Nathan didn’t want a gargantuan box with his ski poles, but that’s exactly what he got. Should the poles reproduce and start a society, they will not lack a shelter in which to live.

He writes:

I noticed you sometimes post entries on ‘wasteful’ packaging; here’s my brief story.

I placed an order for ski poles on Amazon; after completing the order, my wife decides she wanted a pair too. As I have Amazon Prime, packages ship quickly so I had to place two orders.

The first packaged arrived, no problem. The 2nd packaged arrived at my office and the UPS guy had to bring a dolly because he couldn’t carry my package with any other packages for the building. You could probably fit like 40 other poles in that same package.

At least Nathan got a bonus ski ramp with his order.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.