A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven • Hacker News Board

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#81

Post by eftpotrm » Sat, Sep 03, 2011, 7:45 PM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #54

eftpotrm wrote: post #38

Hopefully coming to the UK soon. This (well, ideally a generic multi-retailer version) has been to me an obvious business opportunity for years; if I had the slightest of relevant contacts I'd have been trying to set it up. Hopefully it will take off and we'll begin to see the real possibility of online retail.

Not sure which shops. Now the supermarkets are buying up the convenience stores, and they consider Amazon competition they are not feasible.

That's definitely the challenge, but the advantages of last-mile depot collections as a universal service rather than the current 'system' of waiting for the missed delivery cards then trying to find a depot 20 miles away would be a major benefit and, I suspect, one customers would pay for.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#82

Post by ThaddeusQuay2 » Sat, Sep 03, 2011, 10:58 PM UTC

driverdan wrote: post #65

ThaddeusQuay2 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my state, Pennsylvania, it is my understanding that the homeless are not allowed to drive or even to receive mail, because a mailbox cannot be used for the address on their driver's license, and they cannot get a mailbox, neither from the Post Office nor from a reputable mailbox rental business, without already having an address which they can prove is their residence. Therefore, unless the rules are different in…

That's what most states claim but it simply isn't true. You can use a mailbox service.

Possibly, but: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2957882.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#83

Post by nazgulnarsil » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 12:06 AM UTC

Awesome. I think my use case is common. I live in an apt where UPS can't leave packages and I am also not home during the day. I get my packages shipped to my relative's house, but I know several people who just don't order things online much because of this problem.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#84

Post by Aga » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 2:27 AM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #73

dangrossman wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true, speaking from experience. Both Amazon and the sex toy sellers are aware that most people would want those packages to be discrete.

That made me think: if Amazon is putting these products directly in the locker, do they even need to wrap it in packaging? It surely would save them money and time, although then it's more checking on the part of the guy loading things into the lockers.

I'm not sure it would save them money. Packaging all the various stuff (in various shapes!) uniformly greatly streamlines the shipping process. It makes the stuff easier to store (in warehouses and during shipping) and handle. Bar-codes/RFID's can also be placed conveniently to speed-up handling.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#85

Post by rdl » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 3:40 AM UTC

ugh wrote: post #57

SwellJoe wrote: post #9

I love this idea. I travel full-time, and have no permanent residence. Amazon Prime has been a godsend...but, even that only works when I'm staying somewhere long enough to get something shipped in (I upgrade to overnight for $3.95 per item quite often), and in a place where I can have something delivered. Fedex and UPS do not yet accept GPS coordinates as a destination for delivery (my motorhome is often parked off…

Packets are usually delivered during work hours. That’s certainly a use case. (One of the reasons why packet delivery still sucks from time to time is that you often cannot be sure that you are home when the packet is delivered.)

One of the better (and easy) perks for a company to offer is really convenient, no hassle package receiving for employees. You probably already have reception and ops, so having a way personal packages and mail can be delivered comfortably to work (without inconvenience to yourself or the company) is a big win.

Palantir is an example of a company with a GREAT ops department, and they handle a lot of employee stuff. My friend is moving, and they're handling shipping some of his items separately, on top of normal moving arrangements; plus all the routine package receiving and forwarding they do.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#86

Post by njharman » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 4:30 AM UTC

> this nightmare scenario

Hyperbole much?

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#87

Post by john61 » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 4:53 AM UTC

This problem has been solved hundred years ago. The solution is called post office. Nowadays they were getting to expensive and therefore have been replaced in Austria by post partners like gas stations, or small super markets in your neighbourhood. Works perfectly.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#88

Post by Bluem00 » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 6:10 AM UTC

SwellJoe wrote: post #78

Bluem00 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps slightly off topic, but I was in a similar situation recently (a replacement phone was overnighted from verizon via Fedex and my motorhome was not at an rv park). I don't know if it applies to your problem, but I discovered that many Fedex stores will allow you to use their service to ship packages to them for you to come and pick up, like general delivery for the USPS.

Do you live in your rig full-time? What part of the world are you parked in now? And, I wasn't aware I could have things shipped to a FedEx store. I've considered getting a mailbox at a FedEx store in places where I stay for more than a week or two, but so far have not. But, if I can just do a "general delivery" type thing to a FedEx store, that'd be awesome. Will look into it. Though, Amazon never tells you how they…

Here's an explanation I wrote about how I handled my mail: http://twelvemonthsofsummer.com/get-mail-on-the-road

I lived in it full time for about a year, inspired by Tynan's posts on the subject. However, I've now gone overseas to Bali and left my Winnie parked in Maryland. It's actually quite a bit cheaper to live here and the internet still works fine :) Have you written up anything about your travels?

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#89

Post by kragen » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 6:37 AM UTC

A funny thing that's missing from this article is the payment aspect. It's my understanding that the 7-Eleven delivery system in Taiwan also handles payment — in effect, 7-Eleven acts as an escrow agent for Ruten, accepting both the goods and the cash before releasing either to the other party.

It seems like not having to use credit cards (with the attendant risks of credit card theft, identity fraud, false fraud alarms canceling your purchase, etc., not to mention cutting out people who don't have one) or PayPal could be a huge benefit. Less so for buying from Amazon, though, than for buying from eBay sellers.

Re: A new locker system from Amazon sends your deliveries to 7-Eleven

#90

Post by etaty » Sun, Sep 04, 2011, 11:46 AM UTC

Loic wrote: post #48

This system is working very well. We have had that in France and Germany for the past couple of years, they call that Packstation in Germany: http://www.dhl.de/de/paket/privatkunden/packstation.html

In France it's http://www.cityssimo.fr/ I have never tested it