Online shoppers who trust their delivery people more than lurking porch pirates may be pleased to learn Amazon has started delivering packages inside customer garages.
The service is available today in 50 cities across the U.S.—but only for the e-tail giant’s Prime members with an Amazon Key, a lock and camera system operated remotely, which works in conjunction with a myQ-connected garage door opener. (You can check if your home is within range here.)
“Key for Garage offers yet another choice for Prime members so they can choose to have packages securely delivered,” an Amazon spokesperson tells Coins2Day in an email.
In addition to receiving an alert when a package is being delivered, as well as when a garage door opens and closes, customers can set up a camera to watch the process remotely on their phone.
And although the service might seem a little too intimate for some, it might be slightly less unsettling than Amazon Key’s current service that allows deliveries inside people’s unattended homes and trunks of their cars.
“Our delivery drivers work hard every day to earn and maintain trust with our customers,” the Amazon spokesperson said. “These individuals are thoroughly vetted, with comprehensive background checks and motor vehicle record reviews.”
While Chelsie Lee, CEO of instant delivery startup SHIPSI, prefers her company’s model of partnering with companies to deliver packages directly to consumers, she doesn’t consider allowing Amazon delivery people into garages as cause for concern.
“It may seem crazy that your neighbor is willing to open up his garage for Amazon deliveries, but the truth is that security is an illusion; an experienced burglar can enter almost any property,” she tells Coins2Day in an email.
Regardless of whether you’re getting items delivered directly to you while at home or inside your garage when you’re away, this new garage delivery option may spell relief for the one in four Americans who’ve experienced package delivery theft, according to a Comcast survey.
“I know this is America and you should have a God-given right to have packages delivered to your front door, but we have these people throwing packages on your property at all hours of the day,” Captain Jack Hart of the San Francisco Police Department, told USA Today during last year’s December delivery season.
And although a NASA scientist created a glitter bomb package as a sparkly means to deter porch thieves, the Amazon service does offer another option.