I don't know where you order your stuff, but I haven't had any of these problems. The only thing I can really agree with (even though I haven't had it myself) is the "being held in depot because you didn't stay home all day long to receive it"-issue.
Also I think it's fairly normal to require an address when you sign up--you usually sign up if you want to order something.
It's the shippers who are at fault. I have used TNT (through Apple Store Online); FedEx (my choice), UPS (my choice), DHL (my choice) and today Parcel Force (again my choice) to ship things.
The best one was UPS. They couldn't get their heads around the fact that I wanted to ship something from my parents' place to my new place. "So can you just tell me what the dimensions of the TV are?" "I told you. It's not here in front of me. I don't know. It's about a 30" screen." "What's the depth?" I DON'T KNOW OR CARE. Normal people do not know these things. Make me pay £5 extra for each piece of information I don't know. Just pick it up and take it to where I want it.
Also I think it's fairly normal to require an address when you sign up--you usually sign up if you want to order something.