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Amazon can now drop packages off in Prime members' garages


Amazon Prime can now drop packages off in your garage as it expands controversial in-home delivery service to more cities

  • Prime users can have their packages dropped off securely inside their garage
  • Key in-garage delivery requires that users own a smart garage door opener
  • Deliveryman scans your package, opens the door and the user gets a notification
  • Amazon also said its Key by Amazon service is now in 50 cities across the U.S. 

Amazon can now deliver packages securely inside your garage. 

After testing the feature in 37 cities, the e-commerce giant is officially launching in-garage delivery for Prime members. 

The firm’s Key by Amazon service, which also includes in-home delivery, now operates in a total of 50 cities across the U.S. 

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Amazon can now deliver your package securely inside your garage. After testing the feature in 37 cities, the e-commerce giant is officially launching in-garage delivery for Prime members

Amazon can now deliver your package securely inside your garage. After testing the feature in 37 cities, the e-commerce giant is officially launching in-garage delivery for Prime members

In order to use Key for Garage, consumers must have a myQ-compatible garage door opener, which usually costs $80, but Amazon is offering a discount for $50.

Users can check to see whether or not their garage door is compatible via a tool on Amazon’s website.  

The smart garage door opener is linked to the Key by Amazon app, where users then opt to have ‘in-garage delivery’ when placing an order. 

Couriers can then open and close the garage door when they drop off a package.

Users can purchase an Amazon Cloud Cam in order to watch a live or recorded feed of the delivery drop-off. 

In order to use Key for Garage, consumers must have a myQ-compatible garage door opener, which usually costs $80, but Amazon is offering a discount for $50

In order to use Key for Garage, consumers must have a myQ-compatible garage door opener, which usually costs $80, but Amazon is offering a discount for $50

Amazon sends users a notification with a four-hour delivery window, then follows up with another notification when the deliveryman has arrived at their address. 

The driver scans a barcode on the package to ensure that they’re delivering the package to the right address and near the garage door. 

After the package is placed inside, they request to close the garage door and the app will send the user a final notification.

‘The driver will always make sure your garage door is closed and secure before leaving the premises,’ Amazon noted. 

The move comes as the firm said it’s rolling out Key by Amazon (formerly known as Amazon Key) to additional cities. 

Key by Amazon is now available in 13 additional cities, including Las Vegas, Rochester, New York and Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

The service, launched in 2017, debuted as a way for consumers to let deliverymen drop packages off inside their house. 

Key by Amazon is now available in 13 additional cities, including Las Vegas, Rochester, New York and Virginia Beach, Virginia. The service first launched in 2017 with some skepticism

Key by Amazon is now available in 13 additional cities, including Las Vegas, Rochester, New York and Virginia Beach, Virginia. The service first launched in 2017 with some skepticism 

For some, it was regarded as creepy and invasive, but the firm says Prime users seem to be enjoying the service.   

‘For the past year, we’ve been thrilled to see how customers have benefited from Key by Amazon,’ Rohit Shrivastava, general manager of Key by Amazon, said earlier this year.

‘We started with the idea of in-home package delivery and quickly learned that our customers found peace of mind and delight from the control Key gives them over their most important place—their homes—even when they aren’t there themselves.

‘Key puts security, convenience, and control in the hands of our customers and we are excited to expand Key and open up more possibilities for them,’ he added. 

HOW DOES AMAZON KEY WORK?

Amazon Prime members can pay $249.99 (£190) and up for a cloud-controlled camera and lock that the company offers to install.

Delivery associates are told to ring a doorbell or knock when they arrive at someone’s house. 

If no one greets them, they press ‘unlock’ in a mobile app, and Amazon checks its systems in an instant to make sure the right associate and package are present.

As part of the Key service, subscribers of Amazon Prime, the firm's free, two-day shipping program, can also take advantage of in-home delivery

As part of the Key service, subscribers of Amazon Prime, the firm’s free, two-day shipping program, can also take advantage of in-home delivery

The camera then streams video to the customer who remotely can watch the in-home delivery take place. 

The associate cannot proceed with other trips until the home is again locked.

It is unclear if such protections will persuade customers that the service is safe to use.



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