It’s better for an online retailer to send an item packaged incorrectly than to not send it at all, or to wait around for the perfect box or envelope to show up. Right? That’s the founding principle behind the Stupid Shipping Gang, who sent reader Veganman a box of tiny door bumpers that could have fit in an un-padded manila envelope. [More]
stupid shipping gang
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Makes Sure Coffee Filters Arrive Safely
By 5.28.14
Reader Laura (no relation) received a big, sturdy Amazon box at work. “The kind large enough to hold six to eight regular reams of 8×11 paper,” she wrote to Consumerist. “20 inches in length and a good foot wide and deep.” This box must hold a large amount of office supplies, right? Not so much. [More]
Apparently, It’s Very Difficult To Box Up Cat Toys
By 5.8.14
Reader James was not impressed last week when we posted a picture of a cat toy that Amazon shipped inside another cat toy…or, as us people without cats call them, a very large “cardboard box.” James assured us that he could top one cat toy in a mere oversized long, thin box: he received two cat toys in a box large enough to ship at least four cats.* [More]
Amazon Stupid Shipping Gang Ships Cat Toy Inside Second Cat Toy
By 5.2.14
We can’t imagine how difficult it must be to box up packages in an online fulfillment warehouse, working with time constraints to find the best container for an unfathomable variety of products. Yet sometimes the packaging choices themselves are unfathomable, and that’s when we point out that the Stupid Shipping Gang has been at work. Stephen sent along this photo of his cat toy packaged in a comically oversized box. [More]
Under-Packaging Items For Shipping Just As Stupid As Over-Packaging Them
By 2.28.14
John needed a lot of blank DVDs to start a project, so he ordered some up from OfficeMax. He regrets that decision now. While his package came addressed to the correct name, the DVDs arrived smashed up after bouncing around loose in the box. John actually longs for the comical overpackaging that Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang is known for. [More]
Shoplet Rules The Stupid Shipping Gang Forever, Sends Me Coupon In Box Of Air Pillows
By 2.11.14
Ed ordered three big (by “big” we mean four feet by six feet) dry erase boards from Amazon.com. They came from a vendor called Shoplet. Everything seemed fine with the transaction until a mysterious box arrived on his doorstep alongside the boards. The box was tiny, unlike the boards. What was inside? Mounting hardware? Extra erasers? Free markers? No. He opened the box and was horrified at what he found inside. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Has Really Outdone Itself With This One
By 1.6.14
UPDATE: Sigh, the mystery has already been solved and has thus been rendered unmysterious. But we’ll make you scroll through our original musings first, of course. [More]
Stupid Shipping Gang Protects My Toilet Paper With Even More Wads Of Paper
By 1.3.14
Amazon really cares whether your packages arrive safely, no matter what they are. How much do they care? Reader Tony reports that when he ordered toilet paper from Amazon, it arrived in a huge box stuffed with brown paper. [More]
Costco Sends Us Bale Of Cardboard, Includes Free Furniture Pieces
By 10.31.13
Amy was familiar with the work of the Stupid Shipping Gang, but didn’t expect to see them in her own office. No, not in the shipping department: at Costco, the vendor that sent them some soundproof panels for the office. [More]
Walmart.com Ships 50 Small Boxes Of Crayons In 50 Large Cardboard Boxes
By 10.22.13
Members of the Stupid Shipping Gang have invaded Walmart.com, where an order of 50 boxes of Crayola crayons shipped not in one or two larger cardboard boxes, but each in its own cardboard box. [More]
Stupid Shipping Gang Keeping Plastic Air Pillow Industry Afloat
By 9.19.13
Plastic bag air pillows are useful for keeping breakable items from bouncing around in a too-large box. We have to wonder, though, whether there are too many pillows out there in the world because of the hard work of the Stupid Shipping Gang. It could be that terrible boxing is responsible for artificially boosting sales of air pillows. [More]
Amazon Sells Hamper And Book, Tosses Them In Single Huge Box
By 9.4.13
Lori ordered two things from Amazon: a hamper and a book. For some reason, she expected that they wouldn’t just throw both items loose in the same box. Silly Lori! Doesn’t she know how things work at Amazon? Why should she expect to buy a book and a household item and receive one or both unharmed? [More]
Smart UPS Driver Balances Out Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang
By 8.7.13
Justin’s recent Amazon experience was his first encounter with the retailer’s Stupid Shipping Gang, Truth in Labeling Department. In that department, they take items that are already in a sturdy enough box and then slap a shipping label on it to send to the customer. This is practical and environmentally friendly…for the crook who just happens to walk by and need a worksite radio. [More]
eBay Wants To Idiot-Proof Shipping Things, Maybe Should Talk To Amazon
By 7.17.13
It’s true that shipping can be pretty complicated. Heck, Amazon is the biggest retailer in the world, and they have an awful lot of trouble with it. It’s understandable that small-time sellers on eBay have trouble with it too. So it’s interesting that eBay has filed a patent for a system that will idiot-proof shipping for their sellers. [More]
Even Stores’ Own Employees Aren’t Safe From The Stupid Shipping Gang
By 7.17.13
If you think about it, it makes sense that retail employees have their own share of encounters with the Stupid Shipping Gang. They open and unpack a lot more boxes than we civilians ever do. Maybe stupid shipping just no longer fazes them. [More]
Stupid Shipping Gang Takes Over Newegg, Sends Cables In Huge Boxes
By 7.10.13
Matthew writes that he ordered one HDMI cable from Newegg, and got a box large enough to fit at least a dozen more. You could throw in a laptop computer without too much trouble, too, even though he only set his 15″ Macbook on top of the box to give us a sense of scale. [More]
Amazon Sends Ginormous Box Filled With Free Toys For Our Toddler, Sorta
By 6.26.13
A gigantic box arrived on Allison’s doorstep. It was from Amazon. What on earth had they ordered? The box was large enough to fit their young son inside. As it turned out, Mr. Allison had ordered only a few small items, which Amazon threw in a big box, filling the rest with air pillows. [More]
Couple Orders Tie From Banana Republic, Gets Folders Full Of Sensitive Employee Info Instead
By 6.21.13
When you order clothing online, there’s always the chance you’ll get the wrong size or color. But you rarely get three folders full of sensitive employee documents containing things like Social Security numbers, addresses, and tax forms. [More]
