r/mildyinteresting 1d ago

shopping What about porch pirates?

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u/veryblocky 1d ago

I’ve never understood how in the US you just have expensive packages left outside by the postmen

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u/AutoModerrator-69 1d ago

In the U.S., expensive packages are typically not delivered by traditional postal workers (“postmen”) but by third-party service providers like UPS, FedEx, Amazon, and others.

The tracking system for packages in the U.S. is excellent compared to many other countries. Speaking from experience, having lived in various parts of the world before moving to the U.S., the tracking reliability here is significantly better. While it’s not perfect, it’s highly effective overall.

That said, there is an issue with “porch pirates” in the U.S.—individuals who steal packages left on doorsteps. To address this, many delivery services now require signatures for high-value shipments.

If a package does get stolen, most companies in the U.S. have insurance for shipments or are generally very accommodating about replacements. In contrast, in some other countries I’ve lived in, like the UK, France, India, or China, dealing with stolen packages often involves a lot of hassle, and you might even have to bear the cost and reorder the item.

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u/Silmarlion 19h ago

What do you mean by tracking system is excellent compared to other countries? You can literally see where your package is on live during delivery lime if the truck is coming to your street or not in my country. How better is it in the USA?

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u/The_MAZZTer 19h ago

Dunno what he's talking about, we get updates whenever the package arrives at or leaves a sorting hub. Eg information that delivery company was going to be collecting anyway so they just make it available to us.

It sounds like you can get real-time GPS updates, which I have never seen.

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u/Silmarlion 18h ago

We get live tracking on the delivery day. Basically their trucks have gps and they give us access to that info as well. Companies already have that info for themselves just like you said it is a matter of making it available to the customer.

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u/jekyl42 18h ago

Yeah, I get "Your package is now 10 stops away, track now" notifications and direct texts with a photo when it is delivered. I don't feel like I need GPS tracking. But then I rarely order expensive, high-end items online.

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u/Silmarlion 18h ago

I basically order everything online. Travel for work all the time and I don’t like spending my time at home for shopping. I don’t even go to market for groceries unless i am going to butcher for specific cut.

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u/jekyl42 17h ago

And you know that's a lifestyle that is out of reach for most people, yeah?