You have often heard stories or seen videos of Amazon packages being stolen from a porch by a random package thief walking off the street. That is nothing compared to what goes on inside an apartment complex. The porch is the doorstep to your apartment, the street is your building hallway, and that random package thief is most likely your next door neighbor. And packages disappear all the time.
If your leasing office does accept packages on your behalf, their business hours are often the same as your working hours and you will have to wait until the weekend to pick up your package. Beyond using Amazon Locker for Amazon packages, sending packages to a FedEx or UPS store, and renting a post office box for everything else, there are few alternative solutions for apartment residents.
That’s where the Hub by Amazon comes in.
My apartment complex ringed in the New Year with an Hub by Amazon at the mailbox courtyard. Hub by Amazon operates the same way as an Amazon Locker that you see at retail locations. When your Amazon package arrives at the Amazon Locker, you get an email notification and you can pick up your package at your convenience within three days. Unlike the Amazon Locker, the Hub by Amazon is available in neutral colors like blue, gray or white, accepts Amazon and non-Amazon packages from all carriers, and is accessible only by apartment residents.
The outdoor Hub by Amazon at my apartment complex is huge, being approximately 18 feet long, two feet deep and seven feet tall. That includes a Starter Hub with touch screen panel and 42 compartments, and four expander hubs with 23 compartments each. With 134 compartments of various sizes for 300 apartments, Hub by Amazon replaced the eight package lockers from the post office at the same location. The smallest package that is a thick catalog envelope and the largest package is a 22 x 17 x 10 box.
You will need to have or sign up for an Amazon account to register with the Hub by Amazon website, verifying both your email address and apartment address.You don’t need to be an Amazon Prime member and there are no additional fees for using the Hub by Amazon.
The upfront costs of Hub by Amazon are paid for by the leasing office, making it a win-win situation for everyone involved. Residents are no longer frustrated by stolen packages. The leasing office can get out of the package management business. Amazon can save a ton of money by not having to ship out replacement packages.
If you live in a medium to large apartment complex, a Hub by Amazon might be in your future.