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Porch Pirates


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I ordered a pink ukulele for my toddler for Christmas.  When looking at our Amazon orders, my wife saw that it had been delivered on Tuesday.  We didn't have it.  The longest it could have been on our porch was an hour and it was gone.

After poking around in the snow to see if it may have fallen off of the porch and gotten covered by snow, I walked the dog.  I saw a box sitting on the tree lawn of the house two doors down.  It had been there for days.  I got closer and saw it was an Amazon box.  It got closer and saw it was open.  I then saw my name and the name of the ukulele company.

I then saw that the ukulele was still inside!  The thieves ripped opened the outer and inner boxes, saw it was a pink ukulele and ditched it!  Although I was relieved that I recovered it and thought that it was kind of hilarious that not even thieves wanted a ukulele, I'm still angry about the theft.  The box sat there for 3 days. 

Have porch pirates ever struck in your area? 

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I lost a package in April and a second in late October.

The USPS does not want its people to deliver packages throughout the building because of the virus.  So all USPS packages are left in the mailroom out in the open, there for anyone to steal.

UPS and Amazon will deliver to my door.

Whenever my friends and I see a package in the mailroom, we bring it to the person's door (if so requested by that person).

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We have been fortunate so far, as we live out in the suburbs with the houses spaced a good bit apart and many of us have video doorbells. The biggest problem we have is misdelivered mail and packages. I had been expecting several Amazon orders and ripped open a package, only to discover it was addressed to the family three doors down (our house numbers are similar, though the last two numbers are reversed). I taped it back and stuck it in their mailbox, being too embarrassed to go to the door.

The bigger problem is with inexperienced FedEx drivers, who seem to drop off packages at random. One was left that was for someone at least 4 to 5 doors away. Yesterday morning the doorball sounded before 9 am and I discovered two long, heavy boxes taped together on our porch. Fortunately I caught the driver's attention before he left the area and he supposedly took them to the correct address, a door or two down the street. Fortunately, I've gotten to know the regular FedEx driver on this route so he doesn't make these kinds of mistakes.

 

Edited by Ken Dryden
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Being so far off the street we don't worry too much about porch pirates but on the other hand some FedEx and UPS drivers look at the proximity between our perimeter fence and the driveway and assume there is no room to turn around and stop at the street and leave boxes there ... sometimes hidden sometimes in plain sight. A lack of pedestrian traffic has probably saved us some aggravation.

I assume people have seen this guy's porch pirate treatment:

 

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5 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Have you called your local police department and asked for an increased patrol, just as a deterrent?

Jim, this is the mailroom of an apartment building.  I think the packages are taken by one or more of the residents.  The landlord refuses to help.  Many of us have been victimized.

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8 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

Jim, this is the mailroom of an apartment building.  I think the packages are taken by one or more of the residents.  The landlord refuses to help.  Many of us have been victimized.

If I were in such a situation, I would have packages sent elsewhere, or I'd move. 

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My elderly uncle and his wife live in a large apartment building in Brooklyn. When we visit them , I see many packages on the lobby floor ,under the very long row of mailboxes. It's a basically a free for all. I'm sure packages disappear there all the time. Mail carriers just drop them off, and don't deliver to individual tenants.

There are pictures of package thieves pasted in the lobby, taken from the CCTV in the lobby; the building is a rent-controlled home to many elderly people, and thieves take advantage of the age of the residents. I'm sure some of them are too trusting, and buzz in people that shouldn't be there. Easy pickins for the thieves.  

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17 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

If I were in such a situation, I would have packages sent elsewhere, or I'd move. 

Ken, I was thinking along those lines.  The UPS Store will collect your mail/packages, and email you if you have any waiting for you.

It costs $15 to start plus $66 every three months.  I think that's what I will do.

Thus far, I have received replacements for everything that has been taken.  I think I am more bothered by the disrespect of it all.

I have been told that the packages most often stolen are those which look like there is medicine inside.

15 hours ago, Dmitry said:

My elderly uncle and his wife live in a large apartment building in Brooklyn. When we visit them , I see many packages on the lobby floor ,under the very long row of mailboxes. It's a basically a free for all. I'm sure packages disappear there all the time. Mail carriers just drop them off, and don't deliver to individual tenants.

There are pictures of package thieves pasted in the lobby, taken from the CCTV in the lobby; the building is a rent-controlled home to many elderly people, and thieves take advantage of the age of the residents. I'm sure some of them are too trusting, and buzz in people that shouldn't be there. Easy pickins for the thieves.  

Dmitry, we don't even have CCTV in the mailroom!  But you cannot enter the building unless you are a resident or a guest like a relative.  That's why I think it's an inside job.

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3 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

Dmitry, we don't even have CCTV in the mailroom!  But you cannot enter the building unless you are a resident or a guest like a relative.  That's why I think it's an inside job.

To enter, do you have a buzzer, or a panel on which one enters a passcode?

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15 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Why isn't there a camera in the mail room? Also, your security guard can call the package recipient, or at least log in deliveries, when they are picked up..

 

 

Of course.  As I say, the landlord refuses to help.

Since stealing mail is a federal crime, maybe I should file a lawsuit.  I've also thought about trying to get my congressman involved.

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