Parcel Guard Protects Your Packages From Thieves and Weather

As someone who has lived in some shifty neighborhoods with some shifty neighbors, package deliveries have always caused me a bit of stress. It’s a terrible feeling to receive a “Package delivered!” notification from USPS, only to head to your door and see that your package isn’t there or soaked in rain.

Fortunately, the appliance company Danby has attempted to solve this issue with a new smart mailbox. Called Parcel Guard, this massive device is meant to sit outside your home and acts as a vault that can only be accessed by you and your mailman.

Here’s how it works: when a package is delivered, it’s put through the anti-theft drop slot at the top and falls down into the bottom vault, which can be opened using a physical key or locked/unlocked through the Parcel Guard mobile app. The vault has a weight sensor that knows when a package is delivered, and sends a mobile notification to let you know that your package has arrived.

Parcel Guard is made from industrial-grade plastic and stands 39.4 inches tall, 19.7 inches wide, and 15.9 inches deep. The drop slot is sized at 10 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and 8 inches deep—large enough to fit standard package sizes.

It can be bolted to the ground or weighted down inside to prevent theft of the Parcel Guard itself. It’s also equipped with a motion sensor and a tamper alarm that can detect package thieves and scare off their attempts. The device also has a built-in camera that can provide live streaming video, accessible through the mobile app for when you receive a tamper notification and want to know what exactly is going on with the Parcel Guard.

All in all, it’s a convenient solution and a respectable attempt at fighting off package theft. However, for us, the size of the drop slot really limits what it can protect—larger expensive items like monitors, TVs, and even espresso machines sadly won’t fit, and those are the kinds of items that need protection the most.

The Parcel Guard by Danby will be available for pre-order this week for $350.

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