Gadget review: The iBin

I’ve been ordering a lot from Amazon recently. Friday evening arrived and I was left with a deck of missed delivery cards, each with a different hand-scrawled instruction as to the parcel’s hiding place.

The iBin

£180 from www.theibin.com

The first soggy two - it had been raining - were an easy find by the back door.

After disturbing multiple neighbours in various states of undress, I was left with only one to locate. Believe it or not, this was the key delivery – a 1kg bag of caramelised pecans - essential for my Christmas gift baking extravaganza.

Despite repeated hammerings on the door, and a glowing shadow in one window, one of my neighbours whom I suspected had taken delivery of my nuts, would not respond.

Being out during the week and with my felines still unable to sign for parcels, I stumbled across the iBin, a British-made lockable parcel delivery box.

The premise, as you may have guessed, is simple. About the same dimensions as a microwave but a bit higher (700mm high x 410mm wide x 400mm deep), made from pre-coated steel and looking like the lovechild of a shredder and a filing cabinet, the iBin is relatively unobtrusive and can be securely bolted in place.

Internet retailers normally have a little “delivery instructions” box at checkout. On my next order I popped in my iBin’s 4 digit code and a note, and hoped for the best.

The courier, surely encouraged by yet another failed delivery attempt, duly obliged and my backup pecans were found hassle-free at the bottom of the box. The value of this £180 metal receptacle will surely be proportional to your parcel volume and neighbour friendliness, but for internet shopping addicts like me this is an ideal purchase. Just try to be in when it arrives.