No more wet or missing packages

Are missing or soaked packages a problem you face? 

If so this project may be for you.

A few years ago we had a lot of our shipments come up missing and for a long time I have been racking my brain trying to find a way to better protect them.  This issue became even bigger once I started receiving some items specific to work that were moisture sensitive.  This years rain has only compounded this problem.

I ended up buying this box from Home Depot but I had the very hard task of training all my package handlers to use it.  Seriously this was a monumental task, I left a sign in the mailbox and a big sign at the door but the drivers would constantly deliver to the front door mere inches from the fluorescent pink sign on the bright blue door.  In many cases I watched the driver walk right by the box to deliver to the door.

After looking high and low for a solution that would both help train my delivery people and hopefully deter would be thieves.  I came across a company called SmartSign. I really liked how professional the signs on the website looked but I had no idea how to even go about designing a sign that would both work as a training aid and look good when installed.  I ended up using a free software called Inkscape to design a sign with the desired dimension of 14"x10" and ended up settling specifically on the premium aluminum sign that would fit my requirements exactly. 

Less than a week later I had the sign in hand and am completely blown away by the quality of the print.  There are no white spots between colors at all, I was concerned about this since it seems the colors are each painted on separately given the 4 color limit and speaking of color I can't believe just how perfect the background color came out.  I didn't want it obnoxious but I wanted it visible.  I think it looks very professional, what do you think?  Also, I just love how the pre-drilled holes ended up right on the frame line... this was entirely accidental.

It turns out that Wyze tape really doesn't adhere well
to shiny plastic so I mechanically held it down with screws.
At the end of the day no one will see it anyways.

After all this work I didn't want to deter would be thieves with a simple bluff so I needed to find some cameras that would work as expected.  I looked into the Nest cams since I've installed so many of those lately for customers but I just couldn't justify spending nearly $200 each.  I really needed something cheaper but I hated to sacrifice quality for cost.  I ended up buying 4 Wyze cams and one of the new Wyze sense starter kits for a mere $100 plus shipping and found some amazingly simple mounts on Amazon.  I now get a notification directly on my phone along with 4 cloud stored 12 second videos every time a package gets delivered with absolutely no monthly fee.  This solution works so good its ridiculous... Honestly, I don't think I could've put together something with such versatility for $1,000 from Nest and at the end of the day I still would've ended up with a monthly fee.

Wyze cams aren't meant for outdoor use
but they work just fine if shielded from
precipitation.  These guys lasted over a
pretty harsh Kansas City winter
and spring just fine.

Overall, this wasn't an overly cheap project but if just one package is saved from thieves and rain I think it's worth it.  Especially if that package means the difference between getting a job done or having to wait another month for a delivery.

There is no way someone would be able to open this box
without being spotted.

I have made my sign template file available below for you to use freely.  

All I ask is that you let me know if you used it.

PNG File

Inkscape Project File