Finally in Canada, ‘Amazon Key’ service stops porch pirates

Love online shopping but not home a lot? Read on.

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Previously in this column we’ve looked at ways to deter package thefts – video doorbells, lockable mailboxes, or renting a PO box somewhere nearby – but a new solution may be the best yet for those who shop at Amazon.ca or via the app.

Well, new to Canada, that is.

Now available in the Great White North, Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery is a free option at checkout for Amazon Prime members ($9.99/month or $99/year) that lets you choose for the package to be left in your garage instead of your doorstep.

This protects packages from theft and bad weather that could damage a parcel left outside.

You’ll need a compatible “smart garage” door opener from brands like Chamberlain or LiftMaster, or you can purchase an aftermarket Chamberlain solution for $30 that also works with the MyQ app, required for this service to work (along with Wi-Fi).

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(MyQ also lets you do things like close a garage door via your smartphone from anywhere, if you forgot to do so after you’ve left for the day, or open it for a neighbour to borrow your leaf blower.)

HOW SECURE IS AMAZON KEY?

To mitigate safety risks, all drivers with access to your garage receive background checks before their first delivery and are only allowed to bring the parcel(s) five feet into your garage.

Drivers receive one-time, verified access by scanning your package – therefore no need to share your garage PIN code or open the door for them. Once the door shuts behind them, they cannot open it again.

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You’ll be notified on an app when the garage door is opened and closed, and you can watch, too, if you like, with optional cameras.

“Quite simply, Amazon Key is a service designed to make things easier and more secure for our customers,” Ryan Flynn, senior business development manager for Amazon Key, said in an interview with Postmedia.

“For me personally, I’m a father of a three-and-a-half and a one-year-old, and so for items like diapers and formula, I want the assurance that they’re going right into our garage,” Flynn added. “But we leave it to the discretion of our customers as they can pick and choose if they want in-garage or traditional door drop delivery.”

WHERE IS AMAZON KEY AVAILABLE?

The service started in 2017 south of the border, first allowing vetted drivers to drop a parcel just inside a shopper’s front door, but after the pandemic it shifted to in-garage delivery. Amazon says it has already delivered more than 60 million packages inside garages in the U.S. and in other countries.

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At launch, Amazon said it’s available in more than 1,700 cities, towns and neighbourhoods across Canada. As you might expect, the biggest urban centres are among them, like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, and Ottawa.

“Busy people who live in Canada in a single-family home cannot always be home to wait for a package delivery,” Kiel Fitzgerald, senior director and general manager of myQ Residential Partnerships, said in a company statement.

“Having the option to choose Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery, particularly for high priced items, offers customers who are away from home during package deliveries peace of mind that their purchases have been delivered and are secure.”

HOW TO GET GOING WITH AMAZON KEY

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If you’re in a house and a Prime member, you’ll just need to make sure Amazon Key is available in your neighbourhood and you’ve got the right garage door setup.

Go to the “Amazon Key settings” in the Amazon Shopping app and enter your postal code, then select “Get started” (or scan the QR code at amazon.ca/key). The system will check if it’s available in your area.

If it’s available to you, look at your current garage door opener to see if it already has myQ technology. If you see a myQ logo and a WiFi logo or “powered by myQ” on your garage door opener, download the myQ app from the App Store (for iPhone) or Google Play (for Android) and follow the steps to connect your garage door opener(s) to the myQ app.

If you do not have a smart garage, the $30 myQ Smart Garage Control is your least expensive solution.

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Next, link your myQ account to Amazon Key in the Amazon shopping app and turn on Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery.

Now, going forward, select In-Garage Delivery at checkout.

Amazon Key is won’t cost you anything … for now

Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery is free for Prime members until March 31, 2025.

In fact, if you try it by Oct. 22, you’ll be eligible for a $10 Amazon credit (details at Amazon.ca).

After the introductory promotion ends, Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery will be $1.99 per order, but the fee will be waived when members use “Key Delivery – Pick Your Day,” where they choose the day they want their order to be delivered.

– Marc Saltzman is the host of the Tech It Out podcast and the author of the upcoming book, Apple Vision Pro For Dummies (Wiley)

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