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Make your porch the hardest target on the street: route deliveries to a pickup point or locker, require a signature on valuable orders, and leave clear delivery instructions. Most porch thefts happen quickly after the drop-off, in daylight, so shrinking the time a package sits unattended matters more than any camera.
| Tactic | What it does | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Hold at a pickup point or locker | The parcel never sits on your porch at all | Low: choose it at checkout or redirect the parcel after it ships |
| Signature on delivery | The driver hands it to a person instead of leaving it | Low: often a checkout option on valuable orders |
| Delivery instructions | Directs the driver to a side door, a lockbox, or a neighbor | Free: add them at checkout |
| Ship to work or a trusted neighbor | Someone is there to receive it | Free, if your workplace allows personal parcels |
| Lockable parcel box at your door | The driver drops it in; only you can open it | One-time purchase and installation |
Pickup points and parcel lockers are the simplest fix: most carriers let you redirect a parcel mid-route or set a standing delivery preference. In Canada, a missed Canada Post delivery already goes to the nearest post office on a delivery notice card, and parcel lockers at stations and retail locations work the same way on purpose. Shipping to your workplace works if your employer allows it. A trusted neighbor who's home during the day is the low-tech version, and it costs nothing.
Require a signature on anything valuable: the driver hands it to a person instead of leaving it on the step. Leave specific instructions at checkout ("side door", "behind the planter", "leave with unit 4"): vague instructions get ignored, specific ones usually don't. If you know the delivery day, plan to be home or have someone grab it quickly. And during the October-to-December holiday stretch, when parcel volume and theft both spike, default to pickup points for anything you can't afford to lose. Thieves know the calendar too.
Somewhat. A visible doorbell camera makes your porch less attractive than the one next door without one, but determined thieves work fast and often cover their faces: footage helps after the fact more than it prevents. Good lighting and a porch that's visible from the street help more than people expect, because most thefts are crimes of quick opportunity. A lockable parcel box is the only option here that physically stops a grab: everything else just shifts the odds in your favor.
Start with the carrier: report it and confirm the delivery scan details, since "delivered" sometimes means a misdelivered parcel a few doors down. Then the retailer: most will replace or refund a stolen order, especially if you have a police report number. File the report: it takes a few minutes online in most cities, and insurers and credit-card purchase protection often require it. If you paid by credit card, check whether your card includes purchase protection for stolen items. LetterAgent's shipping labels are Canada Post Xpresspost to Canadian addresses, and the tracking on every label is your first line of defense: you can see the delivery scan and grab the parcel quickly.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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