Many know that mail is not always as fast as they would like, and at worst, not as reliable. While some have had very valuable collectibles like Pokemon Cards get lost in the mail, sometimes there are more insidious reasons for packages not showing up.
With a dearth of valuable electronics being transported through the mail as well as through delivery services like Amazon, it is a ripe season for thievery. For one particular USPS worker, this temptation proved too great. Said worker was accused of and later plead guilty to stealing multiple electronic devices, including a few gaming consoles.
This is hardly the first instance in recent memory of a video game console being stolen from a delivery service. It is also not the first instance of a console being stolen by the person whose job it was to make the delivery. An Amazon driver was fired for trying to steal a PS5, further contributing to the difficulty of getting the console. This USPS worker however was more prolific, taking an iPhone, a computer, and "PlayStation and Nintendo gaming devices." In this case it was a PlayStation 4, as this crime occurred before the PlayStation 5's release.
While these were some of the most valuable items stolen, they were not the only ones. The employee also stole numerous articles of clothing in a string of thefts stretching back before the crisis around console shortages. While the driver accused of trying to steal an Xbox Series X was no doubt thinking solely of the rare console, this USPS employee was clearly aiming for a broader market. They were fined $20,000 and sentenced to three years of probation, the first nine months of which include home confinement, which hardly sounds out of place these days.
Of course, delivery workers are far from the greatest reason that PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles remain rare even now. PS5 and Xbox Series X scalpers took advantage of the frenzy for the consoles and bought up huge swathes of them, selling them back at outrageous prices. It represents a problem that must be addressed before the next generation really gets underway.
Thieves are not, of course, limited to the actual delivery workers. The thefts are, if anything, more audacious in the UK, where gangs steal packages with tactics straight out of a Fast and Furious movie. Many might not think of game consoles as metallic gold, but they move much, much more dough than people give credit for. And considering how expensive every game console in existence is, that's saying a lot.
Source: Polygon