Update: Amazon finally clued us in on when and how London residents can expect to receive packages on Sundays.
"Throughout the Christmas period, we will be making deliveries on Sundays in London," an Amazon spokesperson told TechRadar.
"As part of our 'Amazon Logistics' programme, we work with local and regional carriers from across the Capital who will be making deliveries every day of the week for the remainder of the festive period."
Notice he said "remainder" and not "reindeer." Amazon won't be delivering packages via Santa like we had hoped when we first glanced at this response. But confirmation of holiday-timed Sunday deliveries throughout London is helpful nonetheless.
Original article...
Amazon recently announced that it's delivering packages to customers on Sundays, and now it appears as if that'll be the case for the next five years.
A 78-page contract spells out the long-term commitment between the US Postal Service and another unspecified company, reported The Wall Street Journal today.
The agreement has been heavily redacted so it doesn't actually identify Amazon or disclose any financial data.
It has all been deemed "commercially sensitive" and is therefore blacked out.
30 day return window
Interestingly, like most consumer Amazon transactions, there's 30-day return window before ink on this five-year agreement dries.
"The contract is scheduled to expire 5 years after the effective date, unless, among other things, either party terminates the contract with 30 days' written notice to the other party" reads the contract.
The 260 weekends with Sunday deliveries are already under way and the 30 day window has almost expired. US Postal Service spokesperson Sue Brennan told us that the first deliveries kicked off earlier this month.
"On Sunday, November 10, the Postal Service began delivering Amazon packages to residential addresses in select markets, including the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan area," she told TechRadar.
Brennan didn't reveal which cities are going to be next to receive packages on this atypical delivery day, but Houston, Dallas, Phoenix and New Orleans are reportedly being eyed for 2014.
London calling
While this contract pertained to the US Postal Service and therefore Amazon customers located in America, London residents are reportedly getting a similar Sunday delivery deal.
No, America's financially-strapped government agency isn't riding the Pony Express all the way to London. Instead, Amazon is said to be using its own trucks on the extra delivery day.
This is the same approach the retailer has taken with its Amazon Fresh grocery service in parts of its home of Seattle and Los Angeles.
We reached out to Amazon for a comment about Sunday deliveries in the UK, specifically asking about the when and where. We will update this story when we hear back.
- Coming to a future Sunday delivery near you: Next-gen Amazon Kindle Paperwhite in line for screen boost
