How common is it, where you live, for packages to be delivered to your neighbours when you are not at home?

Standard procedure here too (Netherlands).
Recently DHL and the Dutch postal services are also asking their customers whether they want to give up a secondary address (other than neighbors, or neighbors, or a supermarket), or a dedicated spot around the house (shed, basement, next to front door, on top of the garbage container, etc.).
I make sure I am at home, and if that’s not possible I go pick it up at the supermarket (very rarely I have to go to my neighbors; vice versa much more often).

I’m listed with FedEx for my neighbor across the street. He has had packages worth thousands delivered to my front porch.

In the US it varies greatly neighborhood to neighborhood. Where my parents live it still happens. Where I have lived in the last 20 years (three different locations) it doesn’t happen, although probably if I left a note or gave direction on the package to leave with a neighbor they would.

The last three locations mentioned above the package is simply left at my door if it’s FedEx. UPS either leaves at my door, or now they also coordinate with USPS and it goes to my mailbox. The mailbox fits up to about 18×12x12 inches if I were to guess and it’s air conditioned.

Not at all where I am. Drivers simply leave the package on my front stairs, rain or shine.

I once set up a waterproof, RubberMaid container at my side door and placed a sign at the front door stating “All Deliveries at Side Entrance” with further instruction on the container lid to drop them in there. They still just dropped packages on the front stairs.

I've had a lot of soggy packages. Now that we primarily work from home, it’s better.

Used to be but now they just leave them on the porch. Long ago, someone used to have to sign for the package as well.

They leave them on our covered front porches in Missouri.

Never ever. Course it’s mostly because some neighbors shoot on sight around here.

@Smashley Wow, we at least give them a chance to leave. Where you at?! Haha!

@ragingloli Is package theft an issue there? Is that what created this custom?

@KNOWITALL If you let them leave, they might come back! We drive 20 miles to a village to trick or treat in. You would NOT try that around here. Not that most folks aren’t nice, they’re just heavily armed, moderately inebriated and afraid of change.

It used to be in the small town I once lived in. Here in the suburbs it depends on how well you know your neighbors and mail carrier. Generally not a thing though.

It’s not a thing here that I know of. Maybe some people are able to arrange it with the delivery company. I’ve never done it. When I was younger and we would go on vacation, a neighbor would usually come over and feed the pets and put any packages we received on the back porch.

I would love for someone to accept all my package deliveries from Lovehoney – But of course if they ever opened anything I’d have to kill them.

Just my way of being neighborly.

It’s standard practise and the postman usually leaves a note to tell you where your package is. Most of us here have X-Ray machines so there is no need to actually open your neighbours parcels.

@flutherother – X-rays, really? And your scan your neighbor’s packages… for fun?

@Smashley I’m used to that, rural Missouri is much the same. Haha!

They leave my packages on my deck. Only if it’s accidental does it get delivered to my neighbor.

Never.

They usually leave them outside the front door. If it is raining they will put them inside the garage door.
I can only think of one time when they left a package with a neighbor and that was something that needed a signature.