Ex-NASA engineer's glitter bomb exacts revenge on porch thieves

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Comments

  • PJPOWER
    PJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    brianlux said:
    Good reason to have a P.O. Box or other mail service. 
    Exactly :)
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    Amazon now gives you the option of locations you can retrieve your parcels from.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • vaggar99
    vaggar99 San Diego USA Posts: 3,431
    all that effort for a glitter bomb?  i would have used something much more permanent like an actual bomb.
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,381
    edited December 2018
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    In Sweden you get a note in your mailbox and you go to your nearest supermarket or whatever and get your package.

    Why have the mailman just drop of packages like that... it doesn't make sense...
    I don't want to go to my supermarket to pick up the pizza cutting scissors that I ordered on Amazon!  =)

    Plus, our mail carriers are not worried about getting attacked by polar bears when delivering to rural areas
    Post edited by Jason P on
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • Spiritual_Chaos
    Spiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,646
    Jason P said:
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    In Sweden you get a note in your mailbox and you go to your nearest supermarket or whatever and get your package.

    Why have the mailman just drop of packages like that... it doesn't make sense...
    I don't want to go to my supermarket to pick up the pizza cutting scissors that I ordered on Amazon!  =)

    Plus, our mail carriers are not worried about getting attacked by polar bears when delivering to rural areas
    I've seen The Hills Have Eyes. There ware worse things than polar bears out there.
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,889
    edited December 2018
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    In Sweden you get a note in your mailbox and you go to your nearest supermarket or whatever and get your package.

    Why have the mailman just drop of packages like that... it doesn't make sense...
    I agree, and I don't think it should be legal for package delivery companies to do it at all. They do indeed all have the OPTION to leave a pick up notice like you say (and of course some packages require signature). But it really depends on the specific courier or carrier. One might decide to leave the package, another with the same company might leave a slip. It's all very stupid. I'm lucky in that I'm in a secure apartment building, so the mail carrier either leaves a pick up slip or comes into the secure building and leaves the package at my door in the hall, which is just fine. My actual neighbors in my hallway would never swipe a package.
    Anyway, given how common this whole package stealing thing has become, I am shocked that consumers are still putting up with this practice of leaving boxes on doorsteps visible to the street. It seems amazingly stupid. But it seems many are just too lazy to go pick up. They'd rather keep the smargasboard for the thieves open for business.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • cp3iverson
    cp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    edited December 2018
    F Me In The Brain said:
    Jason P said:
    He may want to consider moving to a better neighborhood or never order anything off the internet again
    Yeah, dude must live in the frigging ghetto.
    Trust me.  Happens in gated neighborhoods with hired security.   USA Today found last year that 31% of the however many thousand they polled have had it happen to them.  I know on my local news theres a new video every single night and im in a very nice area.  Thanks to Ring cams and regular cameras they’re catching a lot of these idiots who apparently are too lazy to work but are motivated enough to drive through neighborhoods all day.  

    I love that video tho. Genius :lol:
    Post edited by cp3iverson on
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,761
    How about instead of glitter use stink bombs loaded with butyric acid?  Butyric acid has one of the most putrid odors of any substance.  Getting spattered with some of it would very likely dissuade future thefts from the offender.   Place the package in the middle of the driveway so that the remaining substance could be washed away later. 

    PJ_Soul said:
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    In Sweden you get a note in your mailbox and you go to your nearest supermarket or whatever and get your package.

    Why have the mailman just drop of packages like that... it doesn't make sense...
    I agree, and I don't think it should be legal for package delivery companies to do it at all. They do indeed all have the OPTION to leave a pick up notice like you say (and of course some packages require signature). But it really depends on the specific courier or carrier. One might decide to leave the package, another with the same company might leave a slip. It's all very stupid. I'm lucky in that I'm in a secure apartment building, so the mail carrier either leaves a pick up slip or comes into the secure building and leaves the package at my door in the hall, which is just fine. My actual neighbors in my hallway would never swipe a package.
    Anyway, given how common this whole package stealing thing has become, I am shocked that consumers are still putting up with this practice of leaving boxes on doorsteps visible to the street. It seems amazingly stupid. But it seems many are just too lazy to go pick up. They'd rather keep the smargasboard for the thieves open for business.
    This, of course, is the most reasonable approach.  Just don't have stuff shipped so it ends up sitting on your doorstep.  Problem solved.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    Apple requires a signature.  I do not remember the last time I ordered from Amazon that required a signature.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • Kat
    Kat Posts: 4,983
    Heh. That was brilliant. 
    Falling down,...not staying down
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739

    Give Peas A Chance…
  • Spiritual_Chaos
    Spiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,646
    edited December 2018
    Meltdown99 said:

    How can a litter box ever be full?

    That person should not be allowed to have cats.
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,761
    Meltdown99 said:

    Brilliant!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 45,164
      https://gizmodo.com/viral-video-of-glitter-bomb-for-package-thieves-exposed-1831254130?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&fbclid=IwAR1cRbYA3_VE21GqhojgUVwWmI4kPcU8UxRQVwSc5ZmEIeKHp_ET729Qpts&fbclid=IwAR1Sz5-vVMV9BQpL-7uhPw8Illns0Josmneq4ZrDR7gFKzSkksdh0Fj4Nxs

    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 10,024
    PJ_Soul said:
    Spiritual_Chaos said:
    In Sweden you get a note in your mailbox and you go to your nearest supermarket or whatever and get your package.

    Why have the mailman just drop of packages like that... it doesn't make sense...
    I agree, and I don't think it should be legal for package delivery companies to do it at all. They do indeed all have the OPTION to leave a pick up notice like you say (and of course some packages require signature). But it really depends on the specific courier or carrier. One might decide to leave the package, another with the same company might leave a slip. It's all very stupid. I'm lucky in that I'm in a secure apartment building, so the mail carrier either leaves a pick up slip or comes into the secure building and leaves the package at my door in the hall, which is just fine. My actual neighbors in my hallway would never swipe a package.
    Anyway, given how common this whole package stealing thing has become, I am shocked that consumers are still putting up with this practice of leaving boxes on doorsteps visible to the street. It seems amazingly stupid. But it seems many are just too lazy to go pick up. They'd rather keep the smargasboard for the thieves open for business.
    I'm still betting it is a small percentage that get stolen, I'm guessing less than 1%.  I've actually never had a package stolen from my porch. 
    And cost is probably a big factor as well. People don't want to pay the extra bucks for a signature, or pay to have a third party hold it or whatever. 
    I have a small Etsy shop I do on weekends. I have about 500 orders I've completed. For the first year (about 100 orders) I paid the $3 per package for a signature and delivery confirmation because I was worried about it getting stolen and being out $50 to send a replacement. Then I realized after about 100 orders, I've spent $300 on signatures and never had a single issue. I could get about 5% of my boxes stolen and still be better off. So I stopped requiring a signature with the assumption I'd be out of pocket for anything stolen. Haven't had a single issue with 400 orders since, which has saved me about $1200 in shipping confirmation alone.
    Cheapest delivery options are usually just drop it off at the door and walk away, and merchants know the risk is worth the savings.
    And for more expensive items we still have the option to hold or require pickup. How much money would these business be out that ship hundreds, or thousands of things every day if they paid for that delivery confirmation?  It's cheaper to just drop it off at the porch and replace anything that gets stolen.

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