# Amazon putting stuff in a porch box **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926 "2023-02-17T01:49:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/1 "2023-02-17T01:49:33Z")
I had an Amazon driver put a small package/envelope in my “mail” box. And as always I thought of how much trouble they could get in for that. But then it occurred to me that there is nothing that say it is a U.S. Postal Service mail box. It’s just a black painted, unadorned, metal box screwed to my porch wall. Does that make it an official nviolable USPS Box? What if I had 4 of them at different heights, all unadorned and unlabeled, are they all Federally sacrosanct USPS territory? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/2 "2023-02-17T01:58:31Z")
I’m sure putting packages inside a box is perfectly okay. The trick would be getting delivery people to **READ** the sign. > **[Amazon.com : Please Leave All Packages Inside Storage Box Sign Metal Deliveries...](https://www.amazon.com/Please-Packages-Inside-Storage-Deliveries/dp/B07P2HL6K9)** > > Amazon.com : Please Leave All Packages Inside Storage Box Sign Metal Deliveries 6x9 Inches : Office Products [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61w3cqlIGuS._AC_SX679_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61w3cqlIGuS._AC_SX679_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/3 "2023-02-17T14:54:43Z")
Only certain “mailboxes” are approved a official. Your box doesn’t sound like one. > **[What is a USPS Approved Mailbox? A Guide to USPS Standards - National Mailboxes](https://www.nationalmailboxes.com/news/what-is-a-usps-approved-mailbox-a-guide-to-usps-standards/)** > > What’s the worst thing you can possibly imagine? Certainly, it’s having your mailbox wiped out by some reckless driver in the middle of the night.  The real nightmare is now you’re forced to remember that the only person who sends you mail is... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/4 "2023-02-17T14:57:10Z")
The hardly enforce the requirements, I built and used a wooden one for about a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/5 "2023-02-17T15:24:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m sure putting packages inside a box is perfectly okay. It is illegal for anyone other than a USPS delivery person to put something in your mailbox. So, for example, a company can’t go around putting advertising flyers in people’s mailboxes. (Although I found that [this does not apply to door slots](https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Requirements-for-City-Delivery-Mail-Receptacles).) This means that other delivery services, which are not the USPS, can’t legally leave envelopes or small packages in people’s mailboxes. Which is the basis for the OP’s question: for the purposes of this law: what counts as a mailbox as opposed to some other box where other people _are_ allowed to leave deliveries? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-putting-stuff-in-a-porch-box/979926/6 "2023-02-17T15:26:46Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Only certain “mailboxes” are approved a official. Your box doesn’t sound like one. I don’t think your link supports your claim, as the OP is talking about a wall-mounted mailbox, and your link just says “If you plan to install a wall-mounted mailbox for your home, you should check with your local postmaster.”