[jcdoss]

Why give Adorama suggestions? Let them lose business all by themselves. They've lost mine.

On a side note, it's now interesting to see they've "changed their policy." When I got my nearly damaged item (an electronic viewfinder, notably costing less than $250, that arrived in a padded envelope... the viewfinder's box inside the envelope was crushed), I was told this was a mistake made by one of their shippers, and that they needed my help to figure out who it was. I think I can surmise at this time that this was a lie.

[monochrome]

When a manager decides the marginal cost or replacing an item every so often is less than the savings from shipping is a padded envelope the manager didn't account for a Forum such as this - wherein all the items received unmolested are ignored, but the one or two items destroyed elicits a post read by 40,000 people.

[Helen Oster]

If they can flag for a dollar value I would think they could also flag for an item 'type'. Therefore any order that contained a 'lens' of some sort could be flagged as requiring special packaging.

.

It is indeed true that we introduced comparatively recently the more widespread use of padded bags as a direct response to a large number of customers advising us that they felt the boxes were:

environmentally unsound
adding needlessly to shipping costs
causing doorstep deliveries to be too obtrusive


We expect the packers to show some common sense, and the experienced ones do. However, with over 180,000 different items in our inventory the database is there to offer clarity and guidance to newer recruits.

Why give Adorama suggestions? Let them lose business all by themselves. They've lost mine.

I understand completely why some customers may feel that it is easier to simply walk away from a retailer who doesn't offer the level of service expected, and if in a similar position I might well feel the same way.
However, I do take on board all feedback and suggestions, and show my appreciation whenever I am able.

BTW, the attached picture is exactly how units arrive from most suppliers. No padding, no bubble wrap - and without damage.

[snake]

So the lens was ok, right?

[Tako Kichi]

BTW, the attached picture is exactly how units arrive from most suppliers. No padding, no bubble wrap - and without damage.

A properly designed packaging system does not need additional padding as the packaging is engineered to provide adequate protection without it. In the case of your example when the outer box is full there is no room for movement of the internal boxes and each of those smaller boxes will have internal supports and barriers to stop any movement of the contents.

The risk of damage arises when re-packagers drop multiple packages of different sizes/shapes into a shipping container (box or padded envelope) and then leave large voids around the packages which in turn allows the packages to move around in transit. It is the inertia of the packages which causes the damage as they bang into each other in transit. Remove the voids/airspace in the container and the smaller packages cannot move around and therefore cannot build damaging inertia.

In a previous post the photo of the padded bag showed a number of packages loose inside it. The items were free to move around and therefore build damaging inertia. The issue could have been solved very easily by filling the empty space with something that stopped excessive movement. In the past Styrofoam peanuts were the item of choice but these days shippers seem to like air pillows (not really practical in a padded bag) or crumpled up brown paper. A length of paper crumpled up and stuffed into the space in a padded bag would have stopped excessive movement of the contents and prevented any damage. Paper is relatively cheap, light weight (in the small quantities described here), recyclable and readily available and adds virtually nothing to shipping costs in terms of materials or added weight.

The moral of the tale is stop movement and you stop damage!

[nanhi]

All lenses need to be packed in cardboard boxes with empty spaces filled up with foam or air pillows. PERIOD.
I say this with authority as I have been a Divisional Manager Materials with the world's largest conglomerate, and am a Graduate Engineer too with training in Export Packaging.
I wish Photographers understand that Protective Packaging is a science drilled meticulously to all the Warehouse Workers. Look at auto parts like an expensive axle shaft where the ends are splined. You will see a plastic cover over the splines along with an expandable plastic netting + the anti rust impregnated paper wrap + the heavy cardboard boxing. Nothing is left to chance. Hope Helen is reading this.
And recently I received two (2) lenses from KEH - Order value $ 101 for Free shipment - professionally packed in a 5-ply cardboard box - empty spaces filled with air pillows. One lens was quite heavy and the other one lighter.
Note: Materials Engineer use different ply ratings for the boxes and techniques depending upon the weight of the item. Each product we receive in our Warehouse from OEM Manufacturers are studied and a written Standard Procedure with photographs is made. In most cases we write to the OEM Plants to follow good packaging practices as given on the standard procedure sheet. The Warehouse performance is tracked based on the Customer's Damage Report, as it forms part of their KRA.
Thanks for reading.
Regards.

[krebsy75]

I think many of us expect to receive a product (which includes the manufacturer packaging) in the same pristine condition it was in while being packed for shipment. This has been the standard for my own eBay sales. Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic.

Based on this thread it sounds like the manufacturer packaging is expected to work with the retailer's packaging to keep the product safe during transit. Even if it means crushed corners on your $1,000+ FA Limited's box. And a cranky customer.

[cyclone3d]

Helen,
Absolutely anything that has any chance of being damaged should not be shipped in a padded envelope.

If I received an expensive item like that in a padded envelope, I would demand pre-paid return shipping as well as overnight shipping of a new properly packaged item.

Any item I sell on Ebay or otherwise that I have to ship gets good enough packaging to make sure it has no chance of being damaged unless it is run over or destroyed on purpose. This goes for items of any price. The only items I have ever shipped in padded envelopes are clothing.

I worked at a computer store a number of years ago and we dropped a supplier that we were purchasing about $40k of inventory from every month partially due to their horrible packaging policies.

If you have crappy packaging policies, it will cause you to lose customers as well as end up writing off a lot of damaged inventory.

Expecting goods to arrive undamaged when using a padded envelope is silly. Do your suppliers send you product in padded envelopes?

[RoxnDox]

Why give Adorama suggestions? Let them lose business all by themselves. They've lost mine.

On a side note, it's now interesting to see they've "changed their policy." When I got my nearly damaged item (an electronic viewfinder, notably costing less than $250, that arrived in a padded envelope... the viewfinder's box inside the envelope was crushed), I was told this was a mistake made by one of their shippers, and that they needed my help to figure out who it was. I think I can surmise at this time that this was a lie.

Why NOT give them suggestions? Sorry, but I find it silly to avoid giving feedback to a company that has had a long history of good customer relations and prices, when they make a change that threatens that... NOT telling them about is just plain dumb...

Jim

[Schraubstock]

HI

You can't sell and ship goods without packing as much as you can't ship packing without the goods, in other words both goods and packing make up the total product on offer. The packing quality ought to be commensurate with the goods and even become a strong point of selling.

Greetings