You'd think this would be easy to find out, but Googling just produces a lot of BS and no direct answer. Suppose you ship something with no signature, but tracking shows it was delivered, via USPS, Fedex or UPS. And suppose it has insurance, either as $50 or $100 included at no additional cost in many shipments or as purchased insurance. Does that cover packages that tracking shows as delivered, left at the door, that are reported never received or only theft while in transit? Will they only cover some, eg if you have a video showing it being stolen they will, but otherwise they may not? Anyone have actual experience?
Also, does it matter if the delivery person rings the bell or knocks on the door? I've had deliveries put by the front door and the driver just drops it and leaves so the package is exposed for a long time even if you are home.
I have a Ring doorbell so I know when anyone steps on my walk in front of the house and have video of the drop.
Here FedEx and UPS usually leave it at the front door, but once in a while, they leave it by the garage door. Don't use the garage all the time, so it can sit there for a couple days, waiting to be rained on. A friend of mine, he opened his garage one day, backed out and ran over a package. Maybe they assume that because the garage door is closed, that means people are out and they figure putting it their means they will see it when they come home. But there are plenty of folks who's garages are full of stuff and not used for cars at all. Another factor, I have a large, well protected porch, so a package left by the door there won't get rained on. By the garage, there is about an 18" overhang, which offers some protection, but not like the porch. The good thing today is you can track it, so if it's something important you know when it's coming. USPS is so good that if you sign up for text updates, the phone chirps with the text and I can hear the mailman still driving away.
I have packages delivered to my house all the time. Seldom do I have to sign for anything. A few were around $ 900 but they weighed about 70 pounds. A few times the door bell will ring and by the time I get to the door the man is gone.
Just had a $ 500 generator delivered. It was just dropped off at the end of the closed garage door. I think it weighed about 110 pounde.
Miss A almost did that, for the same reason, but I think she felt the package stop the car and stopped before she crushed it. We were talking about this less than a week ago.
I don't know the answer to your insurance question.
They used to ring the doorbell, iirc, but when I was up or downstairs with the radio on, I couldn't hear it. It was easy to install an additional wired doorbell bell in the basement, but for the second floor I piggybacked a wireless doorbell and that worked fine for 10 years, but then went up in smoke. I think I'd only paid $4 for it at Sunset House. By this time, the delivery men had stopped ringing the bell or knocking.
For a while, I guess there was a string of package thefts so one or two delivery companies required signatures. Until she left her job, I had packages delivered to Miss A's work, and after that I changed my shipping address.
I compressed Micky Green to M. Green NO signature required .
And eventually I moved my street address to the second line of street address and for the first line put PLEASE HIDE FROM VIEW TO RIGHT.
I needed to be concise to fit in all the forms.
Almost all of them do put it to the right. The way my house is, even a foot or two is plenty to keep anyone from seeing anything. I've only gotten one package left in front of my door in the last 2 or 3 years.
Years after I started this, I bumped into a delivery man once who -- I didn't bring it up -- thanked me for putting NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED in my address. It made his life simple (and made my life easy, no redeliveries). I've never had a package stolen.
Sometimes the Amazon etc. computer would argue with me about the order/ content of of the address lines. Mostly, since the 2nd address line had my street number, the computer wanted me to put that text in the 1st address line. One or two webpages said outright that one was not allowed to do what I wanted. But I insisted, and they all gave in.
Also, I have a slot in the front door a foot wide and tall enough for a box of checks, so I can go away without cancelling the mail probably for
I used to know someone with a mail slot in the door. Here, they won't deliver to mail slots except in older neighborhoods. At my house, the mailbox is along the street. The mail carrier won't get out of his vehicle except to deliver a package that won't fit in the box. Those are left at the door (with no ringing the bell).
Some or maybe many new n'hoods are being built with cluster boxes, including one pretty expensive n'hoold I know which has to be old enough that the mailman used to deliver to the door.
When we had a mailbox at the street, I don't think we ever got a package that big. Mail order wasn't so common in the 60's
Cluster boxes are the only clear example of our standard of living going down.
It is a USPS requirement where new houses are being built. We have them at our new house. For me, not a big deal as the cluster is maybe 20 feet further than my box at the last house.
You can also sign up for Informed Delivery. Every morning I get an email showing me what is in my mail that day. It is a free service.
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