Amazon: Have They Stopped Providing Padding/Protection inside Boxes?

Mal68 on 10/12/2021 - 11:07

So the last month or so I've been noticing that orders from Amazon are arriving with absolutely no padding inside the box.

Items from both Aus and the US

Anyone else noticed this too?

They would previously have always arrived with the blown up little pillow things or some cardboard which prevented any damage

But now nothing, they just bang around and it's a complete lottery if the items turn up undamaged.

Yesterday sauce had burst all through the box. Today a board game turned up with the corners all banged in, hard to make that a gift from Santa.

Happy to make the odd return if damaged, but don't really see the point if they are not protecting any items anymore

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Comments

  • apsilon on 10/12/2021 - 11:13
    +8

    My last 3 packages have just had screwed up sheets of brown paper to fill some of the empty space. Not really a problem for these particular items so I don't have a problem with it. Better than unnecessary plastic. Amazon UK haven't included packaging for a few years now, not even padded envelopes and as a result I've received some damaged items which were refunded no questions asked. Haven't ordered anything from the Amazon US in at least a year so can't comment on them.

    • bamzero on 18/12/2021 - 01:47

      Yeh pretty much all my stuff has had packing paper around it, apart from a phone from Amazon UK that was free floating inside (arrived ok though).
      Anything else has been sent in padded satchels.

  • Muzeeb on 10/12/2021 - 11:14
    +5

    Today a board game turned up with the corners all banged in, hard to make that a gift from Santa.

    Santa's sleigh might have air ride suspension but turbulence is still a thing.

    • ItsMeAgro on 10/12/2021 - 13:59

      The S1's just flown 15 million miles! We could damage it!

  • 87percent on 10/12/2021 - 11:23
    +2

    Pretty sure it says something on the box about reducing packaging waste

  • Phlume on 10/12/2021 - 11:26
    +1

    Have noticed they have increasingly stopped using the air bags in their shipping. Also Amazon has been using less boxes and more padded envelops.

    • yippy on 10/12/2021 - 11:30
      +1

      The last 3 books I bought from Amazon AU came in padded envelopes. They don't seem to use commonsense when it comes to packaging. Gets ridiculous when you buy toilet paper and they feel the need to shove plenty of padding in the box but for books they stick in a padded envelope.

      • Phlume on 10/12/2021 - 11:35

        Yes I agree. Reason why I stopped purchasing physical books on Amazon. They often arrive in poor condition and you have to return them. It's a shame because a few years ago they would be well protected in a box with padding.

  • Stickout on 10/12/2021 - 11:33

    i got a phone delivered from amazon today, no padding nor bubble, and the cardboard wrapping is a bit flimsy too.
    i gather Amazon was smart and figured out the phone package itself has some shock resistance built in. they will just rely on that:).

  • Almost Banned on 10/12/2021 - 11:43
    +2

    The last thing I got from Amazon came in a box that was about a metre long.
    The contents used less than half of that space.

    • Savas on 10/12/2021 - 13:53
      +1

      i got a chocolate bar delivered in a medium sized box.

    • RoosterBooster on 10/12/2021 - 21:05
      +2

      I bought a memory foam bath mat last year. I expected it would be rolled up in a tall narrow box. Instead, it was placed flat (I guess they didn't want to compress the foam). However, the box was at least twice the width and length of the item with 2 hundred and something plastic pillows/air pockets. The box was so big it would not fit in the boot or back seats of my mums camry when we went to the post office to collect it.

      We had to tear the box apart and pop half of the air pockets. I loved the item but felt so guilty of the environmental impact of my purchase. I am pleased to hear Amazon have reduced their waste/packaging. In saying that, there has got to be a balance between using too much packaging/being wasteful and using too little packaging resulting in damaged parcels.

  • andrewb55555 on 10/12/2021 - 11:56

    I've had several board games arrive just wrapped in black plastic & of course damaged.. It's hit and miss, but Amazon UK is the worst source.. I've probably returned 5 or so games due to damage from poor packaging.

  • AndyC1 on 10/12/2021 - 12:53
    +1

    Cost reduction…. Sorry I meant more profit.

  • Mulga Bill on 10/12/2021 - 12:57

    Mine have been "padded" with screwed up brown paper…interestingly I got a board game from board_game_australia on Ebay and it came with plastic corner protectors and wrapped in bubble wrap which was a nice touch.

  • PissLUR on 10/12/2021 - 13:31

    Live chat and complain. The more ppl do, they will act.

  • ChocStrawberries on 10/12/2021 - 14:03

    I think the issue is that a lot of people were complaining about them using too much packaging, so it almost feels like a sarcastic flip to using not enough. Like others, I've had numerous items arrive damaged, especially games and books, and I've done the live chat/refund for a couple of them. I doubt they'll go back to their "overstuffing" days, especially since the boxes now proudly proclaim how they've reduced their packaging, but a little care would be nice.

    • Mal68 on 10/12/2021 - 17:15

      Yeah I understand and agree with the sentiment, but I'm also a bit over so much of my stuff turning up les than perfect

  • rompastompa on 10/12/2021 - 14:03
    +4

    Do you mean this is happening to your orders?

  • TheTinMan on 10/12/2021 - 14:06

    Yep - bigger Lego sets occasionally arrive damaged - Amazon have been good to deal with - but still…….

  • No Username on 10/12/2021 - 14:30
    +1

    Had a delivery today and everything was packed nicely.

  • Benoffie on 10/12/2021 - 20:50

    Got screwed up paper. But a shipment from the UK was trashed. Books, no padding. Pretty peeved.

  • Grunntt on 16/12/2021 - 10:01

    Last month I received two items in the same delivery
    - the memory foam pillow was shrink wrapped, inside a box, surrounded by inflated plastic 'pockets', inside another box.
    - the hard drive was totally without any protective padding at all other than the box it was in that was three times it's size.

    The pillow worked, the hard drive was DOA.

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