Porch Pirates  What do you do if someone steals your package

Porch Pirates: What to do if someone steals your package

Every Friday, we answer a common question about fulfillment, shipping, or business. This week’s question comes from one of the TV fans who entered our giveaway contest for a Fire Stick. Today we will answer the following question: “what do you do if someone steals your package?”

Thirty-one percent of people have had a package stolen from their doorstep. The people who commit the heinous crime of stealing from people’s doorsteps are called porch pirates. They have a surprisingly big impact on the economy. After all, the possibility of losing, say, a $1,000 package that you rightly ordered can really put a damper on eCommerce. Whether you’re an online shopaholic or a dropshipper extraordinaire, this is a common question that you should pay attention to, especially with the holidays right around the corner.

How to Prevent Porch Pirates from Stealing Your Packages

If you’re an online shopper, there are a few things you can do to prevent packages from being stolen. In fact, prevention is a lot better than trying to recover a package after the theft. Even if you do end up finding the package or receiving a replacement, it’s still a hassle.

With that in mind, here are some ways to stave off porch pirates:

  1. Track your package. Nothing is more embarrassing than calling about a stolen package that has been merely delayed.
  2. If your package has been delivered, make sure it’s not in a weird area (i.e. next to your porch but not on it, in your garage, and so on).
  3. Make sure your neighbors don’t have it. Every once in awhile, a neighbor will bring a package in for you to prevent it from being stolen.
  4. If you’re looking to beef up home security because of regularly stolen packages, start with a security camera.
  5. Have future packages delivered to another place, such as a UPS Access Point or Amazon Locker.

What You Can Do If a Porch Pirate Stole Your Package

All the above is great, but if you’ve already fallen victim to porch pirates, it doesn’t do you much good. So let’s talk about what you can do after a package has been stolen.

  1. Contact the seller. Sometimes they’ll send you a replacement at no additional charge.
  2. File a claim with the shipping company. Seller won’t budge? Try filing a claim with the shipping company, such as UPS, USPS, or DHL.
  3. If that doesn’t work? If you ordered the item on a credit card, you may be eligible for purchase protection. The credit card company can then reimburse you.
  4. If an item is really expensive and you’ve exhausted all other options, you can try claiming high-value items with homeowners’ or renters’ insurance.

Bonus tip: if you’re a seller, look into shipping insurance. It can protect you from your customers’ porch pirates!

Final Thoughts

Having something stolen from you is incredibly irritating. This is especially the case when it involves some hotly anticipated item that you ordered online and have been waiting on. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent porch pirates from ruining your day – both before and after the fact!

You’ve done everything by the book. Your Kickstarter campaign is almost ready to launch.

You made a great product. Built an audience. Set up a campaign page.

But how do you ship it?

We put this checklist together to help you get started. It's free.