I'm a victim of package pirates. Well, my partner was. She spent all kinds of time making a stuffed dog by hand for a friends baby shower and it was stolen off a porch. I am furious. I want something really bad to happen to the offender.

I want to create cage that falls from the ceiling or a false floor that opens when a package is removed from a doormat that has weight sensors in it.

Delivery companies like FedEx, UPS, and USPS have simply skirted their responsibility because it costs money to re-deliver. And then charge more for signature required. Fuck 'em. This is a huge market for solutions.

I would argue it's not really something for FedEx or UPS to fix. If you are worried about thieves stealing your property from your porch, pay a couple hundred bucks a year and get a mailbox at the post office or, better yet, a UPS store or something. I rented a box a couple years ago that's on my way home from work, and haven't lost a package since.

I look at it this way. I pay to have them deliver a package to me safely. In the old days, prior to everything being bought online, they would leave a note and re-deliver. Exactly for the reason it has become a problem today. Unfortunately, not being able to deliver a package in one try costs them twice the amount of money. So instead of just charging more, they leave the onus on the customer to insure their package isn't stolen. Costing as you say, $200 a year amortized over however many packages you have delivered in one year. But if one simply stands behind the idea that it's on your property, your responsibility, then yeah. It's not their responsibility. But the whole thing is a boon to the insurance industry because of deals with commerce, and the mail box industry.

But in the end, it's just an ongoing effort to create price points and making everything a chinese menu instead of a prix fixe. That way, airlines can charge for blankets after jacking up the AC without affecting ticket sales. The same way camera manufactures and others that used to include cases, and now expect you to pay a third party. Now they charge more, and you get less.

I'd love to try to alter my business model to charge for every little thing separately. I'll ask you a question, and if you delay in responding, I charge you more. Or if you call my office between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, I charge double.

/end rant.