Thank heavens for modern technology. The internet makes it possible for us to conveniently get just about everything you want or need without ever having to leave your home. It’s a great way to shop, gain access to tons of products and services, and get a great deal. There’s just one problem – receiving your items.
When you make an online purchase the merchandise is shipped directly to your door. As most people work during delivery hours, the packages are left at the door. This leaves your order vulnerable for theft. If your items are stolen, tracking them down or getting the company to resend them can be long and expensive. The best way to avoid the hassle would be to use alternative measures for receiving your important and pricey items.
Ship Where You Are
Instead of having a package delivered to your home, have it delivered where you are. When completing the form for shipment, put your work address instead (as long as it’s okay with your employer). This way, the delivery driver drops the package off at your office so it’s not sitting on your stoop.
Ship to Post Office
Another option instead of shipping products to your front door is having them shipped to the post office. You can track your order as usual, but instead of it arriving at your house, it goes to the nearest post office. Then, you can pick up the package at a time most convenient for you.
Rearrange Your Schedule
Shipping software and services have become so advanced that customers can track in real-time where their deliveries are. If you’d like it to come to your house, determine the day and time of estimated arrival and rearrange your schedule. Take the day off, ask someone else to get the kids, and clear your schedule until the package arrives.
Parcel Lockers
If you live in a multi-family dwelling another option is to have your pricey and important packages delivered to your parcel locker. What is a parcel locker? It is a storage locker for various types of packages. Customers place orders and schedule to have the packages delivered to the locker. They receive real-time updates about the arrival of their package. The items are placed in the locker and left for you to pick up at a time most convenient for you.
Ship to Store
Many stores realize the difficulties of retrieving packages during the day. That’s why they offer options for customers to have their items shipped directly to the closest store for pickup. When your package arrives, you receive a notification. You can then visit the store’s customer service department to pick up your order. Some stores also conveniently have parcel lockers available so you don’t have to wait in a long line to get what you’ve already ordered and paid for.
Ship to Family or Friends
Another option for getting your items ordered from online would be to use the shipping address of someone you know and trust that is home during the day. Your parents, for example, maybe retired and able to get packages all day. This way, you know your things are safe.
Request Signature
If you’d still like your items delivered to you, but you want to minimize the potential of it being stolen, request that a signature be required for receipt. This means that if the delivery man shows up at your house and you’re not there, they will take the items back to the warehouse and try to deliver at a later date. They tend to leave a note behind letting you know they stopped by and how you can get your package. You can either be there at the time and day the note states they’ll try to deliver again or you can contact the shipping company and schedule to pick up the package when it is convenient for you.
It kind of defeats the purpose of shopping online if the things you purchase will get lost or stolen en route to your house. To reduce the likelihood of this happening to you, safeguard your merchandise by using an alternate shipping solution that is most convenient for you.
