I do not understand amazon packaging.

[gchappel]

I needed a 1.4x teleconverter, basically a $600 lens attachment. My normal source would take too long and amazon had it in 2 days. Arrived today.
A $600 fragile fairly high tech item is in its normal box, packed in a padded envelope. No other packaging, just the product box in a padded envelope. Box was battered, but item seems ok.
My wife ordered 2 skeins of yarn through amazon. The yarn comes in a cardboard box with the air pillow packing material filling the rest of the box.
I guess they did not want the yarn to break, but sure didn't care at all about a lens.
Nuts.
Gary

[stevej37]

I doubt Amazon has any say in the packaging.
The seller would be the one.
Just my opinion.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I especially love tiny items coming in gargantuan boxes. I bought some motorcycle gloves a couple of months ago and they came in a box big enough to fit a couple of basketballs. With padding. 🙄

At least the cats got a new box to sleep / play in for a few days.

[legion]

I think it comes down to that the packaging people have something like 20 seconds to get your item(s) packaged and taped. They probably aren't paying close attention to what is going into a package, just its size and what it will fit into. I imagine getting a small item in a huge box is because at that moment, getting a smaller box would take time and it might hurt their numbers for the day.

[Jims5543]

In the fulfillment center they have to meet a quota. If they do not have the right size box they improvise with what is handy.

I have received perplexing packaging as well. That was the reason someone gave me that was in the know.

[gchappel]

All of our packages seem to come out of the same amazon fulfillment center. I was just surprised by the variation in packaging.
Gary

[Scott Douglas]

Amazon never ceases to amaze me with how they package things my wife orders.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gchappel

I needed a 1.4x teleconverter, basically a $600 lens attachment. My normal source would take too long and amazon had it in 2 days. Arrived today.
A $600 fragile fairly high tech item is in its normal box, packed in a padded envelope. No other packaging, just the product box in a padded envelope. Box was battered, but item seems ok.
My wife ordered 2 skeins of yarn through amazon. The yarn comes in a cardboard box with the air pillow packing material filling the rest of the box.
I guess they did not want the yarn to break, but sure didn't care at all about a lens.
Nuts.
Gary

Ouch, glad it appears to be healthy. The good news is that the Camera folks usually package their stuff really well.

Originally Posted by stevej37

I doubt Amazon has any say in the packaging.
The seller would be the one.
Just my opinion.

Not the packaging of the device, the packing that the item was put in for shipping.

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

I especially love tiny items coming in gargantuan boxes. I bought some motorcycle gloves a couple of months ago and they came in a box big enough to fit a couple of basketballs. With padding. 🙄

At least the cats got a new box to sleep / play in for a few days.

We had a thread here where someone knew someone that worked in one of the Amazon warehouses. They said that speed is paramount, and if you got to a small item and only had a big box available, it was better (speed-wise) to just stick the item in the big box than it was to go back to the boxes and try to find a box the right size.

Based on experience, I'll bet that some folks that are a little lazy grab a bunch of padded envelopes of various sizes and try to put as much as possible into those for speed/efficiencies sake with less concern for the item arriving undamaged. Amazon probably assumes some shipping issues, and as long as you come in under their average, you're probably ok.

[Baz]

I couldn't be happier with everything they send to me.

Two replacement hoses for my Silverado transmission lines came in two big boxes - so nothing had to be squished.

I was impressed!

[A930Rocket]

I received my 6 pack of coin sized batteries Friday. It was in a box with 6x6x10 dimensions, plus plastic air packaging. It cost $3.50.

Margins on something like that can’t be much, but when you sell eleventy million, it’s good money.

With all the cardboard Amazon uses, where does it go when the package arrives? In the trash most of the time I think. Seems like such a waste.

[Rick Lee]

Not Amazon, but Guitar Center.

[dafischer]

All of our cardboard from Amazon goes directly to recycling.

[Dixie]

Years ago I dated a school teacher that worked summers at the Amazon Fulfillment center nearby. SHe said the pace is extremely fast. You grab whatever box is handy that you think will work. I was told pay was pretty good, but turnover was high.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by gchappel

Box was battered, but item seems ok.
Gary

Well, there ya go.
Clearly, they know what they are doing.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

In the fulfillment center they have to meet a quota. If they do not have the right size box they improvise with what is handy.

I know someone who works in a fulfillment center and the above it the reason. They don't get written up for the wrong packaging but they are under constant threat of not making quota. Some of the employees who are on a warning will even put the wrong product in a box just to get a box shipped to make quota.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

In the fulfillment center they have to meet a quota. If they do not have the right size box they improvise with what is handy.

I have received perplexing packaging as well. That was the reason someone gave me that was in the know.

I've worked there, and my nephew still does. You can set aside an order until you get the correct box for it (runners refill your supply constantly), and work the other stuff on the line until you've got the proper box. But most people just say "screw it" and throw it in whatever's within reach since that's easiest. And people know almost nothing about what they're packaging - I literally watched a kid package a hard drive and RAM with a bunch of magnets once.

Ironically, I also did a stint in Returns, where you got to see the results of some crappy packaging jobs. I once got back a shattered glass vase that had been shipped with loose rocks, no packaging around either. The customer comment just said "Seriously? SERIOUSLY?"