Convenience/Security: ship cameras to Amazon Lockers (varies by region)

If you are having issues with missed deliveries and such or the idea that the delivery guy will just leave a gadget on your doorstep without a signature, you may be interested in this: digital cameras are among the items eligible for delivery at Amazon Lockers. You can search for locations or request Amazon Lockers for your areas of interest at the Amazon Lockers page. Availability of Amazon Lockers varies depending on your location.

If you are not familiar with Amazon Lockers, we tested them out for you. They work like this: when you place an order at Amazon, instead of shipping it to your home/office/regular address, you ship it to an Amazon Locker facility. You must select this at the Amazon Checkout page. For security purposes, you will be prompted to enter the credit card information again. When the items are delivered, Amazon sends you an email with a delivery code (mix of letters and digits). You then drive to the Amazon Locker facility and enter the delivery code at the Amazon Locker machine. Just like that, one of the lockers magically opens, and your items are right there waiting for you in the familiar Amazon packaging. There are lockers of different sizes, so they can accommodate things big and small. There are limits on the big, for example, you can't fit an HDTV in the lockers. At least the ones I have seen.

If you want to test the waters first, it may not be a bad idea to try it with a low-risk purchase, for example, just send a book or a DVD to an Amazon Locker to get a hands-on feeling of how it works.

Amazon Lockers are available at select 711 stores and according to the internets, Amazon is also working on installing them at select Staples and Radio Shack stores.