[moose eater]

Last shipment of equipment I received totaled nearly $1,000 in value, and was delivered FedEx 2nd Day Air. I don't think I had to sign for it, though perhaps I'm not remembering correctly.

Anyway, often times a company will ask the sender what stipulations they want for a delivery.

Wait and see... That's what you can do.

[redlaser]

The fedex guy in our area does not give a single fuck about getting sigs for packages. I had two different dehumidifiers sent recently requiring signatures both times and FedEx just drops it off.
Same Fedex driver blows through stop signs like he's running with sirens and lights, dude is a trip.

[Easy7]

Ya, my old mail man would plow into trash cans that blocked mail boxes and throw packages 10 feet.

[Ready4]

If your order through Fedex is insured for over a certain $ amount ( 400-500 I think) , indirect signature is automatic by Fedex policy.
Signature required is often used simply to prevent fraud & package theft. Apartment deliveries very often get signature requirement.
Signature is nothing to be alarmed about, if they were on to you that much, then getting a signature would not add much.

Also, the Fedex drivers on ground/home packages are NOT Fedex employee's like UPS drivers, who all work for UPS.
Fedex routes like home/ground delivery, are private owned routes - the employees are employees of the route company owner.
The advantage of Fedex is that these independent route owners are responsible for condition of packages - if your item gets broken by driver mishandling, the route owner company has to pay Fedex for the insurance claim payoff = generally very good care of packages. Bad drivers are not tolerated for very long.

[moose eater]

Originally Posted by Ready4

If your order through Fedex is insured for over a certain $ amount ( 400-500 I think) , indirect signature is automatic by Fedex policy.
Signature required is often used simply to prevent fraud & package theft. Apartment deliveries very often get signature requirement.
Signature is nothing to be alarmed about, if they were on to you that much, then getting a signature would not add much.

Also, the Fedex drivers on ground/home packages are NOT Fedex employee's like UPS drivers, who all work for UPS.
Fedex routes like home/ground delivery, are private owned routes - the employees are employees of the route company owner.
The advantage of Fedex is that these independent route owners are responsible for condition of packages - if your item gets broken by driver mishandling, the route owner company has to pay Fedex for the insurance claim payoff = generally very good care of packages. Bad drivers are not tolerated for very long.

Our drivers here, in Interior Alaska, where I am, are driving FedEx trucks and wearing FedEx uniforms. Not sure of any other contractual relationships with FedEx, but that's who we see here.

[aridbud]

FedEx Ground is one of the largest delivery companies in the country. In 2013, drivers traveled more than a billion miles delivering packages for FedEx Ground and its subsidiary, but not as employees. Unlike other delivery companies, FedEx Ground uses a network of independent contractors instead of employees to transport packages across the country.

FedEx Ground says the company vets all of its independent contractors, but some companies with poor records may slip through the cracks, operate illegally on the roads, and put other drivers in potential danger.

[Ready4]

Originally Posted by moose eater

Our drivers here, in Interior Alaska, where I am, are driving FedEx trucks and wearing FedEx uniforms. Not sure of any other contractual relationships with FedEx, but that's who we see here.

Yes, all the independent route employees still wear Fedex uniforms & the trucks they drive all say Fedex.
When Fedex first went to independent routes, these routes were free. Now you should see how much the routes sell for, many people that got routes for free have sold their routes for very good money.

[redlaser]

Originally Posted by Ready4

If your order through Fedex is insured for over a certain $ amount ( 400-500 I think) , indirect signature is automatic by Fedex policy.
Signature required is often used simply to prevent fraud & package theft. Apartment deliveries very often get signature requirement.
Signature is nothing to be alarmed about, if they were on to you that much, then getting a signature would not add much.

Also, the Fedex drivers on ground/home packages are NOT Fedex employee's like UPS drivers, who all work for UPS.
Fedex routes like home/ground delivery, are private owned routes - the employees are employees of the route company owner.
The advantage of Fedex is that these independent route owners are responsible for condition of packages - if your item gets broken by driver mishandling, the route owner company has to pay Fedex for the insurance claim payoff = generally very good care of packages. Bad drivers are not tolerated for very long.

That’s interesting about the automatic indirect signature. Makes sense I guess, not sure why they even bother to tell people it needs to be signed for. Not really a security issue with the signature, more of an inconvenience to be available to sign.
Probably could have set it up so it didn’t need to be signed for, just didn’t see that option when ordering.

[Ready4]

Originally Posted by redlaser

That’s interesting about the automatic indirect signature. Makes sense I guess, not sure why they even bother to tell people it needs to be signed for. Not really a security issue with the signature, more of an inconvenience to be available to sign.
Probably could have set it up so it didn’t need to be signed for, just didn’t see that option when ordering.

The automatic indirect signature is not something that the sender or buyer can simply opt out of, it is Fedex policy for insurance purposes, all packages that are insured for over $400-500 get ISR when label is printed, whether you want it or not.
There are options like "hold at location", which means you can pickup from a designated Fedex location. Also other options, such as a certain time frame such as after 5pm delivery, also Fedex can call you to arrange a delivery time - both of these options require extra fees.

[redlaser]

Originally Posted by Ready4

The automatic indirect signature is not something that the sender or buyer can simply opt out of, it is Fedex policy for insurance purposes, all packages that are insured for over $400-500 get ISR when label is printed, whether you want it or not.
There are options like "hold at location", which means you can pickup from a designated Fedex location. Also other options, such as a certain time frame such as after 5pm delivery, also Fedex can call you to arrange a delivery time - both of these options require extra fees.

Wonder what the point of auto indirect signing is, beyond just keeping things moving.
Seems like vendors would want a buyer to do the actual signing, especially for more expensive items.