Reader Sean sent us what may not be the most egregious example of wasteful packaging, but in terms of the proportion of the item shipped to the size of the box it came in, it comes pretty close. Sean ordered a gear the size of a fingernail — literally — from Tower Hobbies.
waste
2-Foot-Long CVS Receipt Doubles As Party Streamer
By 5.11.09
Matt sent Consumerist an e-mail with the subject line, “Why is my receipt two feet long?” See, he shopped at CVS, purchased one item, used the self-checkout machine, and walked away with a receipt longer than my dog. This is a massive waste of paper, especially when you multiply it by the number of CVS stores and the number of purchases at each one, but it isn’t completely pointless.
Are You Actually Paying More Than $3 A Minute To Use Your Cellphone?
By 3.9.09
The LA Times brings up an interesting point. You may think you are getting each cellphone minute for about $0.10… but are you really? Or are you paying for more minutes than you use?
Ponderables: Why Must Amazon Ship Air All Over The United States of America?
By 2.13.09
Reader Marc would like Amazon to stop shipping bubbles of air all over the country. He ordered two items that would have been fine to ship in an envelope — but instead he got the usual large box with several air bubbles. This makes Marc mad.
Comcast Spends 42 Cents to Mail You a 13 Cent Check
By 1.13.09
It could be worse; they could have just charged him the difference and called it a day. Full Comcastic Check inside. [Thanks David!]
Sam's Club Pretends Its Polystyrene Cup Is Green
By 8.15.08
Gregg saw this cheerful environmentally-friendly message on the side of his Sam’s Club soda cup. Wait, what? We guess it saves Sam’s Club fuel costs to ship the cups, but that sounds more like a profit-friendly quality. Gregg notes another benefit of the cup: “[it] may never biodegrade but at least it’s easy on my drinkin’ elbow.”
Hewlett-Packard Crowned Head Of The Stupid Shipping Gang After Packing 32 Sheets Of Paper In 17 Boxes
By 7.19.08
Leading the stupid shipping gang takes creative incompetence, and Hewlett-Packard is clearly up to the task. Other companies might have turned to email when faced with the challenge of shipping sixteen software licenses. Not Hewlett-Packard! HP went looking for a box. A really big box, which they filled with sixteen smaller boxes, each containing two precious pieces of paper ensconced in a layer of protective foam.
20 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Groceries Without Spending An Extra Cent
By 7.13.08
Americans throw away a quarter of our food uneaten, which translates into serious wasted cash over time. The Guardian compiled an excellent list of ways to shop smarter so you end up buying what you need, and eating what you buy.
Boy, This Tiny Microfiber Cloth From Amazon Sure Is Packaged Efficiently
By 7.3.08
Yes, folks. It’s time for everybody’s favorite post: Stupid Shipping Gang! In this episode, Amazon demonstrates how to package a tiny microfiber cloth efficiently.
Pregnant? Asthmatic? Don't Like Rollercoasters? Stay Away From NYC Elevators And Escalators
By 5.19.08
Unless you’re willing to risk being stranded with 14 other passengers several stories underground in a cattle car elevator on a hot summer day, or plunging at extreme speeds down an escalator with a broken chain, you might want to steer clear of NYC’s subway system lifts. The New York Times has published the results of an extensive investigation that includes tales of daily breakdowns, comically undertrained mechanics, and about $1 billion spent over the past decade.
Canon Uses Comically Oversized Box To Send You Something They Could Have Taped To A Postcard
By 4.29.08
Earlier this week I ordered a part from Canon USA Service for one of my Canon cameras and it arrived today. I am impressed for the fast shipping but not so much by the efficiency of the packaging.
Additional photo inside.
Dell Still Ships Tiny Items In Massive Boxes
By 4.20.08
From the looks of David’s package, Dell isn’t close to honoring its promise to switch to alternative packaging within the next two months. This obscenely large box contained nothing more than a 2GB flash drive. David’s son snapped a few pictures, which appear as an eerie slideshow after the jump.
Should American Airlines Have Flown Five Overbooked Passengers Across The Atlantic In An Empty Plane?
By 3.15.08
American Airlines managed to rebook all but five passengers after canceling one of its four daily flights from Chicago to London. The five still needed to get to London, so American rustled up an empty plane and invited everyone up to business class. Seems nice, but Friends of the Earth is outraged that American burned 22,000 gallons of fuel for five passengers. Great customer service or eco-scandal? Vote in our poll, after the jump.
What's Inside This Big Box From IBM?
By 1.21.08
Ooo, what could be inside this box that IBM shipped to a reader—retail-packaged software? Peripherals? Maybe a hard drive with air padding? A logo-emblazoned hoodie? Monogrammed pencils? A kitten?
Dell: Let's Ship Tiny CDs In Massive Boxes!
By 1.19.08
Dell has promised to stop shipping individual CDs in 10x19x10 boxes after Christian over at Technologist for Hire posted a rant about Dell’s growing love for wasteful packaging.
Wal-Mart Joins The Stupid Shipping Gang
By 12.26.07
A reader writes, “As part of our Christmas shopping; we ordered several DVD’s, video games, and a phone card from Wal-Mart’s website.” The items trickled in over several days, then “this showed up. A 10X11X5 inch box, an air-filled air bubble, and one thin phone card taped to the bottom of the box.”
Companies, this has got to stop! It’s wasteful and annoying. It’s stupid. It can’t cost that much to hire someone to put together a shipping program that uses different package sizes for different types of products.
Crate & Barrel's Wooden Spoon Packaging Is Very Efficient
By 12.20.07
Reader Mark says:
I recently ordered two wooden spoons, a wooden spatula and a silicone spoon rest from crateandbarrel.com – all in the same transaction. Today I received these two big boxes! One box (10x7x20) held ONE 13.5″ spoon. The other box (13x13x7.5) held the other spoon, spatula and spoon rest.
