Amazon won't deliver packages to porches

dave

Per recent mailing. ‘to ensure driver safety’ Amazon will after August no longer honour my delivery instuctions to leave all packages on my porch.

Deliveries to the front door are fine, so I have changed my instructions from ‘porch’ to ‘front door’.

To reach my front door, you have to be standing in the porch.

Here’s the full text of the notification:

We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to share an important update to our delivery services that will further enhance driver safety. As of August 31, 2025, we will no longer deliver packages to rear doors or side porches. One or more of your addresses currently includes one of these locations as a selected delivery preference. We encourage changing your preference to a supported option using the link below. If you don’t change your preference, we will automatically default your delivery preference to the front door.

We also offer pickup locations that you can add to your address book for future orders. Find pickup locations near you here.

We appreciate your understanding as we prioritize the safety of delivery drivers while ensuring the secure delivery of your packages.

HooRU

I didn’t get this.

HooRU

is it nationwide.

dave

HooRU I didn’t get this.

It arrived when I ordered something today, immediately after the order confirmation email. So maybe that’s the trigger? Logically, your existing delivery instructions don’t matter until there is something to deliver. And, as the now-posted message text shows, you’ll only get the message if you have ‘porch’ or ‘rear door’ as a current choice.

dave

HooRU is it nationwide.

I don’t know - there was no indication either way. But I suppose so.

px_eliezer_

Was this an actual letter, an e-mail, posted on website….?

More detail please.

dave

Email to me, at the email address I use for Amazon purchases. Arrived just after I’d ordered something this evening. My standing delivery instructions say ‘deliver to porch’.

MacLeech

The important part:

As of August 31, 2025, we will no longer deliver packages to rear doors or side porches.

Front porches are fine.

egeezer

MacLeech
At least they won’t leave it on the sidewalk. Some years back I ordered a $450 camera lens from B&H Photo to be delivered to our third floor condo in Naples FL( we had an elevator BTW).

Well, they used an outfit called Lasership. The delivery person left the package on the sidewalk outside the elevator where anybody walking by could take it. Fortunately, one of our neighbors saw it and brought it up to us.

Another story, the Columbus Dispatch carrier stopped throwing the newspaper on our veranda, 20 feet from the street after 45 years of doing so. Instead , they threw in in the yard. When I called to complain, the “customer care” dweeb said they weren’t allowed to throw it on the veranda (I kid you not, her exact words) “because of Covid”.

Nonetheless I got an envelope in a December paper labeled “carrier gratuity”. We ended up not renewing the subscription.

vaxvms

dave

To reach my front door, you have to be standing in the porch.

I’m easily confused. If the front door is on the porch why was your delivery instruction “on the porch” and not “the front door”?

vaxvms

egeezer At least they won’t leave it on the sidewalk

At my last abode I watched as the driver of a FedEx truck threw a box out the door of the truck onto a neighbor’s front yard without stopping. Typical? I hope not.

GrumpyCanadian

dave Did you actually validate that as a valid Amazon message (double-check that DKIM passed, etc)? It seems rather strange that they would just include links within the message, rather than directing you to log into your account, then click…

I also find the use of, “We hope this message finds you well” rather strange for an official company message indicating a change of policy. I have never seen that before. I always considered that more common in spam/scam-type messages.

dave

GrumpyCanadian

Yes. It arrived in near-simultaneity with an order confirmation, both sent from the email cluster at smtp-out.amazonses.com.

Everything checks out - it’s genuine.

As to ‘links within message’ that is SOP for Amazon email. E.g. the order confirmation email links back to the order on the web site.

dave

vaxvms I’m easily confused. If the front door is on the porch why was your delivery instruction “on the porch” and not “the front door”?

Well, the front door is two paces further than being merely on the porch.

At the time I wrote those instructions, my concern was to get the package to a place with a roof. Because as you know, in New England we have weather.

Also, the ‘front door’ is not the first door you see if you come up the driveway; that is the garage door. I have one porch versus several doors, so ‘porch’ seemed to have less room to get it wrong.

They still tend to throw the package on the driveway anyway.

Donoreo

dave They still tend to throw the package on the driveway anyway.

I have no instructions, they go up 12 steps and put it on the front porch.

Dks01

Donoreo I have no instructions, they go up 12 steps and put it on the front porch.

Same with me. They knock, too.

HooRU

Many deliveries are left on the steps to the front porch from all shippers/sellers. Maybe the problem is dog attacks?

Dks01

HooRU My dog is all of 10 lbs and does not go out except for walks.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU Maybe the problem is

Deliverer safety. Out of sight may be prone to attack.

Blackbird

So ‘porch pirates’ must now become ‘door delinquents’??