Most of the Amazon parcels we see have an oversized box, a woefully undersized strip of air cushions and whatever you bought bouncing around in all the empty space
In Belgium the postal services give penalties if you ship out parcel which do not have the right weight/size relationship. So a big box with only a potato peeler would cost the sender extra. This way they try to discourage using oversized boxes.
I worked for a few months in packing in a Fulfillment Center, so I can shed some light on this. I don’t work in singles packing, and some of that is completely automated anyway. For each order, the system suggests a box to put the order in, based on the dimensions of each item which is already known. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of the job, but when the system is wrong, it is very wrong. I had one order with bowls that clearly stacked into each other, but the system assumed the full dimension of each bowl. I hit “wrong box size” and selected a smaller box. Later, as my speed numbers started to go down, they told me to never move orders into a smaller box. I thought this company was supposed to be working to help the environment, but whatever.
There’s one person who consolidates orders into chutes, and one day this person got upset at me for canceling each order that was incomplete. He said that hurts his quality numbers. Well, if it’s his fault, perhaps he deserves to be hit for that. He convinced me to take each order to the problem solver to fix, but that killed my time, and I got marked down so much that I am on my final strike. I guess I’m not so worried about violating the social media policy and spilling too many secrets because it looks like they want me out of there anyway.
I once bought a “clamshell” cutter for opening those blasted hard sealed plastic packages… and I need a clamshell cutter to get the package it came in open…
Amazon over-sizes the boxes to help prevent them from getting lost. The only small boxes you’ll get from them are the ones they send through the post office.
A tiny item is packed like it will explode if jostled. A large item like a crock for pickling had no packing at all and was shattered TWICE! Cancelled the order.
It is a dilemma, shop local or my save time and probably the environment- it has got to be less fuel, etc- sending it directly, cutting out the all those middle starts and stops and packaging and big store costs, land use, electricity, etc, etc. I know that means a lot of jobs lost and an interim of awful jobs at warehouses along the way [but that seems to be changing with automation and certainly will continue to change]. We are in a moment of transition and the disruptions are great- think of the buggy whip manufacturers that lost out to the car. Which is exactly the situation, new jobs – unfortunately not enough training or retraining of the workers. AND the unwillingness of all those of us who benefit by the ease of online ordering not being willing to pay a living wage to those facilitating that ease of shopping or the cost of education for those displaced- AND the ridiculous salaries paid to CEO’s pooling money that should go to the workers, that is where the ‘trickle down’ economy could start.
A couple of days ago the nylon potato masher found its way down to the heating element of the dishwasher so yesterday I spent 1/2 the morning trying to find a new one. Is no one mashing their own potatoes anymore? I was beginning to think I would have to order it from Amazon before I finally found it at ACE hardware.
Funny, in a sad way. My brother and I were just talking about this very same thing last night. I once ordered a twelve inch (0.3048 meter for you metric types) drafting ruler and it came in a box a little larger than a shoe box. The only good thing, aside from it magically appearing at my door, was that it didn’t have any packing material in the box too.
Had trouble today with the ads resizing gocomics. Clicked on the X and selected Covering Content as my complaint. Instantly solved that issue. Ads still change left and right but the page stopped being scrambled.
C over 1 year ago
Most of the Amazon parcels we see have an oversized box, a woefully undersized strip of air cushions and whatever you bought bouncing around in all the empty space
Tyge over 1 year ago
I love to pop those air bags! 8^ D
Rhetorical_Question over 1 year ago
Damage to the product is more than the cost of packing material?
Robin Harwood over 1 year ago
Air cushions for a potato peeler?
HappyDog/ᵀʳʸ ᴮᵒᶻᵒ ⁴ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵘⁿ ᵒᶠ ᶦᵗ Premium Member over 1 year ago
You don’t need a potato peeler, you just bake them.
eced52 over 1 year ago
Seems like the only thing I get that is in the right size package is my Red Line Club purchases from Hot Wheels.
nosirrom over 1 year ago
Hey they stole my idea for wrapping Christmas presents. A little gift in a big box keeps them guessing!
SNVBD over 1 year ago
In Belgium the postal services give penalties if you ship out parcel which do not have the right weight/size relationship. So a big box with only a potato peeler would cost the sender extra. This way they try to discourage using oversized boxes.
Ermine Notyours over 1 year ago
I worked for a few months in packing in a Fulfillment Center, so I can shed some light on this. I don’t work in singles packing, and some of that is completely automated anyway. For each order, the system suggests a box to put the order in, based on the dimensions of each item which is already known. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of the job, but when the system is wrong, it is very wrong. I had one order with bowls that clearly stacked into each other, but the system assumed the full dimension of each bowl. I hit “wrong box size” and selected a smaller box. Later, as my speed numbers started to go down, they told me to never move orders into a smaller box. I thought this company was supposed to be working to help the environment, but whatever.
There’s one person who consolidates orders into chutes, and one day this person got upset at me for canceling each order that was incomplete. He said that hurts his quality numbers. Well, if it’s his fault, perhaps he deserves to be hit for that. He convinced me to take each order to the problem solver to fix, but that killed my time, and I got marked down so much that I am on my final strike. I guess I’m not so worried about violating the social media policy and spilling too many secrets because it looks like they want me out of there anyway.
trainnut1956 over 1 year ago
I once bought a “clamshell” cutter for opening those blasted hard sealed plastic packages… and I need a clamshell cutter to get the package it came in open…
mrblanche over 1 year ago
Amazon over-sizes the boxes to help prevent them from getting lost. The only small boxes you’ll get from them are the ones they send through the post office.
Q4horse over 1 year ago
the high environmental cost of shipping and handling.
colddonkey over 1 year ago
Obviously not delivered by FedEx as the box wasn’t torn during delivery.
NeedaChuckle Premium Member over 1 year ago
A tiny item is packed like it will explode if jostled. A large item like a crock for pickling had no packing at all and was shattered TWICE! Cancelled the order.
DawnQuinn1 over 1 year ago
Then, guess who has to get of all the excess packaging? Right, YOU.
Emperor Rick over 1 year ago
My recycle bin is usually full.
Chris over 1 year ago
it’s in there, somewhere…
alioop over 1 year ago
It is a dilemma, shop local or my save time and probably the environment- it has got to be less fuel, etc- sending it directly, cutting out the all those middle starts and stops and packaging and big store costs, land use, electricity, etc, etc. I know that means a lot of jobs lost and an interim of awful jobs at warehouses along the way [but that seems to be changing with automation and certainly will continue to change]. We are in a moment of transition and the disruptions are great- think of the buggy whip manufacturers that lost out to the car. Which is exactly the situation, new jobs – unfortunately not enough training or retraining of the workers. AND the unwillingness of all those of us who benefit by the ease of online ordering not being willing to pay a living wage to those facilitating that ease of shopping or the cost of education for those displaced- AND the ridiculous salaries paid to CEO’s pooling money that should go to the workers, that is where the ‘trickle down’ economy could start.
Flossie Mud Duck over 1 year ago
Amazon packaging is an ecological disaster.
danielmkimmel over 1 year ago
Staples is even worse. My ink cartridges — which could be sent in a padded envelope — arrive in a box big enough for my winter shoes.
JaneCl over 1 year ago
Where’s the smile?
NRHAWK Premium Member over 1 year ago
A couple of days ago the nylon potato masher found its way down to the heating element of the dishwasher so yesterday I spent 1/2 the morning trying to find a new one. Is no one mashing their own potatoes anymore? I was beginning to think I would have to order it from Amazon before I finally found it at ACE hardware.
MuddyUSA Premium Member over 1 year ago
Did we need to know that?
snowedin, now known as Missy's mom over 1 year ago
That’s a potato peeler?
jarvisloop over 1 year ago
Wait. A Walmart or Kroger isn’t nearby? Do the Days live far out in the wilderness?
ladykat over 1 year ago
I’ve had shipments from Amazon like that.
tiomax over 1 year ago
Funny, in a sad way. My brother and I were just talking about this very same thing last night. I once ordered a twelve inch (0.3048 meter for you metric types) drafting ruler and it came in a box a little larger than a shoe box. The only good thing, aside from it magically appearing at my door, was that it didn’t have any packing material in the box too.
dv1093 over 1 year ago
My son ordered something from Amazon at 5pm Tuesday. It was delivered to our front porch at 8am Wednesday. How do they DO that??
jr1234 over 1 year ago
I don’t get the white part and giant scissors ?
oldiesfan over 1 year ago
So what’s supposed to be funny in this strip?
Jarad P over 1 year ago
Mr. Johnson really illustrated those air cushions with great skill. I’m partially mesmerized by them.
Da'Dad over 1 year ago
Had trouble today with the ads resizing gocomics. Clicked on the X and selected Covering Content as my complaint. Instantly solved that issue. Ads still change left and right but the page stopped being scrambled.