Porch pirates are one of the biggest issues in the last few years. Praying on consumers making purchases online by snatching packages right from their front door. You can help protect yourself with something like a Ring Doorbell, but in the end, it is just a deterrent.
One of the latest growing trends is providing a secure delivery box for drivers to drop packages into. Something that cannot easily be removed that will guard your package until you get home to safely retrieve it. A lot of the solutions available to you are basic key-operated mechanisms that operate off of a battery (the trigger), but there are also a few out there that offer smart connectivity for homes that prefer having a little more control over the process.
Typically, the box sits available in front of your door somewhere. Initially, it is unlocked as it waits for a package. When a delivery is made, the driver can place the item(s) into the box and walk away. This act will usually automatically trigger the box to lock. When you get home, you can use a key, code, or in this case, your phone, to unlock the box and retrieve the item(s).
Yale has joined into this market with its very own Yale Smart Delivery Box. It comes in three colors, including a “Brighton Brown model”, a “Manor Gray model”, and a darker gray model that we don’t have a link for just yet. MSRP ranges between $230 and $350 depending on your chosen options. You can go with the plain model with app access, or upgrade to the one that also has a keypad, as well as one that features a cooler (bag/liner) inside.
It can be unlocked (or locked) via the app, the keypad (if you choose that model), a digital assistant (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri). You can then set it to automatically lock when there is a package. In this case, it is when the lid is closed, so you have to leave the lid open when it is empty and waiting.
To make sure the box itself can’t go anywhere, you can fill a bottom section with sand, or anchor it down by drilling a hole and using bolts or heavy screws (if you are open to bolting/screwing it to your stairs/hours/porch/etc).
It features a battery that lasts up to six months (depending on how frequency it gets used) and a wireless bridge that you place inside your home that it communicates with.
You still depend on the delivery drivers using the box. Just because you put it there, doesn’t mean they are going to pay attention or bother to use it. So there is always that. Just like a lot of them haven’t even been going as far as ringing the doorbell anymore (just drop and run). It is a nice idea and it should yield a lot of protection for deliveries in the future as people become used to seeing them at least (hopefully).
It will start shipping around the middle of this month (October) and is available now for pre-order. We have a link below to help guide the way.
