Amazon tests in-home delivery service 'Amazon Key' in Los Angeles

Friday, November 10, 2017
Amazon tests in-home delivery service in LA
When you order a package from Amazon, you expect it to show up at your front door. Here in Los Angeles, you have a new option.

VALLEY GLEN, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When you order a package from Amazon, you expect it to show up at your front door. Here in Los Angeles, you have a new option.

L.A. is one of 37 U.S. cities where Amazon is testing its Amazon Key program, which gives delivery drivers access to your home.

Valley Glen resident Dana Dickey is a beta tester for the smart service. She says for the first time in a long while, she is not afraid of porch pirates - and it's all thanks to Amazon Key.

"Having everything secure and locked up tight, actually which is funny because people are like, 'How can you let a stranger into your house?' Well, you've got your stranger on film, first of all, and second of all, they don't even look inside your house," Dickey explained.

Dickey is one of the first in the country to get a package delivered right inside her home. Just last week, she had a delivery while sleeping.

"I didn't even hear the delivery person say, 'Amazon delivery,' but I just woke up and there was my package when I came out, and then I looked, I reviewed the footage, and there it was being delivered," Dickey described.

This is how it works. You download an app to your phone that's connected to a smart lock and a camera you have to purchase and install. A delivery person can get in through the smart lock.

Thanks to the Amazon Cloud Cam, customers can see exactly what's going on inside their home through the whole process.

It's a terrifying thought for some, who can't imagine letting a stranger inside. But Dickey says her experiences so far have been fast and easy. The delivery person hasn't even come all the way inside her home.

"I would not think twice about ordering something more expensive or bigger purchases, because it's going to be delivered right inside your house," she said.

Here's the catch - you have to be an Amazon Prime member in order to qualify for the service. Also, Dickey said she paid around $300 for the camera and the lock, but the installation was free.