Amazon Packaging/Delivery Is an Absolute Disgrace!!!

What a Waste. How many times do you make an order from Amazon where package/boxes/separate items arrive in separate boxes but delivered at the same order arrive together?

4 items ordered together arrived at the same time in 2 massive boxes plus an average sized box & one padded envelope!!!
- 2x Quilton toilet paper 20 rolls, 1 x terry's chocolate orange, 1x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredders Revenge - Nintendo Switch - 3 BOXES & 1 padded envelope which all would have fit in 1 of the big boxes I received !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ALL AMAZON AUSTRALIA not independent sellers)

3 separate boxes and 1 padded envelope arrive at the same time!

Amazon are as inefficient as all the other sh1+ shows on offer, why do people make out they are something special?

Yes amazon tick combined items was selected!
All 4 items would have fit easy in 1 box with space leftover, even the 2x 20 quilton rolls would have fit in the same box so what am I missing?

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Comments

  • I wish you could have an option of "Send all together", regardless of the time it takes to deliver. It's super wasteful and in most cases I don't need these products the very next day.

  • What is exactly the problem with this? Amazon has been amazing in their delivery as far as my experience is concerned.

  • +2

    Yea what do they know. Mickey mouse company.

  • If you're complaining about this you must spend all your spare time complaining

  • might come from different parts of the warehouse.

    If they could save a heap from putting it all in one… they would

  • -5

    Man all aussies can do is bitch and moan as america drags it into the 19th century.

    I remember all the bitching about uber but now, after 250 years, there is food delivery in australia.

  • +1

    I love how OP started off with a complaint about boxes but quickly devolved into rants about globalism, government and chemical poisoning.

    As for the topic at hand, when I order multiple items at a time through amazon it usually gives me two options - the first is to deliver them as fast as possible no matter what, the second is to deliver them all at the same time in the minimum amount of boxes. I just choose option one and throw the excess packaging in the recycling bin and move on with my life.

    • Ma Boy is top g

  • The only problem I see, is when I order one item and the box it comes in, is 10 times the size.

  • +9

    2 cents worth from an independent eCommerce seller.
    We sell around 3,000 units per month across five marketplaces.
    Of the 5, Amazon as so far ahead in its fulfillment technology; the rest are decades behind.
    Let's take Sydney, there are two main fulfillment centres, the original at Moorebank and the new robotic centre at Kemps Creek. Because Kemps Creek is robotic (physical size limitations the robots can hold), only what they call "Standard size" items are stored there. All "oversized items" have to be stored at Moorebank.
    I can guarantee you that toilet paper will be oversized. Hence, it would come from Moorebank for any Sydney delivery. Other items would come from Kemps Creek.
    The above only works for popular items they sell say 100 per month. The reason? From Moorebank, Kemps Creek, Dandenong, Lytton (Brisbane) and Perth, if an item sells enough volume, it will automatically distribute to all centres - so long as the seller had enough physical stock at Amazon. Should it be a low-selling item, or the seller is physically running low on stock, it may only be at 1 or 2 fulfillment centres. Transferring items between centres always occur. But, it can take days to transfer outbound from one centre and receive at the next. And, 99.99% of customers simply want their products now. Hence, when efficiency does not work, Amazon will do anything to ensure the customer gets their goods on time and simply sends multiple packages and takes the hit on the incurred costs.
    The long and the short of it, Amazon spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year trying to make the most efficient system possible. Whilst it may not be perfect, there could be mitigating external factors that impact on perfection.

    • +4

      Your post is completely irrelevant for OP as it contains actual first-hand experience with Amazon's logistics vs 4 others, along with a clear explanation as to why items may be shipped in multiple packages. Please get out of here with your logic and first-hand experience, you are causing OP great distress. And stop supporting globalism and the military, and DOWN WITH THE CARBON CON AND GLOBAL POISONING! Financial scam fraudster government banks military offsets sinks exchanges go get those knee pads from the govt!

      • +1

        ROFL…. This made me laugh!

  • -1

    It's very wasteful and one of the main reasons I try to buy from physical stores where possible (e.g. pantry items stocked at local supermarkets).

    But at the end of the day, almost all of your purchases are contributing to waste in some form, and the most practical thing you can do is really cut down on unnecessary purchases. Like those "Didn't know I needed this, but bought it anyway bcoz it's so cheap" deals that pop up so often.

    I think they recently introduced an option in checkout to group items into as few packages as possible which shows some progress, at least.

    I kind of get where you're coming from. It's good as consumers to keep voicing our opinions about how sustainable packaging is an important factor in our purchasing decisions, but posting on here probably won't do anything.

    • -1

      I rarely make purchases from Amazon. Toilet paper is a rip off at the supermarket at the moment and often not in stock.
      Amazon is very efficient with delivery speed but their system is inefficient with regard to the size of the box used for the item.

      I can only imagine how expensive it would be to send these packages with Aus Post.

  • +3

    Complains about Amazon but buys one chocolate from them…… Come on now OP.

  • +2

    Maybe don't buy stuff from Amazon, if it upsets you so much to create a rant post….

    • Fair comment, I only buy from Amazon a few times a year so it was a bit of a surprise getting all those boxes.
      Sometimes people have a bad day with several things going wrong and the last minor thing comes out like this post.
      If I was calmer I would have used a title like ' Why does Amazon use inefficiently sized boxes and not combine even the same items'.

      • All good, I understand your only human like the rest of us :)

  • +2

    OP such a hypocrite- walk your lazy arse to the shop to get toilet paper if you can’t handle the multiple boxes.

    • -1

      Only TP in stock was a ripoff. Don't have to worry about buying any for ages now, all good.
      Have a nice day.

      • Cheapest doesn't mean the most sustainable. There's always a trade-off!

  • So true. amazon fulfilment is weird. I bought 2 identical Swiss kitchen knives (min order quantity) from a recent deal and they end up sending them separately. So I only got 1 package so far.

  • +1

    Complains about too many boxes > Complains when items arrive damaged.

    Can't win.

  • Yesterday i saw that berry flavour throat lozenges were on sale with next day delivery for prime members.

    Placed an order for two and then the delivery eta changed to more than a week.

    Cancelled order, tried only selecting one packet, order still highlights next day delivery.

    Went to payment and the order delivery ETA is more than a week, ffs.

    Cancelled again.

    Have been caught out before on Next day deliveries & delivery dates blowing out even when purchasing directly from Amazon.com.au, and not third party suppliers.

    Almost considering cancelling my Prime membership.

    Don't even get me started on Australia post Express delivery for Perth metro suppliers to my Perth metro based address, absolutely woeful. Never on time and all they say is they cant meet the delivery schedules for Express deliveries, but choose that option because donkey freight standard delivery is even worse.

  • +1

    Amazon's amazing. I order things and it either arrives that afternoon or the next day. I've never had a late order thus far. I also like the many boxes they give me. I get to repurpose them for all sorts of things - from storing things to using them to catch oil/coolant. Any I don't use I just fold down and keep them aside. Buying a cardboard box can be expensive and buying them in bulk is inconvenient to store.

    Amazon does not hate Ozbargain company Private Pimpiticians. It just hates you.

  • +1

    Whine. Defend position of whining. Do not respond to logical arguments against the whine. Continue to whine and not change behaviour. Make zero contribution to fix source of whining.

    Win.

  • +1

    it is what it is. either accept or move on. No other retailer can beat their logistics chain which is one of the reasons people keep returning to them.

  • +1

    While I understand the sentiment of the OP. I can't get past ordering a high volume, low value item like TP and complaining about wasteful packing. Ordering the damn item this way is wasteful, get of your high horse.

  • +1

    The people working at fulfilment doesn’t even get enough time to go to toilet. You think he/she will have time to stop and think how to package everything into 1 or more boxes?

    The computer dictate how to pack the order and that’s exactly how they will do it. They are not paid to think, they are paid to follow strict protocols. And if they don’t follow the protocols and keep up with the KPI they loose their job.

  • +1

    Dude, get a (profanity) life. If you don't like AMZ, buy elsewhere.

  • +2

    Why you so mad? Enjoy life. Life’s too short to be worrying about boxes.

    • +1

      OP is obviously angry about something else entirely, but can't express his anger at that person, either because he fears or loves that person.

      Therefore, OP must displace those feelings of anger & take them out on Amazon & it's boxes.

  • I see you are quite impacted by their practices. Send them a message by voting with your wallet and not buying from them. Simple.

    My guess is you won’t, because you like what they have to offer more than you care about this ‘issue’

  • +1

    😆 I once received ONE micro sd card in a large box with bubble wrap in it. What made it worse is that I thought it would have conveniently come in an envelope and get dropped in the mailbox as usual. But because the postman couldn't leave the humongous box "at a safe place" (b4 covid time), a "missed you" card was dropped & I had to collect the bloody thing from a NOT nearby post office NOT in my suburb!

    And they are also using cheap couriers like Aramex and Couriers Please who never deliver. Instead, the "delivery man" drops a card in the mailbox and demands you to collect at the collection point (couriers' designated convenience stores that are mostly located at an inconvenient location).

    I have since not bought anything from Amazon.

  • I love it when this happens to me. Like a mini early Xmas.
    I used to buy boxes for selling things on ebay, haven't had to for years!

  • OP R U OK?

  • Let's say they can put them all in one box, from the one location to you. But this option takes an extra 2 weeks for this to happen.

    Would you prefer this? No, you don't want to wait that long? Oh okay then. Carry on as normal…

  • One of the problem in packaging different items from different orders into one box could be when someone decide to cancel one of the orders, and then cancel another one next day. If this happens, Amazon might spend a lot of time trying to figure out optimum packaging box size for the remaining orders.

    Having said that, it is still worthwhile not to overpackage. I suspect they may have a few different standard sizes/dimensions of boxes. So maybe the system automatically recommend a size of a box depending on the dimension ( L x W x H ) of the item. If the L is too large even through the W x H are small, maybe it automatically picks one of those boxes from the standard sizes which takes care of the large L.

  • +1

    stop ordering from amazon if you feel so strongly about it.

  • +1

    Let me guess - OP drives an SUV and runs aircon for half the year, heater for the other half, done extensive house renovations, takes annual overseas trips but this is the issue they feel is destroying the planet.

  • I have no problem with the way Amazon packaging but I do have small problem with how they delivered. The driver or the courier guy just drop the stuff on the floor of the house and take a photo and leave without ringing the door bell or yell out delivery.

  • OP is noob in large corporate logistics.

  • +2

    OP needs some real problems in their life, if their going to this much trouble just because they got their delivery, on time, in a safe manner, but the only problem being they were in individual boxes.

  • There is an option, to send all together or send as they become available with amazon.

  • boo hoo

  • As long as my packages arrive in a timely manner and in perfect condition, I don’t care how many boxes they are packed in.

  • I would be more concerned about whether the workers get toilet breaks. Super quick delivery might not cost you a lot more money but it does cost people. It costs in pay and conditions and it costs the environment.

    Sometimes Amazon do give you the option to have slower shipping that's more consolidated. Take it if it's offered. Or stop using Amazon if you're so annoyed. They do it because there's a market for it. Plenty of people don't care if there's wasted packaging or about worker conditions. Or figure they can't be sure that by paying more it will go toward benefiting the people and the environment. So they're happy to get their stuff quick and relatively cheap.

    • +1

      Gotta love this place. Anonymously downvoted which means a lot of people won't see it and I wasted my time bothering to comment once again.

      • Anonymously downvoted which means a lot of people won't see it

        Downvoting doesn't hide your comment. The second comment in this post has 78 downvotes and it's still visible.
        Off-topic comments will get collapsed though - those are easy to overlook.

        • Look at this page using an incognito browser. You will see this for example.
          koalabargains on 10/08/2022 - 15:52 Comment score below threshold.

          The default comment threshold use to be -1. I'm not sure what it is now. But anything below that is not displayed. The default is applied for anyone who isn't logged in. For those that are logged in you can hide or unhide and set the threshold. The way this use to be done has changed. This use to be how. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/165970

          I honestly can't find the place you set the threshold now. I spent about 5 mins and I won't waste any more time. Regardless, you if you show the comments they are still displayed in a lighter grey text.

          I assume your mistake was genuine but I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of being told that downvoting doesn't matter. It does. It directly affects who can see your comment. And I have seen what I suspect is the result of people downvote others on unrelated threads after a silly argument. The downvoting here gets used as a bullying tactic, and it does matter.

          • @syousef:

            Look at this page using an incognito browser.

            That's what I did, and I just did it again. That second comment now has 79 downvotes and isn't hidden.
            I also just tried it in an Edge inprivate window. I've never used Edge on this computer to visit OzB. The comment isn't hidden either.

            • @eug: Damn I hate being called a liar!!!

              Here's a screen capture that proves I'm not:

              https://imgur.com/a/eVBAuPf

              • +1

                @syousef:

                Damn I hate being called a liar!!!

                Relax, no need to get worked up over this.

                Here's a screen capture that proves I'm not:

                Here is that second comment I was talking about.

                I just realised what's happening. It looks like downvotes don't hide comments - unless they're a top-level comment. That is why I could see all those comments with massive downvotes like the above - they were replies to the main comment.

                Your comment had 1 downvote which doesn't hide it - I could see it. Not sure what the threshold is. So you were right about comments being hidden, and I was right about comments not being hidden. Heh…

  • I don't entirely disagree with you OP, but it's on me for ordering from them because I've seen enough that this is how they do it.

    What I wish they would do is allow you to do a "consolidated delivery day" for things that aren't urgent. Let's say I choose Wednesday because I work from home that day.

    Then I can buy that 1 dollar chocolate bar, that thing of Chupa chups, and other cheap things throughout the week and they all come together.

    I have stopped buying these things because of reasons similar to OPs concerns. Especially because small things usually get delivered in non-recyclable padded envelopes.

    Things I want asap could get delivered as usual. Obviously this complicates logistics for Amazon, but I would probably buy more from them if they implemented it.

  • Hey OP, chill.
    the world is not ending, yes it is wasteful, but there is a method to the madness to make sure it arrives the next day.

  • I don't know what it is with Amazon Aus or US and their shit house packaging. If you've ever experienced ordering from Amazon Japan you will understand what I mean: minimalist packaging with optimum protection. Instead we get maximum packaging that damages your goods due to insufficient packing material.

  • I ordered car windscreen wipers from eBay. It arrived in a massive eBay branded carton so big I thought they sent me a large carton of wipers by mistake (atleast 20 individual wiper packs would easily fit). The carton was filled with those air-filled plastic bags with the single wiper (individual pack) tucked in the middle.

  • Amazon generates more rubbish tha it had to be but it's less then the rubbish spit by Karen who is upset while cleaning 20 boxes that are purchased with husband's wallet.

  • +1

    It can be easily explained by either:

    1. Products moving around within the loose box risk squashing and damaging other products. The box itself is now part of the protective design since Amazon has committed to phasing out plastic bubble wrap.

    2. Occupation, Health and Safety Issues related to boxes and insurance claims from injured workers. The litigation risk is lowered by splitting parcels into smaller portions <10kg each.

    Disclaimer: No, I do not work for Amazon, but these seem like reasonable assumptions.

  • +1

    Get a life, you have an option not to buy from amazon. What is the point of complaining so much. Guess OP is one of the people who eat KFC and complain about cage eggs.

  • Amazon delivery is the best in Australia. I ordered an Air Fryer from Myer last Sunday night. It was finally picked up this morning (Friday) still no update on when it will be delivered. Amazon could have done next day delivery but i chose Myer has i had some gift cards to get rid of. Glad i did, won't be using them for delivery again. Amazon all the way from now on.

    Re the boxes, they should all be recycled or reused. Any bubble wrap should be reused. The rest of the package would likely be required if things came in 1 box or 4 boxes anyway.

  • Complete opposite experience from me.
    I just bought two different items in two separate transactions, 36 hours apart, and they both arrived this morning, in the same box. :D

  • Aren't they just cardboards? Just recycle them, what's the problem

  • This post is like the ones where people complain about their flight being late. They don't celebrate the fact that technology and the daring of man allows them to jump on a massive flying tin can and go from one country to another in a matter of hours. They just complain because they have been delayed. OP you're a bit ungrateful the technology and logistics exist that allow you to order before midnight and have your order at your door the next day. Just recycle the packaging. Its usually the big bin with the yellow lid.

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