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Have you ever parked your RV at a location where you’re unable to get packages delivered? Before we began traveling in our RV we saw a video from Nomadic Fanatic talking about Amazon Locker, which is an interesting way to receive packages on the road.
Amazon Locker: Have you tried it?
We recently adopted a rescue puppy we named McNally (meet him here!), and during our visit to Manitou Springs, Colorado we realized we may have to carry him quite a bit during our adventures.
That’s when we decided to do something we never thought we would… buy a dog carrying backpack. We didn’t find any nearby that we liked or that wasn’t ridiculously expensive, so we turned to our favorite online retailer, Amazon.
Over the last year, we’ve been fortunate enough to receive packages directly to our location, and I’m sure we could have sent a package to the RV Repair Shop we’re currently at, but we wanted to give Amazon Locker a try. So we ordered a Pet Carrier and collapsible dog dishes through Amazon Prime and had them delivered to a nearby Amazon Locker.
You can check out the video of us using Amazon Locker for the first time below:
The process of using Amazon Locker is fairly simple. You can look up the closest locker to you here. Once you’ve selected a locker, you’ll need to add it to your address book. After that, it’s a matter of doing your normal shopping, when checking out select the locker as the destination for delivery.
Picking up from Amazon Locker
At this point, you’ve added the locker closest to you and selected an item to be shipped to the locker. There are a few restrictions involved with what you can ship to the locker, check out the Amazon Locker Page for more details.
When it came to choosing a pet carrier for McNally a few options were ruled out because they couldn’t be shipped to the locker. Something to keep in mind.
After you place your order you’ll get a confirmation email saying your package has been sent. Now it’s a waiting game.
When it’s delivered you’ll receive an email with both a pick-up code and a barcode that you’ll want to take with you to the locker location.
Once you arrive it’s as easy as entering the code or scanning the barcode you received. As soon as you do either the door at the locker with your package will swing open. You’ve just used Amazon Locker.
Things to Note about Amazon Locker
- You have to pick up your package within 3 days of delivery.
- Not all items can be shipped to the locker, there are restrictions such as size and weight.
- Some locker locations are inside stores and may not be accessible 24/7.
- Amazon Lockers are not located everywhere as of yet, so they may not be in your area.
- You can also return items via the locker (which is pretty cool).
For more information on the lockers check out the Amazon Locker page. Once you follow that link there is more information on the left sidebar.
Overall, we had a good experience using Amazon Locker and have already used it a few more times.
As for the pet carrier we purchased, McNally’s still getting used to it and we still crack up when we use it on hikes. With that said, it has definitely come in handy and I recommend getting one if you have a smaller dog or puppy that you plan to take out on long excursions.
Not only did McNally get a carrier, but Kobe, one of our cats, got himself a new box, haha. If you watch the video at the top of this post you’ll see how quickly he claims the Amazon box as his own.
It’s been a few weeks since we ordered the backpack, but it looks like McNally may be outgrowing it here soon. We were told he’d probably get to 10 pounds but something tells us he may get bigger than that…
Update: Yup, he outgrew that thing in a few weeks, haha. You can actually see it in action in our Ouray hike video below (it’s a small clip at the 7:25 mark). We’ve since donated it, but at least he was able to use it once and we had some fun with it.
Have you heard of Amazon Locker or ever used them before?
I live and work in China. Here, most of our shopping is done online through a company called Taobao, which is much like Amazon. While most of my purchases are sent directly to the school where I work, sometimes they end up across the street at the residential towers. In China, people don’t receive most package deliveries or mail straight to the door. Instead, they use lockers that look very much like the ones Amazon has. It’s done much the same way. You receive a message on your phone that the package has arrived. Then you stand in front of the locker and let it scan your phone’s QR code or you input a numerical code. Then the door swings open and you grab your package. These have been around for years, so maybe Amazon got the idea from Taobao? 🙂
Oh wow that’s really awesome! It definitely sounds very similar to Amazon Locker so it could be where they got the idea. Definitely a clever way to get packages delivered, and we love using it. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Katie