Question about receiving a delivery from FedEx

[PostTenebrasLux]

Good evening, friends. FedEx tells me my package, a discreetly marked package containing um...'computer parts', or uh...'stuff for a class project', is probably going to show up at my place some time tomorrow. I know I'll be gone, and so far it looks like the thing to do is leave a note for the deliveryperson indicating that they should leave the package at the door (actually just inside the first door). The nice lady on the phone said this order doesn't require a signature.

The thing I'm worried about, and am looking for advice on, is this:

I live alone in a building with several other--about 9--people who also live alone. A collective of loners...and I think the neighbors are all fairly open minded... In your opinions, would it be safe to have a box from XP Medical sitting just inside our building by the mail slots for the better part of a day?

I did some searching through ADISC, and general consensus seems to be that there's nothing to fear given the appearance of the packaging. I suppose the last risk would be somebody taking/moving it. (Although knowing these neighbors, they'd probably just set it by my door without giving thought to what might be inside.)

Thanks for any thoughts/recommendations. I'll be up for a bit, and am thankful for the faster pace of this forum compared to others I've known. Looking forward to trying the 'real thing'.

 

[Pojo]

Well I've ordered from them...And that package is just a brown box...Nothing alerting people...But it's not a small little box...There is nothing on the box that says that it's from XP Medical...The return address is like XPM or something like that...So pretty much no one has any idea what's inside of it

 

[Trevor]

Although I don't care to leave things lying around like that in my building's lobby, I think the odds are quite good that they'd be okay there. I've only ever had one shipment come that wasn't discreet to my way of thinking, and it wasn't from XP Medical. Luckily, I happened to be home for that particular shipment. Best of luck with yours.

 

[PostTenebrasLux]

Thanks, guys. I just refreshed the 'tracking' page and I see that mine has arrived in my city. I wish I could just go to their distribution center and pick it up...

Heard a large diesel go down the street a few minutes ago, but no luck.

Any estimates on the dimensions of the box?

 

[Pojo]

It's like the exact size of the bag of diapers...I'm not sure on the dimensions though

 

[Fire_lupine06]

I've got a box from XP before...Discrete small and nice

 

[T00L]

If you're not going to be home and the package doesn't require any type of signature they'll either leave it outside your door, leave it with someone in the lobby of your building, or just say they failed the delivery and take it back to the hub it depends on the driver.

 

[babyboy]

Your neighbors probably will not even look at it, well unless they are also expecting a large package too, then they just look at the too, and not bother with who it is from. I have gotten deliveries from babykins a few times, and not one has asked (admittedly it is a much smaller package for me.)

 

[July]

I'd say it's ok... they only mishap we have had, and it wasn't with FedEx, is we received the 'goods' here at our house and hello! The freaking box was ripped open like it wasn't taped shut properly and anyone that came to the door that day while our package was out saw it... luckily, we have a court yard before getting to the front door of our house, so probably just our mail carrier saw... but still!

 

[starshine]

You can call your local fedex... I know they will usually tell me if it's on a truck, and if it is I know I can go wait for it outside or something.

 

[PostTenebrasLux]

Thanks for the info, everyone. I had to leave this morning before most civilized folks are even done dreaming, and there was just nothing I could do about it...

According to the tracker web page, the package arrived just after noon. When I got home earlier this evening I found it sitting by my door, along with the FedEx sticker the driver left on the front door to the building. I've got some pretty nice neighbors.

That, and XP seems to stand out in the way of customer service--I'm really impressed. Their famous discretion is no myth--the box had NOTHING on it but a sticker with tiny, cryptic print.

I'm not a giganto fan of FedEx ground after this, but I do feel pretty good about the neighbors. I thought about each and decided if someone *had* to know, I don't figure I'd mind it being any of them.

On a somewhat related note, these Abenas aren't as soft and thick as I was expecting, but I'm certainly not disappointed.

 

[SteveC1981]

Sorry it's a little late, but I guess I could add something for what it's worth.

As far as receiving diapers through Big Brown or FedEx, for the most part, there's only a couple of things to worry about.

1. Plain or not, the box the diapers are shipped in has to make it to your house intact. If it's not taped well enough or the box is damaged, the contents could be seen that way, regardless of how plain the box is.

2. (this is dependent on where you live) For those who are blessed with snow (like me), it's a bad idea to leave a cardboard box outside in the snow for several hours....they can get wet (see #1). Of course, there are also less intelligent people in this world who like to STEAL things (this just happened to my mom a couple weeks ago...). It's a good thing your neighbors brought it in. As far as reading the address labels...the return ones are a great deal smaller than the delivery address, so you would have to be pretty nosy to find out what was inside.

 

[PostTenebrasLux]

Thanks for the cautionary points, SteveC1981. All things considered, I feel like I'm coming to the conclusion that ultimately, this isn't worth the money and the risks. When I indulge in my little side, I don't wake up feeling any better or any less isolated.

It's nice to have the privacy necessary and services available to be able to explore a bit, and I'm happy to have tried this, but it'll probably be a while before I try this again. On the other hand, and maybe this should go in a different thread, I've noticed that since I ordered these, I've been thinking more about ordering the related props. Makes me wonder how far I'd go, given the opportunity.

I just need a break from the day to day. Gotta spend some time in the woods--remind myself I'm a man. This may also be the result of a bacon deficiency in my diet.

Thinking about the woods...there's a fairly strong likelihood I'll be a rural fellow when I start receiving real pay checks. I'll bet it's a lot easier to receive deliveries in the middle of nowhere.