Package Delivery Never Shows: What Do You Do? [Block Talk Survey]

ACROSS AMERICA — About 21.2 billion packages were shipped in the United States in 2022, a number that’s expected to swell to 32 billion by 2028 as Americans continue to rely on e-commerce for items they used to shop for in stores.

The same estimates suggest the average person receives about 64 package deliveries a year. That’s a lot of packages a day for delivery drivers to juggle, potentially increasing the chances your order will end up in someone else’s mailbox or at their door.

The packages can include everything from household goods, apparel and gifts to more urgently needed items such as groceries and prescription medications.

What do you do when you get a package intended for someone else? Do you track down the intended recipient and slip it in the mailbox or set it at the door yourself? Is it ever OK to keep a delivery that’s intended for someone else?

If your package wound up somewhere else, is it your responsibility to track it down? And what do you do if you see porch pirates cruising the neighborhood behind the delivery trucks and helping themselves to your neighbor’s packages?

We’re asking for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column. Just fill out the form below. Be assured that we don’t collect email addresses.

Editor’s note: This survey closed on July 19.

About Block Talk

Block Talk is an exclusive Patch series on neighborhood etiquette — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you'd like for us to consider, email [email protected] with “Block Talk” as the subject line.

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