Sharp. Real sharp, Amazon.com!

common sense is not very common

I want to know what Amazon facility it shipped out of. I get grocery orders out of somewhere in TN or KY. They have usually been packed properly.

Nobody's blaming the maker of the coffee press for poorly packaging their product?

I would think a reasonable amount of packing foam or other materials would have helped keep it safe.

Plus, where are the 500 air bags Amazon usually packs in the box...

Maybe I'm just being cynical this morning.

That really, really sucks. But I approve of the purchases shown.

"Hey Amazon: Cast Iron Frying Pans And Glass Don't Mix"

you've obviously never smoked meth.

@Leiterfluid: retail store shelves aren't known for their propensity to damage products. i'm sure that when they are bulk shipped they are adequitly packaged.

@Leiterfluid: The coffee maker is packaged for retail display, which is pretty common for a lot of products sold by Amazon. It's Amazon's responsibility to see that retail packaging is properly supplemented for shipping abuse, and they obviously didn't do that in this case.

I got a single 52mm UV filter in a box filled with air bags from Amazon. Not long before that, I received my iPod touch from them in a padded envelope. Inconsistency is the name of the game at Amazon.

Clearly it's the consumer's fault!

Having said that, those "Lodge Logic" cast iron skillets are lovely. Just don't get any soap on them!

What is happening at Amazon? Their packaging used to be (a few years back) best in the business: just enough that the items would arrive safely without massive waste. Now it's completely haphazard... What has changed?

@FrenchBenj

I don't think Amazon is shipping directly anymore for many purchases. They are simply often acting as a ordering mechanism for manufacturers who drop ship directly to you... even when you buy "from" amazon and not one of the other sellers.

Was this purchased from Amazon directly or from one of the companies that uses their web interface?

Ive seen a lot of low price products that seem to be sold from companies staffed by idiots on Amazon.

When you buy from Amazon.com choose the company you deal with carefully.

I've ordered books from Amazon before, that arrived with those airbag things. Just books in the box, books that wouldn't be harmed by a little rough handling. Yet they rate airbags and a glass carafe does not? Way to go Amazon!

Yeah, that sucks.

But, being the owner of that very same Lodge cast iron pan, may I recommend to the OP that he use it to make cornbread. It's the perfect cornbread-making vessel.

Ditto; I too highly recommend Lodge Logic iron skillets. They're dirt cheap and work much better than any of the expensive nonstick, aluminum pans I own. It's also going to outlast my eventual grandkids.

I've washed mine once in four years, generally just wiping it out with some kosher salt (an abrasive) and vegetable oil (to help keep it seasoned).

Lodge Logic is also the last remaining company in the US to make cast iron cookware domestically (at least they were a couple of years ago--don't know if they've moved overseas)

Did it come with a note that said, "This wouldn't have happened if you sprung for Amazon Prime like we told you to do." ?

I also want to know if this was really from Amazon or an Amazon Marketplace merchant. It really looks like a typical Marketplace merchant screwup, and is the reason why I never buy from them.

Ughh, understand how a channel works before assessing liability. Depending on who you bought it from, it may have come directly from merchant (about 40% of the time). You could not readily or easily tell where it came from...merchant or Amazon. But guessing from the category those products fall into, I would hazard a guess that it was merchant shipped.
Not that it makes any less stupid to pack it that way, of course.

Why not use soap? Absorb forever?

I know a fair percentage of our order fulfilling stuff is automated, but damn, I'm disappointed that it didn't catch that.

However, the post does say he used the free shipping. There is a reason it's free.

If you don't feel like paying the$10 it probably would have cost to ship the order that included glass, just go to the mall and buy it.

Note to readers: Never buy a plastic French press. I made the mistake of getting one of those once, and the press mechanism lasted through about two pots of hot water before the plastic went brittle and broke in half. So I bought a Bodum press at Starbucks and it still works great... except the metal holder kind of rusted onto the glass after a few uses.

@Leiterfluid:You're right. The average packing job on a coffee press should totally be able to withstand being shipping around the country, repeatedly whacked with a cast iron skillet. I mean, that's normal wear and tear, right?

@Leiterfluid: The coffee press ships from the manufacturer in a box containing several other coffee presses, each packed in the cardboard retail box shown, probably with a little packaging to keep it from moving much in the retail box.

My little 8" Lodge skillet weighs 5 lb, and my 12" fryer weighs 8. Since Bodum doesn't ship things like that packaged with their coffee presses, they're not responsible for designing the packages to deal with it.

@BigBoat: Soap will take off the "seasoning"... a layer of cooking oil you initially bake on (if you buy basic cast iron... Lodge bakes it on for you if you buy Logic.) That's why your granny's cast iron (and mine!) is blacker than the stuff you see in the store. The seasoning is why stuff doesn't stick.

This wouldn't have occurred if they used a separate box for each item, but then we would complain of excessive waste.

Add one more +1 to the Lodge Logic pan. It's one of the few pans available in the US which works with an induction stove. Also, IKEA's cookware works well with induction cooktops as well (no surprise).

Coffee Presses and Cast Iron. Two of the coolest things i've discovered this year.

I am sure Amazon took care of the issue very fast also. And cast iron skillets rule.

Hey all,
That's my lovely Amazon order above.

@Leiterfluid: I submitted another picture as well that showed where the airbags had been placed. There were two "in" the skillet, one below the skillet and one above the coffee press.

@arcticJKL: The order was placed directly with Amazon, so it was not an Amazon merchant.

@DrGirlfriend: You got that exactly right. I purchased the skillet mainly for making cornbread, among other things.

@Amazonian: I'm not sure what you mean by "paying the $10 for shipping." Are you referring to them getting me a replacement sooner or better packaging? Because I'm not too sure they'd have packaged it any better if I had paid for shipping.

TJ
P.S. - Glad to hear most are approving of my purchases.

That cast iron rocks, I got that same one from Amazon last year. They have the best prices on kitchen stuff.

I also wonder if it was marketplace or not.

That doesn't look like typical amazon packaging. They use boxes that say "amazon.com" on them and they pack the hell out of their boxes and include all sorts of promotional leaflets. It's probably from one of the resellers on amazon and not amazon.com themselves.

@stradric: @matto: I vote that it's direct from Amazon. The tip of an Amazon-like packing slip is visible and he got free shipping. I hypothesize that he removed the airpack before snapping photos.

@Amazonian: Having worked in a warehouse, I'm pretty sure a human being said "Lodge Logic" + "Chambord" = "Ship it".

OT: How often do you people have to season your Lodge skillets? It seems I have to redo mine after every second use.

@jeff303: You're likely using too high of heat setting. I (unfortunatly) have an electric stove and never use anything higher than "Med" with my skillet.

Cast iron sucks up--and retains--heat like crazy. So if I need more heat, I just let it set on the burner longer rather than dial up the heat setting.

@stradric: That's on the outside of the box, which isn't visible. Do work for the NSA like in Enemy of the State, where you can rotate the box to see what's not in the picture? I didn't think so.

From poking around on Amazon, there's no way he got both a French Press and a skillet from the same merchant through the Marketplace and even if it was possible, only Amazon would offer free shipping on a skillet. It had to be direct.

Well at least you can enjoy the pan. Good stuff Lodge Logic is. I ordered a 3 piece set from Amazon and they all came in the same box. Guess what happened? One of the pans was broken. Amazon will you ever learn?

@ShortBus: I don't have that problem. I have a smoothtop and regularly dial it up to maximum (for deep frying).

I only did the oven-style seasoning once. Now I scrub it with hot water (no soap) and apply a thin layer of oil after each use. I've only had it for a few months, but it looks better after each use.

@jeff303: Either you're never getting a good seasoning in the first place or you're scrubbing it too much after using.

The amount of heat shouldn't be much of a problem, since you're baking the seasoning on in the oven at 300-400 deg in the first place. Are you using a really thin oil to season it with? Crisco is the lightest thing you should use for that, and real traditionalists recommend bacon grease or lard. (I use Crisco.)

I usually don't use much water to clean it... get the pan warm with a tiny bit of oil in it, wad up a paper towel and hold it with tongs, throw some kosher salt into the skillet and scrub around the inside with the paper towel on the salt. That's abrasive enough to get off any foody bits but doesn't damage the coating. I haven't had to reseason any cast iron since my mom gave me a rusty piece my stepdad had run through the dishwasher years ago.

I got a small box of raisin bran with my last order from Amazon- it was my carb blocker pills-- that seems mean right?

@jeff303: you can heat it up for cooking as high as you want. for first seasoning, coat inside good with vegetable oil (not olive unless its not virgin) and heat in oven at 400 for an hour. repeat if the coat is not good. from then on, only clean with water, paper towels or sponge that has roughness on it (but don't scrub it down hard, just enough to get food chunks out). then heat on stove to make sure its really dry and wipe inside out with oil (can be olive oil) to final protect.

@Amazonian: Um, wow. Was that an actual admission that "free shipping" means "we don't give a shit about how your order gets to you"? If a store is running a free shipping offer and it AUTOMATICALLY comes up with a zero charge, I don't expect to need to manually add a shipping charge to ensure quality packaging.

You've strongly reinforced the message this consumer suggested: that Amazon doesn't really care about customer service as much as it does cutting costs and corners. Thanks, I WILL be shopping at ANY STORE BUT YOURS.

@ShortBus: Still domestic, and I, too, love my Lodge. I've got a normal-sized one, and a tiny little one (big enough to fry a single egg) to saute up garlic and onions super-quick and things like that.

If your pan needs a little oiling, make grilled cheese, you don't even have to clean up afterwards. :D

I purchased a Lodge Logic from Amazon very recently and it too was packaged with one other (non-breakable) item in the exact same box. NO packing materials aside from some brown paper equivalent to 2 or fewer grocery-bags-worth. Not Amazon marketplace. Amazon. The handle poked a couple of holes through the sides of the box, but luckily the pan was unharmed.

Seems to me that use of 10 or so of the smaller inflated packs, wrapped around the handle area, would be enough to 1) keep it from poking out of the box and 2) minimize movement of the pan within the box.

An anagram for "Amazon ships" is "zap him on ass". Do you feel that's what they did to you?

@Leiterfluid: the 500 airbags are only packed in boxes with things that don't need the airbags.

I ordered some clearanced steel cut oatmeal from Amazon recently. It was still more pricey than at my local Wild Oats (Whole Foods), but came in cool little tins that were printed with an antique label duplication.

Zero padding, the amazing thing was that half of them *didn't* dent. I just couldn't see returning FOOD, but I thought about it as the packaging was half the reason I bought it. Short of something very cut and dried, I probably won't piss Amazon off too badly -- they are handy, and I already have enough battles picked to round out my average week, thanx. But I notice I'm buying less from them -- they know they don't have to try All That Hard, and it does show.

I'll vouch for Lodge too. It's just a hassle cleaning sometimes when I'm in a rush.

Anyways, just a tip in case you don't want a pan in various pieces, it may be a better idea just to buy from Walmart. The prices for the Lodge cookware are maybe a couple of bucks more than Amazon.

Depends how much you can tolerate Walmart though. :)