RANT ON: padded envelopes!

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randyrls

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Feb 2, 2006
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Does anyone still use real boxes for shipping? :mad::mad: Twice now I have received damaged/missing items in padded envelopes. A set of steel rods exited the padded envelope at one end. I received the envelope, but not what I had ordered. A circuit board I ordered looked like an anvil was dropped on it! The pins looked like a dead spider. In that case I was able to straighten the pins, but it was a real trial to get components to plug in.

This is REAL ANNOYING!!! In both cases the items were refunded, but the time delay and trouble getting them refunded and replaced means I can't proceed.

OK; I'm going to take my pills now. :wink: Hope you have a wonderful day!
 
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WriteON

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Does anyone still use real boxes for shipping? :mad::mad: Twice now I have received damaged/missing items in padded envelopes. A set of steel rods exited the padded envelope at one end. I received the envelope, but not what I had ordered. A circuit board I ordered looked like an anvil was dropped on it! The pins looked like a dead spider. In that case I was able to straighten the pins, but it was a real trial to get components to plug in.

This is REAL ANNOYING!!! In both cases the items were refunded, but the time delay and trouble getting them refunded and replaced means I can't proceed.

OK; I'm going to take my pills now. :wink: Hope you have a wonderful day!

I had GE ship a circuit board. It was packaged in a bubble wrap envelope. Looked like someone danced on it. But I'm fortunate. They had time to do it right the second time. Seems like most shippers have time to do it twice.
 

gtriever

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Yeah, I've dealt with this for years. On the other hand, I've dealt with some vendors who packed everything like it was antique crystal. Those guys were high on my reorder list.
 

dogcatcher

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I am amazed at the packing some sellers go through to insure there stuff is delivered in one piece. But then some sellers, need lessons on packing, or maybe spend time watching the various delivery systems in real time action. Machines handle the packages, they don't care that you wrote fragile on it, it is the shippers responsibility to pack it well.
 
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Honestly, it's probably a lot to do with the goofy pricing at USPS, etc. It costs me more to ship a small/compact 6x3x3 box that I paid for via priority mail than it does to ship the small flat rate box that USPS has to pay for. That's whether it weighs 10 oz or 20lbs. But yea, I'm of the opinion that you can't pack something too well.
 
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I spent 40 years in the international transportation industryWe packed as well as shipped the freight........ 11 of those years was with a major carrier, the rest with a forwarding company... I know how carriers handle packages. One of my positions was as a cargo supervisor on the ramp responsible for seeing that mail was delivered to the post office from the inbound planes... I watched the postal handlers sort the mail inbound... they stood at the side of my delivery cart, picked up a bag and slung across the ramp to the proper down hole where it went to be opened and sorted. Sometimes the distance was as much as 20 feet... it got to be a running joke that "Fragile" meant "do not drop or throw over 20 feet"....

I pack everything as if it's going to be handled in this manner.... fortunately, most of my products are wood -- hard to break.... but I still always use a new box, lots of packing and nylon strapping tape.
 
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Woodchipper

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Fragile- Throw this package underhand.
May be a different thing but 99% the fishing rod blanks I ordered were shipped in PVC pipe sections. Some were in a triangle box with reinforcement in it. Never trusted padded envelopes. BTW, had samples sent to a potential customer once. The put metal pins in the envelope and they fell out somewhere along the line. No taping or wrapping in any way.
 

mark james

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Since starting the "Estate Blank" sales, I have mailed about... 60-70 packages.

Have not had any problems yet, with the actual delivery - most were SFRB/MFRB.

Recently, I had to send out a metal lathe VS circuit board for a repair. Packaged it up in bubble wrap, then peanuts (thanks Dawn), then a MFRB. Got there fine and got the return package also fine. It can be done, but a little extra effort on both ends was probably helpful.

But. I have also recently gotten packages delivered in remote places on my driveway... (street level by my mailbox, 150' from the house; hanging from tree branches in the driveway (YES! REALLY), at a back remote door - they passes two other doores to get to that one...). But none were damaged and actually in good shape, so no complaints - Just get to do a "where is waldo" hunt 1-2x/week.

I will say that I am very sympathetic of the postal workers and cut them considerable slack. Patience is a virtue.
 

Woodster Will

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Boxes don't solve everything. I ordered a nice hammer at a good price from Germany, the box arrived with a nice hole at one end and no hammer! Luckily a replacement was sent a little better wrapped.
 

WriteON

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Boxes don't solve everything. I ordered a nice hammer at a good price from Germany, the box arrived with a nice hole at one end and no hammer! Luckily a replacement was sent a little better wrapped.

Amazon is the best of the worst packer/shippers. I received the item in a box bouncing around in a box 3 times it's size....with 1 piece of bubble wrap doing absolutely nothing.
They shipped a fire extinguisher in it's "on the shelf box". The safety pin was loose in bob not engaged. Plastic safety tab broken.
I received a can of Tri-Flo in a large white envelope.
The beat goes on....
 

Jim Smith

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This is also a pet peeve of mine. Even if the merchandise is replaced, you still have the inconvenience of waiting for the replacement. Unfortunately it is not limited to small items. I ordered a flag pole base to mount my flag pole in the front yard. It consisted of a 36 inch long piece of 6 inch corrugated steel pipe, with a plate welded on the bottom and an 8 inch rod which acts as a grounding rod if the flag pole is struck by lightning. It arrived with a sticker for the address label with no packaging. The steel rod was bent flat. I sent them a message about the problem along with a diagram of how they could protect the steel rod for about 50 cents. They sent the replacement, again, no packaging and with the rod belt. I responded again and they sent a third one, same problem but not quite as badly bent. These items cost $110 each and they had sent me three, all damaged. I managed to straighten out the last one and use it. I guess it's cheaper to keep sending replacements rather than use a 6 inch piece of 4x4 with a hole drilled in it to protect the product. I also fixed the previous two just in case anyone needs a great flag pole mounting base.
 
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dogcatcher

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This is also a pet peeve of mine. Even if the merchandise is replaced, you still have the inconvenience of waiting for the replacement. Unfortunately it is not limited to small items. I ordered a flag pole base to mount my flag pole in the front yard. It consisted of a 36 inch long piece of 6 inch corrugated steel pipe, with a plate welded on the bottom and an 8 inch rod which acts as a grounding rod if the flag pole is struck by lightning. It arrived with a sticker for the address label with no packaging. The steel rod was bent flat. I sent them a message about the problem along with a diagram of how they could protect the steel rod for about 50 cents. They sent the replacement, again, no packaging and with the rod belt. I responded again and they sent a third one, same problem but not quite as badly bent. These items cost $110 each and they had sent me three, all damaged. I managed to straighten out the last one and use it. I guess it's cheaper to keep sending replacements rather than use a 6 inch piece of 4x4 with a hole drilled in it to protect the product. I also fixed the previous two just in case anyone needs a great flag pole mounting base.
I wonder if the shipping company, gets billed for the replacements? Creating slaes through faulty packaging???
 
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Packing can get expensive if a company ships lots of packages or larger pieces. At my last job I was general manager for the shipping department... I didn't deal with the packing since I got the freight already packed, but some of the boxes were as large as 20 x 20 x 30 feet or more and cost from $.50 to $2.00 per cubic foot.... realize the materials being packed often ran into 5 or 6 figures or more of value.... What we most often ship costs $2 or $3 to pack, plus shipping. But a damaged package is a reflection on both the shipper and the carrier... and a pain in unmentionable places for the recipient.

Speaking for Amazon - without defending them - likely what they do is maintain a finite number of box sizes and just use the size that the material will fit in and maybe a little padding to take up the excess volume... maybe smart, but it does look bad for those of us receiving their packages.... have received many packages where the outer box was 2 or 3 times the size needed.

One of my jobs was traffic manager for a digital telephone manufacturing company... we built switching/relay units that could take the place of central offices and telephone switch boards for companies where the switch board unit was a small cabinet that could sit by the receptionist desk and digitally switch calls.... we often set out replacement boards for these units that were anywhere from 3x5 in cards to larger 12 x 15.... prior to me coming on board, the shipping clerk had ordered a box sized for each cards/boards.... we stocked 15 or 20 different shipping boxes ... all of the boxes had a foam pad in the top and bottom to cushion the boards.... I ordered one size box that would handle the largest board and we shipped everything in the same size box... with little or no change in the shipping costs. They were mostly all minimum rate boxes via Airborne and Emery Airfreight and the little boxes cost the same to ship as the larger boxes. Our shipping costs didn't change, but our packaging costs dropped by nearly 60%... with rate structures as they are today and Amazon having the contractual clout they have, likely the oversized boxes don't change their shipping costs and buying boxes in quantity gives them a pretty large discount.
 
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stonepecker

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Oct 29, 2012
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central Minnesota
I have put boxes inside padded envelopes and never had a problem.
Received a box from a friend. Arrived opened and I was never sure if anything was missing. Now when he sends a box there is a notice that the contents has been photographed. Never received another open box from that man.

Really? We can only do the best when we package anything for shipment. Once we drop anything to a carrier.......we are at their mercy.

Just my opinion.
 

sbwertz

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Phoenix, AZ
Fragile- Throw this package underhand.
May be a different thing but 99% the fishing rod blanks I ordered were shipped in PVC pipe sections. Some were in a triangle box with reinforcement in it. Never trusted padded envelopes. BTW, had samples sent to a potential customer once. The put metal pins in the envelope and they fell out somewhere along the line. No taping or wrapping in any way.

When I ran a restaurant in a local mall, I would watch the UPS driver stand in the truck and throw all the packages out the back on to the cement. Some were clearly marked "fragile" or "this end up". No matter, they all got pitched out the back of the truck onto the cement.
 
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