Amazon Will Now Deliver Packages To the Trunk of Your Car (theverge.com) 135
Last year, Amazon unveiled a service called Amazon Key that lets delivery people into your home to drop off packages. Now, the tech giant wants to do the same thing with your car. Amazon announced a new service that gives it couriers access to a person's vehicle for the purpose of leaving package deliveries inside. "Amazon wants to use the connected technologies embedded in many modern vehicles today" to gain entry, reports The Verge. "The company is launching this new service in partnership with two major automakers -- General Motors and Volvo -- and will be rolling out in 37 cities in the U.S. starting today." From the report: Amazon has been beta testing the new service in California and Washington state for the past six months. To start out, the service will only be available to Amazon Prime subscribers. It's also limited to owners of GM and Volvo vehicles, model year 2015 or newer, with active OnStar and Volvo on Call accounts. Amazon says it plans to add other automobile brands over time. Packages that weigh over 50 pounds, are larger than 26 x 21 x 16 inches in size, require a signature, are valued over $1,300, or come from a third-party seller also are not eligible for in-car delivery.
To access the new delivery service, you need to add your car to your Amazon Key app and include a description of the vehicle, so Amazon's couriers will be able to locate it. The car will need to be parked within a certain radius of an address used for Amazon deliveries, so either home or work. Driveways, parking lots, parking garages, and street parking are all eligible locations, just as long as it's not at some random address across town. To find your car, Amazon's couriers will have access to its GPS location and license plate number, as well as an image of the car.
To access the new delivery service, you need to add your car to your Amazon Key app and include a description of the vehicle, so Amazon's couriers will be able to locate it. The car will need to be parked within a certain radius of an address used for Amazon deliveries, so either home or work. Driveways, parking lots, parking garages, and street parking are all eligible locations, just as long as it's not at some random address across town. To find your car, Amazon's couriers will have access to its GPS location and license plate number, as well as an image of the car.
It's amazing... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's amazing how much amazon has access to your stuff, isn't it?
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It's amazing how much amazon has access to your stuff, isn't it?
Did you give them access to your car's remote operations? No? Amazing!
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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It's amazing how *anybody* thinks this is a good idea given the low wages Amazon delivery drivers make.
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It's amazing how *anybody* thinks this is a good idea given the low wages Amazon delivery drivers make.
I think it's a very good idea! Now I'm going to order some raw fish and have it delivered to my coworkers Volvo in the middle of summer.
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https://www.amazon.com/Lutefisk-Lover-Gift-Basket/dp/B00TXQQRPE/ [amazon.com]
Killer App (Score:4)
So Amazon now has a video echo in your bedroom. It also knows your purchase history. So every time you have sex it knows (AI used to detect the sounds of sex. The camera makes it even easier). It knows how many condoms you ordered and hence how many you have left. So next time you go to have sex an Amazon drone will come to your window and knock and your Amazon Echo will ask "Do you need a condom? Say yes to purchase!!"
Profit!!!!
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hey, hey, bro...
I guess you abstracted my point pretty well...
Special instructions. (Score:5, Funny)
Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.
Re:Special instructions. (Score:5, Funny)
Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.
Passing this along: Amazon sells Body Bags [amazon.com] ...
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First check from Amazon, second check FBI/NSA/drug cartel/....
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Lots of complications there. If the aforementioned body is in rigor mortis, are they required to come back after that has passed? Also, expired bodies sometimes leave icky substances around them due to the cessation of sphincter functions and so forth. If those substances damage the package, is Amazon responsible for refunds? Complex SLAs might be involved.
See, that right there are just a few of the many reasons why I always put dead bodies in a trunk that will not be used for anything else. It avoids the m
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Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.
Vehicle: Yellow Camaro, License Plate: S1RL K1LLR.
they should open a customer pickup depot (Score:3)
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Re:they should open a customer pickup depot (Score:5, Funny)
Re:they should open a customer pickup depot (Score:4, Interesting)
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Because of course everyone lives in a big city.
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They already do that. [amazon.com] Just not on a giant scale yet. There's one in the little city I live in.
Hop onto google maps and type in "Amazon Locker".
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They have tried this (may have been USPS, but it was Amazon items). A small grocery near my house would receive packages and an email would tell me where to pick it up.
The store wasn't properly trained and it was frustrating for all parties, the experiment ended after a month or so.
It could certainly work, we have problems with packages... walking off. Myself, I send everything to my wife's office these days.
Actually... (Score:1)
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I really, really detest these click-bait, rile up the masses, blatantly false headlines. Why can't we have the intellectual honestly to write, "Amazon offers delivery to newer model Onstar-enabled cars for Prime users."? Is that really so fucking hard? And if the source article doesn't have the brain cells to do that, what's the point of calling these folks editors if they just cut and paste the same garbage?
My car isn't that make and model, isn't new enough, and other than when I'm out and about running er
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The last car I owned (I'm car free now) was a Camaro with On-Star. I didn't have a subscription after the free one ran out, and I learned how to disable the module by disconnecting the antenna once I found out that they were tracking equipped cars that weren't subscribing.
I'm not paranoid about home assistants, but I'll be damned if I was going to let someone override my control of my car.
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(I'm car free now)
Given that others are suggesting that you get some sort of lock-box on your front porch maybe you should consider buying a junker with a good solid trunk that you can park somewhere close just so you can receive deliveries.
When they ask me what my address is I simply tell them "Blue 2004 Chevy Impala parked somewhere around the vicinity of [insert address here], license plate [?????]"
And then I'd have to explain that you can't open it with an app but there is a key hidden under the driver's side rear wheel
What's the point? (Score:2)
I'm not paranoid about home assistants, but I'll be damned if I was going to let someone override my control of my car.
I'm not paranoid about the various home assistants either but I don't really see the point in them. My phone can already do more or less everything they can do and it's rarely not at my side. What problem is such a device solving for me? I like a good gadget as much as most people reading this but there has to be some utility function to make it worth bothering.
Onstar is basically an (overpriced) concierge service with some access to your car controls. I don't have a principled objection but similar to
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As soon as I saw the headline (somewhere else, not on /.) of course my first question was "how would they get get into my trunk"?
I'm obviously not going to give them my key and my car is DUMB. So it only works on a handful of newer cars that already have the ability to unlock the trunk from a remote app.
BRILLIANT. Your security was already compromised. Amazon is just taking advantage of that.
But is it a big deal? The most valuable thing in my trunk is my spare tire and I don't think anyone is going to
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I've got bad news for you. Most of us know our own cars, and maybe some of the neighbors' cars. And that's about it.
A random car on the street? I'd never think twice if I saw someone putting something in the trunk.
In other words, people we don't know are walking up and putting things into car trunks all the time now, so what, exactly, are we "normalizing" that's not already a stan
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You make some good points, but I don't often see anyone putting anything in the trunk of a car and then driving away in a different car.
I wouldn't accost someone I saw doing that, but I would think it was suspicious. Until now.
If this works for Amazon and some of their customers, more power to them. I'm probably missing the market where people have multiple cars so even if they're away from home there's always that 3rd (or 4th) car sitting in the driveway. And that 3rd car that hardly ever gets driven m
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That's not a burglar. No really, he's just putting our neighbor's groceries away.
Then why is he walking out with more stuff than he went in with?
If you can drop packages off, why can't you pick up returns at the same time?
Seems dangerous (Score:3, Interesting)
I only know three people that own GM cars, and that's only because of MAGA. All three of them keep guns in their trunks. Hopefully some law prevents them from giving access to some random delivery person to their guns.
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Not that many. Florida has given approximately 6% of its adult population conceal/carry licenses, and that includes people in law enforcement, security, etc. You probably don't encounter that many people carrying weapons.
Less than 1/3 of Floridian adults own weapons, and that includes a lot of people who are too zoned out on oxycontin to remember where they put them.
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Really? Less than 1/3 own guns, and 6% have concealed carry permits? Which implies that about one gun owner in five has a concealed carry pe
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Hopefully some law prevents them from giving access to some random delivery person to their guns
Why would you need a law against some random delivery person having access to these guns, if that random delivery person can just go buy them from their nearest gunshop?
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Its a lot easier to grab a gun from a trunk (especially if that trunk is already unlocked for you) than to buy one at a gun shop with all the paperwork and checks.
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Its a lot easier to grab a gun from a trunk (especially if that trunk is already unlocked for you) than to buy one at a gun shop
Yeah in most countries, just not in America. By the way stealing is illegal. So why have a law on stealing guns from a trunk?
with all the paperwork and checks.
eL, Oh, eL.
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Your silly opinion. I would never live in a state where I could not have my fire arms in my vehicle and home. Shall I wait 40 minutes for the police to arrive and tell a burglar/criminal to wait for the police?
Yeah, that will work well. Or I could just defend myself.
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Oh please. Even here in Seattle where lack of police response is well known, it only took them 25 minutes to respond after I called them about someone with a gun that kicked in my back door.
Only? Versus having a gun immediately on hand to protect yourself? Honestly, even if the response time is 5 minutes, it's still too long.
People advocating for no guns should start putting a legally binding sign on their car and their house stating they are proudly gun free. I honestly believe that the possibility of a home owner having a gun is already a big deterrent to home invasions - but this would be a good way to put that theory to the test
Re:Seems dangerous (Score:4, Insightful)
That's scary. If your state allows people to keep guns in their trunks, why don't you move? I know I would flee that shitty state in which you live.
Almost every state allows this. The ones that don't honor the second amendment's protections also happen to have some of the worst murder rates. Is your concern that a shotgun or rifle transported in the locked trunk of your car will somehow jump out and start killing people? I've noticed that the people who most often react with your sort of irrational nonsense are generally projecting - they know that they, personally, aren't stable people.
Re:Seems dangerous (Score:4, Funny)
Have you forgotten about road rage? Gun owners constantly murder us.
You type pretty well for someone "constantly murdered."
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You type pretty well for someone "constantly murdered."
You never know. I'm not the original gnick. I murdered the original gnick after forcing him to turn over his slashdot credentials because I liked his sig.
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That's plagiarism. I don't like what you're implying.
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Two things:
No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone. Or do you seriously believe there are only twenty thousand or so gun owners in the USA?
And imagine that someone cuts you off on the road. You're totally enraged at this awful behaviour. So, you immediately reach for the gun in the trunk of your car???
Frankly, all the other problems aside, my arms just aren't long enough to reach the trunk of my car while sitting in the driver's
Off topic (Score:3)
No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone.
This is quite true. The problem is that a non trivial percentage do use firearms in anger and we generally don't know in advance which ones they are.
Or do you seriously believe there are only twenty thousand or so gun owners in the USA?
I know there are were about 38,000 deaths by firearm in the USA last year and about 15,000 of these were not suicides. It's true most firearm owners are decent law abiding people but enough aren't that its a serious problem.
And imagine that someone cuts you off on the road. You're totally enraged at this awful behaviour. So, you immediately reach for the gun in the trunk of your car???
I have seen with my own eyes someone brandish a gun due to road rage. (no nobody got shot) Yes it was illegal and no they didn't seem t
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I have seen with my own eyes someone brandish a gun due to road rage. (no nobody got shot)
I'm not sure if I have or not. Driving home from work at a very crowded intersection I passed two vehicles side by side. One was a big pick up with some angry-looking guy leaning out the window pointing something black at a man in a small car in the lane next to him. It looked like a gun to me as I drove by.
Driving past I thought- "Holy Cow" is that someone threatening someone else with a gun at a busy intersection? I considered calling the cops, but didn't because I wasn't 100% sure what I saw was a gu
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I know there are were about 38,000 deaths by firearm in the USA last year and about 15,000 of these were not suicides. It's true most firearm owners are decent law abiding people but enough aren't that its a serious problem.
Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.
Cold (and still off topic) (Score:2)
Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.
Wow, that's cold... You really think ~20,000 deaths a year don't matter?
Your statement belies an ignorance of how many suicides happen. A huge percentage [nih.gov] of them are impulse decisions made feasible by access to a readily available firearm. Sure, some people are determined to kill themselves and will find another way if they don't have access to a gun. But a substantial percentage of them would not literally because of the effort involved, surprising as that may seem. Keep them away from firearms and a
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Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.
Wow, that's cold... You really think ~20,000 deaths a year don't matter?
They matter but not in the context of gun violence anymore than suicide by knives count.
Firearms are on the bottom of the top 10 list for this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Two things:
No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone.
The bigger worry about owning a gun is not that you will murder someone, but that someone will murder you. Locked up safely and legally at home it's probably not going to be used against you. Sadly, owning a gun makes your likelihood of being murdered much higher. Sometimes with your own gun. If it's easily accessible in your trunk or your glove box, and someone finds it. They could steal it, or use it against you.
Or, even if you bring out your gun in self defence, you're more likely to provoke someone
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The bigger worry about owning a gun is not that you will murder someone, but that someone will murder you.
This entire notion is nonsense. It's simply a regurgitated meme that I'll be you can't meaningfully back up with non-spun, non-angenda-driven blog entries.
In the meantime, guns are used hundreds of thousands of times a year (I'm rounding down, here - some estimates approach millions of times a year) to stop or prevent violence and harm. The biggest worry about NOT owning a gun is that you won't be able to use that tool to prevent violence done to you or someone you care about. Meanwhile, almost all murd
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Someone is projecting, but it appears to be you.
Really? In what way, Mr. Coward? In what way, by identifying the irrationality of people thinking that a gun locked in a trunk is inherently dangerous, am I projecting? The very same people who think the gun locked in the trunk is dangerous ignore the fact that the person operating the car is far more likely - in hard, statistical terms - to kill them by poorly (or maliciously) operating the car itself.
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Yeah, but then the gun could go off in the wreck, light the gas tank on fire (something a Pinto can do with the differential), and burn down the whole neighborhood because Trump didn't want to buy sprinklers. Do you want that kind of blood on your hands?
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what else? (Score:2)
How convenient (Score:2)
All in the name of convenience.
Although it's actually all in the name of cost savings. It costs more to re-deliver packages.
Amazon assume you won't mind letting in minimum wage delivery drivers in to your home and car in exchange for increasing their profit margins.
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No, Amazon HOPES you won't mind letting minimum wage delivery drivers into your home and/or car.
It's not like it's mandatory to use these services, and if you find it convenient and acceptable, more power to you. If you don't, fine. Noone will hold a gun to your head and make you use the service....
I don't get this (Score:4, Insightful)
Why does Amazon wants access to a car or my house?
Here's a $50 solution
1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal
2) Get padlock
3) Leave padlock inside crate
4) Delivery guy places package in crate
5) Delivery guy uses padlock, locks crate
6) Get home, use only key to open padlock
7) Get package
8) ???
9) PROFIT!
And before people start tearing down this idea, ask yourself, is the flaw you found worse than "letting a stranger in my home"....
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I only had hilarious thought of someone saying how easy it would be to pry, impact hammer, saw, etc. into crate..... when of course the same thing is true of door and door frame.
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Padlock's a bad idea. They make hasps that have integrated locks. That way no one can steal your lock (which will cause the delivery to get delayed/left in an unlocked box for thieves.) Other than that, it's fine.
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You have been able to buy commercial delivery boxes for years now. Some have a time-base barcode for the delivery person to scan as proof that they were there, and I read something about some kind of certification with major delivery companies. Panasonic make them for the Japanese market but you can get them everywhere.
Personally I just get stuff delivered to work. It's considered a minor perk of the job.
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Same here. Working right next to the post office means that the lazy guys deliver EVERYTHING to my work address now, even if I order it for the home address.
Usually I don't mind that much, considering that I'm usually at work when he delivers, but it sucks when you order large and heavy stuff and are working from home, waiting for the delivery.
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The idea is good until your asshole neighbor discovers a new place for the garbage that doesn't fit into his garbage bin anymore.
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1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal
2) Come back tomorrow and find crate gone as well as a nasty note from the apartment landlord.
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The point you raised is moot.
If you live in an apartment building, amazon key does not apply to begin with. I was offering a cheap, alternative to it.
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Of course it does. I can change my lock, but I sure as fuck can't bolt something to the outside of my building. A lot of people in a lot of cities will be in this position.
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Why does Amazon wants access to a car or my house?
Here's a $50 solution
1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal
2) Get padlock
3) Leave padlock inside crate
4) Delivery guy places package in crate
5) Delivery guy uses padlock, locks crate
6) Get home, use only key to open padlock
7) Get package
8) ???
9) PROFIT!
And before people start tearing down this idea, ask yourself, is the flaw you found worse than "letting a stranger in my home"....
I have no issue with your idea... but it sounds like you want to patent a letter box.
I just get shit delivered to my workplace. Sometimes I have to sign for it (ID check requirements if I'm mail ordering booze here in the UK, they don't actually check my ID, but I have to accept the package in person).
No thanks (Score:5, Interesting)
And there is the next level of Amazon data mining. Car location, photo, license plate. All in their DB, forever.
What will they use it for? They probably don't even know yet. But use it they will.
I suppose in the end... (Score:5, Funny)
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* Amazon End Run
* Amazon Instafart
* Amazon Deliveries in the Rear
* Amazon Back Door Dash
* Iron Mountin'
* Posterior Mates
* Amazon Jam Packed
* Amazon Anything Butt
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C'mon. Buddy. The obvious one:
"Amazon. Now delivering to Uranus."
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You forgot Amazon Mechanical Turk
Homeless can use Amazon now (Score:3)
Given the high rent in California many people with jobs are homeless or living out of cars. They need to save money so ordering on Amazon makes sense. They can use smartphones to order but need an address for delivery. Till now they have been using Amazon lockers. Now they can get it delivered to their car.
Re:Homeless can use Amazon now (Score:5, Funny)
... Now they can get it delivered to their car.
Cool! That frees up an Amazon locker. I'll be moving into one of those.
I'd rather do this than let them in my house! (Score:2)
I have a lot more to lose by letting a stranger into my house to deliver packages.
Wrong answer to a problem (Score:2)
National Enquirer Headline (Score:1)
Finally doing something for their workers (Score:3)
Now those that earn SO little that they have to live in their car can order with their employer, too!
Walled off? (Score:2)
Amazon selling stuff from the trunk of their car (Score:2)
When I was a kid, there was this sketchy guy outside my high-school selling all manner of candy out of the trunk of his car. This just reminded me of that.
Meanwhile... (Score:2)
... a package that was supposed to arrive at my work yesterday was "Delivery attempted" last night at 6:15pm (and failed, natch, because we're closed) because one of the world leaders in computing and AI has NO WAY to know that this location is a business. This is a 4-story building, in a 6-building, many-acre office park, on a street full of strip malls and office parks. Because evidently Amazon does NOT have an existing list of locations that are businesses, and evidently the AMZL delivery sap has no magi
Body (Score:2)
Guess I'd have to take the body out first.
Amazon to delivery packages to your bedroom (Score:2)
It's true. It's on the Internet, so it has to be true.
https://babylonbee.com/news/am... [babylonbee.com]
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Well played.