I was house working home when a loud clatter in the garden startled me. I guessed it was an eagerly dropped item, but I don’t have imagined the whole scope of the event that originated the sound.

After I made my way upstairs to research, I found the double string link gate on the side of my house had been kicked in by an Amazon delivery driver evidently unable to figure out the basic butterfly latch. The brute power access busted the lock’s wooden framework, necessitating a repair that requires woodwork knowledge I don’t have.  

Two devastating pieces of evidence– my Amazon deals– were dropped some feet inside the gate. To make matters worse, the vehicle left both doors wide open, leaving my garden exposed to a canine leave.  

I reported the destruction and filed a state with Amazon

Obviously, I reported the incident through the company’s website event website and contacted Amazon customer support by phone. A polite woman instructed me to file a claim. I did so within a day, including the repair cost estimate of$ 500 that I had secured from a local handyman, the Amazon package delivery timestamp and several photos of the busted gate, also timestamped moments after the packages were delivered.

The claims department said it would render a decision “within a couple of days. “

Despite all the evidence, Amazon wouldn’t pay

A week and one follow-up email later, Amazon replied and informed me that without visual evidence of the incident, they wouldn’t be reimbursing me for the damage.  

After a healthy bout of cursing this decision from the 2. 37 trillion-dollar-company, I decided I’d outfit every entry point of my yard and home with a security camera with video storage so I could pull footage if something like this happened again– though my canceled account ensures that it won’t be at the hands of Amazon.  

A cheap video camera would have saved me$ 500

For me, this was a no-brainer. Security cameras can  cost as little as$ 45 for the base unit and$ 5 or less per month for storage. Beyond safety for yourself, family, pets and packages, these affordable smart home devices may save me a headache in any number of scenarios from overzealous delivery workers with gate latch ineptitude to falling trees planted in a neighbor’s yard.

I grew up in a no-lock home, and to this day don’t fear violent breaking and entering, naive as that might be. But the experience of a likely underpaid and overworked delivery person causing ( probably ) unintentional, but significant, damage to my less than one-year old home was reason enough to cover my bases. I’ve since ordered a video camera to point at the side gate entry, in addition to the Roku video doorbell already fastened to my front door ( which was of no use in this situation ).

So where to find the best home protection at a price I could stomach? Our home security expert Tyler Lacoma has tested all the top video doorbells and home security cameras available in 2025. He recommends the versatile Arlo Pro 5S  –$ 120 for the camera and$ 8 per month for storage– as the best overall, so I promptly ordered it.  

Best Buy dropped it gently on my steps a few days later.