Package thefts are a serious problem for Americans, but Amazon sellers are the ones being taken advantage of?

It is learned that the number of package thefts in the United States surged at the beginning of the epidemic. Although it has eased since then, the latest survey of more than 1,500 American consumers by ValuePenguin shows that the theft of home delivery packages is still very serious.

The survey showed that 35% of Americans said they had experienced package or courier theft, of which 59% said it happened in the past year, and most thefts occurred in single-family homes (62%) and apartment buildings (23%). Even with the installation of cameras, it was of no avail.

Higher-income earners were more likely to have recently experienced a package theft than lower-income earners. People making between $75,000 and $99,999 a year were the group most likely to have had a package stolen in the past year.

Meanwhile, Millennials (29%) and Gen Z (28%) were most likely to report having a package stolen in the past year, compared with 19% and 8% of Gen X and Baby Boomers, ages 42 to 56.

According to the survey, the average estimated value of items stolen from Americans in the past year was $114, yet only 17% of victims of package or courier theft said they had reported the theft to the police. Most chose to resolve the issue by filing a claim with the seller (62%), while 30% chose to file a claim with the shipping company.

Most consumers believe that claims against large online retailers such as Amazon are most likely to result in compensation. Those who make claims through courier companies may have a harder time getting their money back, and reporting the incident to the police is even less likely to result in compensation.

In fact, most of the packages stolen in the past year were ordered by consumers from large retailers.

The most commonly stolen packages were those ordered from Amazon (62%), other online retailers (33%) or food delivery services like Instacart or HelloFresh (11%), according to the survey.

This means that Amazon sellers are more likely to encounter lost item claims from customers. Since Amazon will approve refunds requested by buyers in most cases, the third-party sellers will ultimately bear the losses.

According to the survey, 55% reported receiving all refunds or replacement items. However, 29% said they received no money or had to pay extra for replacement items.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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