Adventures in Online Shopping – When Packages Get Stolen

If this happens often, you should opt to have your local post office to hold your packages for pick up. I know sometimes for BR they use Fedex Smartpost which is transferred to the receiver's local PO to be delivered with the daily mail.

For UPS, if you get to know the delivery guy well, you can tell him to chuck the package behind a bush or somewhere hidden to prevent theft. My UPS guy would throw my packages behind the shrubs at my old house.

I have an enclosed porch now and haven't had this happen again recently (last time was when I first moved here). *knocks on wood* As you can see I'm an online shopping junkie! lol.

great suggestions!! My UPS guy usually hides my packages as well. One time he concealed my package too well. I ordered 2 TLBC bras. After searching every bush and shrub with no luck and scoping out my neighbors' porches, I sadly walked inside. I noticed the front mat was out of place far from the door. When I picked it up, lo and behold there it was. You couldn't even tell there was something underneath considering the package wasnt flat either.

I read about how another girl, who lives in an apartment complex, had a UPS guy who slipped a note under her door saying that he hid her package high up on a lighting fixture. UPS is pretty good with that.

That is really disappointing to hear about BR. I'd expect better. I wonder if the reader's credit card company will allow her to dispute the charge. I own an online clothing biz with my husband and sometimes packages do get lost/stolen. It sucks for us but we do replace when it happens and take the loss. It's not worth losing the customer or having them badmouth us. If it's an unusually expensive order we insure at our expense. Insurance is not that wildly expensive.

All of this said, if you know your house is not a secure delivery location, delivering to work or a PO box is a good idea. Places like Mailboxes Etc will work if you need fedex/ups deliveries. Since they accept all carriers.

Wow this is scary. I had a package go missing once from BR Canada. I don't know if it was stolen or simply delivered to the wrong address. In any case they were completely great about it and re-sent my items out that day. They only asked to inform them if it did show up.

If she'd had it happen once, she should have definitely had the package shipped to her office or held at the PO for pickup or required a signature or *something* the second time. One stolen package is a big warning sign!

I've lived in questionable neighborhoods in the past, & whenever anything valuable or large was going to be delivered, I always arranged for it to be delivered to my office, where there's always someone to sign for it.

These days, my house is much more secure & I know my neighbors, so I haven't had any problems w/packages. But I still sometimes have stuff sent to work if it's a valuable order. Better safe than sorry :-)

I've never had packages stolen but a couple of them have been delivered to the wrong addresses. Thank God I have honest neighbors (one of the item was an LV wallet too!) There was one package from Amazon that just never showed up; I called and they refunded me, no questions. Usually, when something like that happens, the seller will request that you sign for future deliveries or else they won't even sell you their goods anymore. Amazon didn't, but probably because it was a cheapie item.

Talk to the UPS delivery person and see what they suggest. Perhaps they can leave it with the apartment manager if you're not home.

Some retailers will allow you to ship it to the store and pick it up. Maybe check with the manager or senior SA at your local BR and see if they can work something out for you.

Otherwise, work or a Mail Boxes etc is a good option. Or if you can, set up package alerting and work from home when you expect pricey shipments.

BR does have some online only items and they do go down to 0P in my local store store, so likely yours as well. They can probably pull items from other stores for you. I've seen the online only as returns in store, as well.

I have two packages not show up in my mailbox from Ebay but not stores like BR. We opened a PO Box and now have packages sent to the PO Box if from stores or Ebay. No more trouble now, but can sympathize. It is very frustrating since being small require good online shopping skills also. I shop everywhere!!! Bonnie

I don't understand why BR can't replace your items at least one time. You're obviously a frequent customer. Their profit margin is extremely high so it seems a bit unreasonable. Same goes for Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft and all those other big chains. This is extremely upsetting.

I've had this happen to me a couple times. Once I had flowers sent to me and left at my door. I got a call at work that the flowers were waiting for me at my apartment door and when I got home, they were gone. I wouldn't think anything of it, but I've had packages from Urban Outfitters and Amazon disappear, too. It turns out my elderly neighbor had been opening them, thinking they were her's (she has bad eyesight and was too embarassed to tell me until it happened a third time). All three times though, the companies resent the items (flowers included) without question. Honestly, I'd boycott BR. Sorry for your trouble :(

Briggs
http://shortsisterstyle.blogspot.com

We have a pretty high hedge so our packages are usually blocked. I add notes to shipments asking to deliver to our side door. I haven't had problems with missing shipments. Just slowpoke delivery. Or packages never sent (waving a fist to the eBay seller who never sent my 5-year-old son's cards)
Jen Hemming and Hawing Again

At my last apartment all of our mail and special delivery guys were great about leaving the packages at our patio door or behind our bushes instead of in the breezeway, but we still had our more valuable things delivered to my work. That being said we only ever had one package not arrive at that place. It was from Amazon. They happily sent another and just asked us to return the original should it ever show up. Oddly enough it ended up arriving soon after the second.

At our current apartment we've only had one package not arrive and it was through the USPS. It was filled with Christmas presents from my Mother. She sent it through the postal service and I've yet to see or hear from it. My apartment managers were more than happy to let us search through the packages they were holding in the back room (which I did on a weekly basis) but it was not there. The post office however was downright combative and basically said that "sometimes packages are put on the wrong plane and just never show up".

I was up in arms at the time, especially since some of the items were of a great sentimental value, but my mom continues to say there is nothing she can do about it.

I had something stolen once- UPS dropped the package at another door on a friday at 5pm (it was sent to my husband's work) had UPS delivered it according the the label on the package he would have been able to accept it. So, the package sat outside (in brooklyn) for who knows how long but when my husband went back to work on monday there was no sign of it anywhere. the package was target and they offered to reship the items or refund me. I requested a signature and they wouldn't do it, so I just took the credit. I was still bummed and it made me feel rotten that someone would do that!

I don't understand why BR can't replace your items at least one time. You're obviously a frequent customer. Their profit margin is extremely high so it seems a bit unreasonable. Same goes for Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft and all those other big chains. This is extremely upsetting.

talk to your bank and see if they have protection against purchases in which you did not receive the product. Most do have something that can help. I second everyone else's recommendation though, have the items shipped elsewhere!! I receive items at work or held at the fedex & ups facility. I happened to live near both so it works for me.

I've only had one box go missing from Amazon and they replaced the items. (Which later, oddly enough, showed up.)

For valuable packages, I'd just send the packages to work. Since I commute, I do have to schlep them home, but so long as they deliver during business hours, there's always someone to sign for them.

I just keep an empty tote bag or two in my desk to toss the boxes into and bring them home to open.

In my place now, you have to be buzzed in or have a key so theoretically if someone steals packages, it'd be resident or a guest of a resident but even so, it'd probably be a PITA to replace so I route more valuable stuff to work and things I'm less worried about home.