78 Delivery Fails That Are Simply Disappointing But Also Hilarious

If you’ve ever received a damaged, misplaced, or otherwise ruined package, you’re not alone. In the U.S., 67% of consumers report experiencing some kind of problems with home delivery. Most examples of why they’re unhappy, you can probably find on this list. Nevertheless, such bad experiences lead people to avoid ordering online in the future.

But such is the reality of e-commerce today: there are probably few people who haven’t had at least one order in the last 10 years or so. According to Shopify, electronics are the most common items people order online. In 2024, online electronics purchases in the U.S. totaled $922.5 billion in revenue. Fashion, food, and beverages followed, with items like furniture, hardware, and media being less popular to order online.

Many delivery mishaps start with failed first attempts. A delivery worker approaches your house with a parcel, rings the doorbell, but there’s no one home, so they either leave a notice, put the package on your doorstep, or leave it to porch pirates to steal. However, first-attempt delivery failures aren’t as common as we might think — perhaps it’s just our own bias?

According to research, only about 3% of deliveries in the U.S. fail on the first attempt. In the UK, it’s about 6-7%. Still, that’s quite a small percentage, and companies have an incentive to ensure customers receive their deliveries the first time. In fact, 63% of people in the U.S. claim to have taken action against a delivery service or a retailer because of a bad delivery experience.

Sometimes, even if a delivery worker does their job perfectly, you might still not get your package. Porch pirates are a problem everywhere, with £666.5 million worth of parcels stolen in the UK in 2025. While the term for the thieves sounds whimsical, the scope of the problem is quite serious. We are at the peak of online shopping, so there’s never been more opportunities to snatch someone’s parcel from their porch.

However, experts say it’s not the only reason people are experiencing more visits from porch pirates. “People see it as a low-level crime opportunity and are taking advantage of it,” Gary Winter, the vice-president of global strategic initiatives at the technology company Quadient, explains.

There’s also the fact that we don’t have to sign off on many of our deliveries nowadays. In the past, your signature was required to get something delivered to your home. But today, this process is far easier: a delivery person can just chuck your parcel at your front door, take a picture, and mark it as “delivered.”

Couriers also lack the time to ensure every parcel reaches its recipient. As the vice chair of the UK’s National Courier and Despatch Association, Darren Walmsley explained to The Guardian, their workload is just too big.

“[Multi-job couriers will] be asked to do 100-plus deliveries a day, whereas a same-day delivery driver might do 10 deliveries a day, so they can afford to take a lot more time. For example, if someone elderly ordered something quite large, the courier would be more able to assist them to get the package inside.”

What is your funniest or most infuriating experience with delivery services, Pandas? Have you ever gotten a package so mangled and disrespected that you had to contact the service provider? Do you have any funny stories about your packages? Let us know in the comments! And while you’re here, don’t forget to check out these face-palm-worthy food delivery fails and the most hilarious photos people received from their food delivery drivers.