 Prime Day Shopping Credit w/ Select Purchases $10+

When the sale kicks off, you will find all deals listed on the main Amazon Prime Day page. In addition, we will be featuring the best deals and discounts in our Amazon-specific feed.

Calling this promotion the Fantastech Sale, Newegg currently has a presale going that will end at when the Fantastech Sale starts. There’s zero information on the deals Newegg will be offering during the main Fantastech Sale, but you will be able to see the absolute best offers in our Newegg-specific deal feed.

Kohl’s is calling their sale the WOW Deals event. Their customers will earn $10 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent on purchases, potentially offering better deals than Amazon if there’s significant pricematching.

Some of the early announced deals include the Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell for $150 (with $30 in Kohl’s Cash), the Shark ION Wi-Fi Connected Robotic Vacuum for $200 (with $30 Kohl’s Cash), and the  PowerXL Vortex 10-qt Air Fryer Pro for $100 (with $10 Kohl’s Cash). You will be able to see the best offers in our Kohl’s specific deal feed.

Here are the times when Prime Day 2021 & other competing sales start

Starting on Sunday June 20 and running through Tuesday June 22, Target will continue their trend of competing with Prime Day sales with a digital sale event. Target will be pushing out sales on electronics, home items, essentials, toys and more. This is timed to overlap with Amazon Prime Day (June 21 – 22).

Unlike Prime Day deals, there’s no membership required to access the discounted pricing. Target is also offering the ability to visit a Target store to pick up your purchase, assuming you prefer to get it immediately rather than wait for a delivery.

Prior to the sale, Target will be offering a 5% discount on all digital gift card purchases between June 16 and 19. Presumably, this will stack with the RedCard’s 5% cashback offer as well. For example, if you purchase a $100 Target gift card, you will be charged $95. RedCard will give you 5% back on the $95 ($4.75), which results in an overall discount of 9.75%.

As of publication, Target hasn’t announced what specific items will be on sale. It’s possible Target will release that information as we get closer to the launch of the sale. Look for the sale to go live at 12 a.m. PT on Sunday, June 20. It’s possible that Amazon will push to match those discounts when Prime Day launches as well.

You will be able to find all the best Target deals in our Target-specific store feed here.

Target announces digital “Deal Days” sale to compete with Prime Day 2021

Amazon Prime Day kicked into high gear over the last four years bringing a barrage of awesome deals. Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2021.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Originally playing off the Black Friday in July trend utilized by other major retailers, Amazon organizes third party sellers to create a single day of aggressive discounts designed to match sales found on Black Friday. In 2020, Prime Day was delayed from July 2020 to October 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. This year, the company moved the popular sale to June for the first time.

Regarding the requirements for 3rd party sellers, Lighting deals must be at least 20% off and have enough inventory quantity to last six hours. In addition, products must have at least a three star review average to be featured by Amazon.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

Prime Day has been officially announced to start in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, June 21, 2021.  The deals will start on June 21 at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET and run for 48 hours until end of day (PT) on Tuesday, June 22.

How long does Amazon Prime Day last?

Over the past couple years, Prime Day has expanded to 48 total hours, previously running for 36 hours. In addition, Amazon will be include extra deals that roll out during the same month; specifically targeting an early holiday season push after Prime Day ends.

Can anyone access the deals?

No. You have to have a subscription to Amazon Prime to get the sale prices. Of course, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime to access the deals, then cancel before the yearly-subscription fee is charged to your credit card.

What’s going to be on sale?

Amazon has released some limited information on their sale items (found here). Some deals last year included heavily discounted 4K televisions from Toshiba / Insignia, significant discounts on Amazon Echo products, 40% discounts on Amazon clothing brands and discounts on Amazon services like Amazon Music and 50% off Kindle Unlimited.

What about Walmart, Target & Best Buy?

Last year, Walmart announced that a competing “Big Sale” promotion would launch on the Sunday before Prime Day. While Walmart’s sales during the last 4 years have been fairly soft, we did see some decent discounts on lower-end 4K televisions and toys last year. However, that could have been related to Q4, end-of-year promotions.

Target went live at the same time as Amazon last year. Best Buy went live approximately 2 hours before Prime Day started. Interestingly, Best Buy offered automatic price adjustments on anything that went to a lower price prior to Black Friday last year. It’s unlikely this promotion will repeat since Black Friday is months away.

How Does Prime Day Compare to Black Friday?

We found that the majority of Prime Day deals were cheaper, if not matching, the prices that fell on Black Friday. Look for solid deals on Amazon tech, like the Echo and Kindle, as well as solid deals from online competitors like Dell, Newegg and the Microsoft Store. Look for more aggressive back to school discounts on tech as well as discounts on summer-related items.

5 Amazon Prime Day Shopping Tips

• Prep your account in advance!

There’s nothing worse than missing out on an amazing online Lightning Deal because you had to set up new shipping / payment details. If you plan on shopping on Prime Day, visit Amazon a few hours prior to the event and setup any new shipping addresses & payment accounts. There are currently two Amazon credit cards that offer 5% to 20% cashback on all purchases (as well as a gift card deal for new signups, see below).

• Timing is everything!

During Prime Day 2020, the best deals appeared when the event started. But that was the middle of the day during peak traffic hours. This year, Amazon has officially scheduled deals to start at 12 am PT on June 21.

While you can wake up early (or stay up late) to log into your Amazon account 15 minutes early, it’s likely the best deals won’t launch until the East Coast starts to wake up. Last year, we saw a huge rush of amazing deals during the first hour. The quantity of deals slowed down a bit until the following morning, then picked up again throughout Prime Day.

• If something sells out, don’t give up!

Amazon plans on having inventory saved for specific times of the day, especially for products they promote in advance of the sale. The most aggressive deals will usually be released during the peak shopping hours of the day, so check back frequently.

In addition, other retailers will often compete with price drops. Amazon may lower a price on a product and sell out within 15 minutes. However, Target may decide to price match the same product later in the day.

• Watch for Walmart’s pickup discount.

Rolled out first during 2017, Walmart attempted a reverse Amazon Prime model, essentially paying customers to come pick up a purchase by adding an additional discount. Due to the ongoing price war between the two companies, Walmart may attempt to undercut Amazon’s pricing on Prime Day by offering hefty pickup discounts on products listed in Prime Day sales. Alternatively, Amazon is trying to match those discounts at the same time by offering the same discount when opting for slower shipping.

• Product categories to keep an eye on.

During Prime Day 2020, the best deals were heavily focused on technology and comparable to Black Friday prices. Keep an eye on 4K televisions, smartphones, and wearables as well as any devices made by Amazon such as the Echo, Kindle and Fire TV. Apparel is another category to watch, especially shoes. Popular shoe brands like Adidas and New Balance were heavily discounted on Prime Day.

Any other ways to save money on Prime Day?

Yes! Amazon is offering multiple ways to save additional cash on deals, both in the form of cashback and bonus gift cards. Those include:

• 5% + 1% cashback using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card (as well as Whole Foods) In addition, Amazon will be offering a $150 gift card for new signups. There’s also discounts up to 25% on select Prime Day items by using this card.
• Running June 7 – June 20, Amazon customers will be able to earn a $10 credit after spending $10 on specific small business products. In addition, users will receive 10% cashback using a Prime Rewards Visa card.
• Running June 1 – June 20, Prime members will receive a $10 credit when purchasing $40 or more in Amazon gift cards.
• Starting June 1, customers that sign up for Prime using an Echo device will receive a $5 Amazon credit.
• Users that try Prime Wardrobe for the first time will be able to receive a $15 off $100 credit when using the service.
• Prime Gaming users can download a free copy of Battlefield 4 between June 1 and June 20. (Requires Origin to play)
• Amazon is running a Prime Day photo sweepstakes. Customers have to follow (@amazon.photos) on Instagram, turn on post notifications, and comment on the post using the hashtag #sweepstakes each day to receive 1 entry.  Entries run from June 1 to June 20. Details here.
• Anyone signing up for Amazon Music Unlimited for the first time is eligible for 4 months of free service rather than the traditional 1 month of service. The same promotion is running for the Wondery+ podcast service.

Everything You Need to Know About Amazon Prime Day 2021

During the late afternoon on May 10, Amazon removed the vast majority of product listings for electronics accessory companies like Aukey, MPow and Tomtop. This action comes roughly a month before Prime Day, typically quite profitable for Chinese sellers like Aukey.

It’s likely this is due to a system for fake reviews that these companies implemented in order to inflate their position within Amazon’s sales listings. More than 13 million of these types of reviews were uncovered by the folks at SafetyDetective.

To begin, the seller would send a list of products out that they want 5-star reviews on. People participating in the scam would buy the product, leave a five star review, submit the proof of the review to the seller and receive money back for the cost of the product via sites like PayPal. The person writing the fake review would get to keep the product for free.

The massive 7GB of data includes information like email addresses and phone numbers for the sellers as well as personal data for more than 75,000 Amazon “reviewers” who are getting paid for their services. This means Amazon can remove sellers as well as use identifying information to ban the fake reviewers from the system and delete all reviews.

Amazon released a statement about the removal of these brands:

We work hard to build a great experience for our customers and sellers and take action to protect them from those that threaten their experience in our store. We have systems and processes to detect suspicious behavior and we have teams that investigate and take action quickly.

We have long-standing policies to protect the integrity of our store, including product authenticity, genuine reviews, and products meeting the expectations of our customers. We take swift action against those that violate them, including suspending or removing selling privileges. We take this responsibility seriously, monitor our decision accuracy and maintain a high bar.

You can avoid products on Amazon with fake reviews by looking for specific signs. For instance:

• Check the reviewer’s account on Amazon. If they consistently leave a specific type of review, say 5-stars on a specific brand, that’s a fake reviewer. The same advice goes for repeated negative reviews.
• Sort reviews by date and look to see if a large batch arrived within days of each other. It’s highly unlikely that tons of people all decided to submit a review at the same time.
• Check the length of the reviews. If there’s a large volume of high-star, 2 sentence reviews, it’s probably a batch of fake, paid reviews.
• Look for unspecific language. Many of these fake reviews come off as advertisements rather than an actual judgement of the product’s viability.
• Be wary of unknown brands. If you haven’t heard of it and it’s appearing in Amazon’s top search listings, it’s possible the reviews have been inflated to push it up the charts.
• Use the report button. If you think you have spotted a fake review on Amazon, use the report button and refer the review for review by Amazon’s internal teams.

Amazon bans Aukey, Mpow from site for fake, paid reviews

On today’s Q1 earnings call, Amazon management confirmed that the company will shift the traditional Prime Day date from early July to an undetermined date during Q2 2021 (April through June). By moving away from July, Amazon avoids competing with the attention given to families traveling on summer vacations as well as the 2021 summer Olympics (which starts during late July).

Based on earlier rumors, it’s possible that Amazon will hold a second Prime Day during October 2021 in an attempt to replicate the success of 2020 Prime Day (pushed from July to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Of course, that may end up hurting Amazon if a second Prime Day ends up impacting sales during Black Friday in late November.

The official announcement of Prime Day’s exact date typically occurs within two weeks of the actual launch. Expect to see a press release during late May 2021 detailing the exact date and what items will be on sale. You can expect significant discounts on Amazon products such as Echo devices, Fire TV streaming sticks, tablets and Kindles.

Amazon has profited significantly during the COVID pandemic due to a shift from in-store shopping to online shopping. Amazon sales shot up 44% during Q1 2021 ($108.5 billion) and the total number of Amazon Prime subscribers crossed over 200 million. Prime is still priced at $119-per-year and recently turned 10 years old.

Amazon Prime Day is officially scheduled for Q2 2021, likely June.

With more consumers relying on online shopping rather than making numerous trips to retail stores, the number of people scouring neighborhoods looking to steal packages has increased as well.

To help you safeguard your packages, we’ve complied a collection of tips that will make sure thieves miss out on whatever you just ordered; be it a brand new iPhone X or just a four pound bag of delicious Rolos.

Install a Video Doorbell

There are a handful of video doorbell companies out there (August, Next, SkyBell), but the most popular one seems to be Ring. Ring was also purchased by Amazon recently, making them the go-to smart doorbell for anyone that’s invested in Alexa ecosystem.

When purchasing a video doorbell, you want to check stats like field of view (how large the angle is when recording), motion detection, night vision and resolution. Video doorbells allow you to speak to the person outside your home, ideal if you want to make them think you are there (thus scaring them away).

Use a Front Porch Lock-Box

There’s a new product hitting the market called BoxLock Home. It’s basically a padlock with a bar code scanner built-in. The delivery person scans your tracking number using the BoxLock and the lock disengages. They pop your package into a lockbox (size of your choosing) and relock the device.

You get a notification that the package has been delivered. The downside is that the lock has to be continuously recharged, usually once a month depending on use. There’s also no guarantee that the delivery person will take the time to use it since it’s more time consuming than just dropping off the package and walking away.

Stack it on the Package Guard

Another experimental product to potentially safeguard your deliveries is the Package Guard. Roughly the size of a Frisbee, the Package Guard fires off a notification the moment a package is stacked on it. It’s connected to your Wi-Fi and can be securely fastened to your porch.

If a thief removed a package from the device, a loud, piercing 100db alarm will sound unless the package is returned to the pad. Additional packages can be stacked on the pad as well, assuming you have multiple deliveries that day.

Install Front Yard / Front Door Cameras

Some thieves will be dissuaded if they spot cameras while considering taking a stroll up to your front door. There are tons of options, everything from a single bullet cam mounted over your front door to complex 8-camera systems with DVR capabilities recording days of footage.

If your HOA is going to get angry about ugly cameras mounted on your home, consider installing Maximus outdoor lights. Each Maximus light comes with a built in 720p security camera, two way intercom, 100 dB alarm siren, & smart light control via Alexa. It’s not an obvious camera to the thief, but at least you will have security footage to supply to the police.

Use Smart Package Lockers

Similar to just redirecting packages from your home to your work, you can also redirect them to lockers specifically designed to hold your packages (like a P.O. box). If these are convent to your area (check here), you can have your Amazon boxes delivered there at no additional cost.

You will typically find these locker locations at gas stations and convenience stores like 7-Eleven. These lockers are also becoming popular on college campuses, ideal for the student living in a dorm.

Consider using Amazon Key

If you have already had a package stolen, Amazon Key is a new option that lets delivery drivers into your home via smart locks, while being monitored by security cameras. Rather than leaving the package on your porch, the delivery person pops open the front door, drops off the package and leaves. Amazon is also offering another option for leaving deliveries in trunks of compatible smart cars.

Of course, this is an entirely different type of risk; allowing someone you’ve never met inside your home. It’s also not a great idea for any home with pets, as cats will dart out the door to freedom and dogs will chase the delivery person away. Both scenarios in which your pet can become lost in the neighborhood.

Add a Front Yard Security Sign

Even just a sign that states a home is protected by security could scare away pesky package thieves. While there are a ton of options, there aren’t many that light up at night. The Ring security sign uses built-in solar panels to power up during the day and stay lit all night; ideal for scaring away night-time prowlers. It’s also weather resistant.

Switch to Signature Delivery Only

While certainly not convenient if you are away from home quite a bit, companies like UPS and FedEx have let consumers decide if signatures are specifically required at your address. UPS’s My Choice, for instance, lets you choose options for each delivery. Ideal if you want to make sure an expensive package isn’t swiped post-delivery.

Utilize Delivery Notifications

There are plenty of apps that can send a notification to your mobile device when a package is delivered. If you work from home or simply have the flexibility to make a quick trip back to the house, removing the package from the front porch immediately post-delivery will keep thieves away since you have nothing to steal.

One of our favorite apps for notifications is Parcel, specifically because you can set it up to scrap your email for tracking numbers. The free version lets you track up to three packages in transit at any given time or you can upgrade for $3-per-year for unlimited tracking.

Make ’em Really Work for It!

If there’s one truth we can all get behind, it’s that most people are inherently lazy. Enter the Porch Pirate Bag, an arguably silly solution that appears to be more frustrating for thieves than anything else. Comprised of a PVC-reinforced nylon bag, a bike lock and what looks like a combination suitcase lock, a delivery driver simply slips your package into the bag and locks it up.

The bike lock slips through your front door handle and the suitcase lock goes through the bag’s zipper. A thief that wants your packages would have to come with bolt cutters, unlikely for someone that just wants an easy score. That would also draw more attention to someone that’s trying to look like a solicitor as well.

Bonus Tip: Monitor Neighbor (app) & NextDoor (social network)

Created by Ring, the iOS & Android app Neighbor just switched from limited to Ring-only users to available for the entire public. Anyone can now use the app to check out videos taken by Ring users, specifically local to your neighborhood (up to a 5 mile radius). Most of the videos in my area included lost dogs, kids playing ding-dong ditch, shady solicitors and, of course, package thieves.

Spotting a package thief on video will help you identify them if you see them roaming in your area. Lots of these types of updates are found on local social network Nextdoor (along with insane posts all cataloged on the Best of NextDoor Twitter account). Local police often post on NextDoor as well, ideal for keeping up to date on property theft in your area.

10 Ways to Deter Thieves from Stealing your Amazon Packages