As someone wise once said, if you don’t have a box that will fit what you want to ship, just figure something out. One of our very own Consumerist readers was the recipient of such necessity-driven creativity recently, when an item she’d ordered online showed up on her doorstep in, shall we say, unexpected packaging. [More]
stupid shipping gang
USPS Gives Woman 7 Canaries To Replace Smashed Package Of Dead Birds It Delivered Before Christmas
By 12.30.16
A story that sounds like “The 12 Days of Christmas” gone horribly wrong is wrapping up with a happy ending (unless you happen to be a recently deceased canary): after delivering a smashed box filled with a half-dozen dead birds to a woman in Alabama, the U.S. Postal Service has successfully replaced the deceased avians with seven live canaries. [More]
Oversized Box From Sears Has Enough Room To Stash Preteen Daughter
By 5.27.16
Amazon was once notorious for shipping items in comically oversized boxes, an e-commerce phenomenon that we blame on mysterious employees called the Stupid Shipping Gang. We don’t hear about over-packaging from Amazon that much anymore, perhaps because the Stupid Shipping Gang has all moved on to jobs packaging e-commerce orders at Sears. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Ensures That Your Tea Arrives Safely
By 1.27.16
Tea is a very important and delicious beverage. Amazon takes your tea very seriously. How seriously do they take it? The Everything Store’s stupid shipping gang took Indira’s tin of teabags and packed it carefully in a box that would fit at least a dozen more tins. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Sends Giant Off-Balance Box Of Kitty Litter
By 8.17.15
Indira ordered a small box of cat litter, as boxes of cat litter go. The litter was fine, but she was a little concerned about the box that it arrived in. From what we’ve learned, this box was a bad choice both to accommodate the merchandise inside, and for its journey from Indira’s doorstep. [More]
Here’s Why Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Wrapped Some Bubble Wrap In Brown Paper
By 7.10.15
Earlier this week, we were amused to see a reader’s submission of a roll of bubble wrap in a massive box, protected with a substantial wad of kraft paper. While we laughed, though, a reader who is quite familiar with shipping procedures pointed out why Amazon needed to wrap up the bubble wrap. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Nestles Roll Of Bubble Wrap In Kraft Paper
By 7.8.15
Look, Amazon doesn’t know what Alexis wanted a roll of bubble wrap for. Maybe she just wants it to wrap up breakable items before placing them in a box to move, store, or mail. Or maybe she’s a collector of rare and precious bubble wraps, and needs to keep the rolls in mint condition with no risk of damage and not a single bubble popped. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Knows Exactly Where Your RAM Is
By 5.11.15
The Stupid Shipping Gang is back to work at Amazon: indeed, it never left. The Stupid Shipping Gang are the people who package e-commerce items for shipping, using inappropriately large or excessive packaging. Matthew’s office ordered nine RAM modules for laptop computers…and received them in nine separate boxes. [More]
Best Buy’s Stupid Shipping Gang Sends 45 Packs Of Pens In 45 Separate Boxes
By 11.14.14
Buying stuff that’s on sale is always a heady moment on the retail battlefield, leaving your proudly standing over your vanquished enemy and wiping the sweat from your brow and knowing that the price you paid wasn’t as great as it could’ve been. Then 45 separate boxes show up at the door. [More]
UPS Says My New iPhone Is Almost Here — Oh Wait, They Left It Back In Korea
By 10.1.14
Like lots of people who ordered their new iPhone from the Apple store, Consumerist reader Clint has been tracking the impending delivery of his new device. Over the course of the last week, it’s gone from China to South Korea to Alaska to Kentucky and was set to be delivered to Clint in Seattle today. Except UPS has bad news. The tracking info was slightly off. [More]
Let’s All Breathe A Sigh Of Relief That These Paper Clips Packed In A Huge Box Arrived Safely
By 9.22.14
When you’re expecting a box of paper clips in the mail, there are some very tense moments where one must come face to face with the reality that those paper clips might arrive damaged, unable to clip pieces of paper to each other. Breathe easy, folks — ordering from Staples means those fragile metal clips will get from point A to point B safely, thanks to the help of a huge box and plenty of air pouches. Whew. [@DsladeNews on Twitter] [More]
Why Ship Four Hockey Sticks In One Box When You Can Use Four?
By 8.15.14
Reader Leeny placed an order from Amazon: four hockey sticks, because Amazon really does sell everything. We have to admit that hockey sticks pose a packaging challenge, but Amazon was up to the task with tall and spacious boxes. What prompted Leeny to take some pictures and send them to Consumerist was that each of her sticks was mailed in a box that could have fit a few dozen more. [More]
Here’s How Fulfillment Centers Make Shipping Stupid By Making It Smart
By 7.16.14
We received a letter from J., who designs order fulfillment systems for a living. We would call him a “Stupid Shipping Gang Kingpin,” but that’s not really fair: he says that he does his best to make the system less stupid. The problem, J. explains, is that “sometimes the smart way to do things and the common sense way to do things seem at odds with each other.” [More]
Sears Ships Tiny Wrench To Store In Giant Box
By 7.15.14
You would think that when ordering an item online for in-store pickup, a retailer would package the item in an efficient way, perhaps putting it in a box with other tools being shipped to the store. No. Not at Victor’s local Sears. [More]
A Single Camera Charger Shipped On A Pallet Looks Ridiculous
By 7.11.14
When a single charger box arrived at a camera store strapped to a wooden pallet, it caused one employee to take a video of the unboxing, then post it to Reddit with the question: “How is DHL still in business?” Yet this international edition of the Stupid Shipping Gang isn’t DHL’s fault. It’s how such items have to be shipped across borders. [More]
Amazon Tosses Jumble Of Household Staples In Massive Box, Hopes For The Best
By 7.10.14
“Is that $120 in formula tossed in willy-billy with a bag of dog food?,” writes reader Cheryl. “Yes, yes it is.” Of course it is. We get that Amazon has a lot of boxes to ship on a daily basis, but she did sort of expect her giant order of household staples like kibble and granola bars to arrive not arrive loose in a large box, crushing some items. [More]
UPS Follows FedEx, Will Start Charging Based On Package Size
By 6.17.14
When FedEx announced in early May that it would soon begin using both weight and size when determining how much to charge for delivering a parcel, we predicted that UPS would follow suit. Amazingly, Big Brown was able to hold off for an entire month before deciding it also needs to take a package’s dimensions into account for ground shipping. [More]
Walmart Stupid Shipping Gang Sends Box That Fits Supplements, Wads Of Paper, Cats
By 6.16.14
Markian ordered some jars of dietary supplements from Walmart.com, and they arrived in a large box. The box was notable because it had enough space to accommodate the supplement jars and a massive wad of brown paper. If he removed the paper, the box had enough room to fit at least one of his cats, which he included in the photos for scale. [More]
