If you like to do your holiday shopping online, you’ve got a new way to pick up gifts on Route 1.
Online retailing giant Amazon has placed several automated lockers around Hyattsville, College Park and Riverdale Park where you can securely pick up packages.
Amazon Locker is a sort of one-time-use post office box. When you’re ordering online, you specify the locker where you want it delivered. After it arrives, you can pick it up using a code sent by email that opens the box.
Locally, the lockers are located at the Mall at Prince George’s, the Safeway at University Town Center, the Whole Foods at Riverdale Park Station, the 7-Eleven in College Park next to Zip’s dry cleaners and at the 3,000-square-foot Amazon store in Terrapin Row.
The main benefit of Amazon Locker is security, especially if you aren’t at home during the day or will be away for a period of time.
Unlike the post office, the stores where the lockers are located keep later hours. (The 7-Eleven and Safeway locations are even accessible 24 hours a day.) And the lockers are bigger than the typical P.O. box, where you’ll have to wait in line to get a package.
UPS has a similar package-delivery system called Access Point, with a locker at the Liberty gas station in Brentwood.
