Thanks for the comment! In your opinion, where would be the most ideal location in New York?

Huge thanks!! Appreciate the support.

Just curious, how have you guys been doing YC? How many have gone to the US vs stay at the homebase?

There is now a kiosk outside YC and FedEx and UPS are now delivering to it.

You should get OnTrac to deliver to it as well, since Amazon often uses them.

It seems like Amazon uses OnTrac for delivery to certain areas. We haven't seen any deliveries come through OnTrac as of yet so Amazon may stick with UPS for the particular zip.

One of the major problems with carriers is that they are being pushed to drive costs down from retailers who can demand it. Residential deliveries are costly because 50% fail on the first attempt (this is why UPS charges an extra $1.25 for residential deliveries). Shipping is quickly becoming a commodity. Locker delivery enables delivery density (multiple parcels at one stop), saves huge costs compared to traditional residential deliveries, and makes returns a whole lot easier and cheaper.

Good point.

I think at least they can first call you before they attempt to deliver the package. If you are not there, then just keep the package for the next day's delivery. This will avoid the delivery failure and save time of both sides.

As I understand it the van driver gets a computer generated route with delivery stops, their GPS then gives directions for the next stop. They enter delivery details and are tracked by a centralised computer.

Given this couldn't the central computer take the driver's current location and call/text the customer with an estimated delivery time that's going to likely be within a half-hour error window (closer I'd think in town). The logisticians must have a pretty good idea of the timing for a route after all.

So when you sign up you'd ask to be notified n hours before delivery. Once the route is calculated, with say n=1, if you're first drop then you'd have a call/text (1 hour) - (first leg duration) before the driver starts their round.

Wouldn't such a system reduce delivery failures, anyone know of a company that's tried such automated delivery notifications based on routing data? [and reverted?]

My FedEx driver used to call me 5-10 minutes before delivery. Was perfect to not miss a delivery due to being in the shower/down to the corner store for bread/etc. Or if I wasn't home he wouldn't even have to attempt the delivery.

Then they removed the drivers' cell phones as a "cost saving measure", and then the driver instead had to drive out to my place 2-3 times to make a delivery, wasting his time.

They are available here in the Bay Area (I went to go see one last week). Only products fulfilled by Amazon can be shipped to locker locations.

Seems like less of an offering when compared to Pebble for more money.

Totally hear you on all accounts! This is a problem that needs a serious solution - I'm working on an idea right now to solve it, BufferBox (corporate.bufferbox.com). Essentially we allow shipping to self-serve kiosks and when a parcel arrives, an email is sent to the user with a PIN code so they can pick it up 24/7 on their schedule.

In the UK, there is a service that may be able to help you on the receiving end - myByBox (my.bybox.com). Hopefully it has help you out a bit!

We're working to bring a similar service to North America because we believe it's essential for eCommerce to grow to the next level. We've been running a pilot project to gather some data (bufferbox.com) and now we're working to expand.