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Appalling (Amazon) shipping -> risk of internal damage?

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MoreCowbell said:
Because like almost everything else on DPR people write as if they are experts on the subject rather than just speculating or expressing an opinion šŸ˜Š

I have to wonder how many photography hobbyists responding or the photography professionals for that matter actually have any knowledge of logistics and packaging šŸ˜Š
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Logistics is one thing, packing is another.. Whether you are a Professional or a pure hobbyist, one expects delivered gear to be properly packed within the shippers box.. L
 
I agree, but since you've already placed the first like yourself on your own post I won't add another :)
 
MoreCowbell said:
Because like almost everything else on DPR people write as if they are experts on the subject rather than just speculating or expressing an opinion šŸ˜Š

I have to wonder how many photography hobbyists responding or the photography professionals for that matter actually have any knowledge of logistics and packaging šŸ˜Š
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The whole thing is hilarious. The OP waited - in his/her own words - weeks before even questioning whether there might be damage. Not sure where the OP is located, but here in the US you have 30 days to make a return so it was already getting close.
 
Mark B. said:
MoreCowbell said:
Because like almost everything else on DPR people write as if they are experts on the subject rather than just speculating or expressing an opinion šŸ˜Š

I have to wonder how many photography hobbyists responding or the photography professionals for that matter actually have any knowledge of logistics and packaging šŸ˜Š
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The whole thing is hilarious. The OP waited - in his/her own words - weeks before even questioning whether there might be damage. Not sure where the OP is located, but here in the US you have 30 days to make a return so it was already getting close.
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I would think the original OP had a quiet afternoon whilst his wife was out shopping, he was bored so:- hence the Post.. šŸ˜‰
 
Michael Fryd said:
Ed B said:
Rossi46 said:
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I would never, never order a camera from Amazon, and this is one of the reasons why.

I did recently order a GPS from them, and it was "packed" the same way as your camera. I'm surprised a lot of items aren't damaged in shipment.
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Yes, to those who have not looked into this, it is surprising that more stuff isn't damaged in transit.

Amazon is a very successful business. They are working very hard to maximize profits. If their packing and shipping methods were causing product damage, they would change those methods.

The fact that Amazon is willing to throw a factory packed camera into a large, otherwise empty, cardboard box, tells us very clearly, that Amazon believes that product is quite likely to arrive without damage.

Remember, Amazon has a generous return policy. If lapses in packaging were causing damage, they would know it. Furthermore, they have the software to tell them that a particular packer has a higher rate of returns.

The issue here is not one of items being damaged in shipment. it's one of customers not trusting the manufacturer's packaging.
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100% correct
 
Michael Fryd said:
mfinley said:
Michael Fryd said:
I assume that Sony packs multiple cameras into a larger cardboard box. If they are like typical manufacturers, those individual boxes just fit into the larger box, without space for any additional packaging.
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That's exactly the point. If they are snug they don't move violently through free space a thousand times during shipping.

You don't seem to understand the simple concept of padding within a shipping box. There is no padding needed in a shipping box if it is tightly packed and no internal boxes can move.

The OP's concerns are there is no padding in the shipping box.
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Moving violently during shipping is only an issue if the manufacturer's packaging is not doing its job.

Imagine that you were packaging a camera to send it off for repair. If it were me, I would wrap that camera in bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts, and put it into a cardboard box. I really want that camera to survive shipping, so I would make sure there was adequate padding between the camera and the box. I just assume that the box will be dropped and tossed around during shipping.

I would not worry if my carefully packed box was placed in a larger, and otherwise empty, cardboard box. I know my packing job is good enough to handle my box being dropped. Sliding around inside another box isn't a problem.

.

Manufacturer's also pack their products with care. Except, rather than guessing as to how much padding is needed, they do actual research. They custom manufacture foam/cardboard/bubble wrap materials to protect the product. It turns out that if you do the research, and custom design the packing, you can get by with less padding than you or I would use.

Again, placing the manufacturer's box into a larger box isn't going to hurt the product. it's no worse than dropping the manufacturer's box onto the floor, and it's designed for that.
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Its actually called literally a "drop test" and there are standards that are followed that save the manufacturers return hassles down the road. Packaging is engineered to drop tests results. I think just about every camera made today comes with factory packaging the is more than adequate for UPS etc without damage. I think there are two reasons retailers pack the manufacturers factory boxes into other boxes:

1. They are discreet. The factory boxes tell the onlooker walking by that there is a $3000 camera on the porch. A brown box says diapers. If I had a camera store that shipped bodies anywhere, I would use Chewy boxes. Nobody steals cat food.

2. People are obsessed with pristine factory packages these days. A mint condition box tells future buyers on eBay that you really take care of your stuff. If someone like B&H slapped a label on the factory box, the camera would be adequately protected, but the box would look a little rough on arrival, and people would complain.
 
Your box is inside a box. There is little padding between the boxes, but the main box is fine. They could have just slapped a shipping label on the inside box and shipped it that way. Then would you have known if they threw the box around? That's what they did with the 20 bottle wine cooler I just bought. It was delivered upside down. There was no this-side-up marking on the box, but there was plenty of manufacturer design including text and images that made it clear it was upside down. I purchased the item advertised as like-new. The description stated there could be damage to the shipping container but the product should be like new. Well, it wasn't like new. One of the feet (topmost component as delivered) was crushed. Looking at the instruction manual, it mentions to always transport it right side up to protect cooling components. But it also says to let it sit for several hours upright before plugging it in, so I guess they expect some violation of the upright shipping to occur.
 
Mackiesback said:
1. They are discreet. The factory boxes tell the onlooker walking by that there is a $3000 camera on the porch. A brown box says diapers. If I had a camera store that shipped bodies anywhere, I would use Chewy boxes. Nobody steals cat food.
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They do steal kitty litter, though. Ask my neighbor.
 
The box the camera came in supplies all the protection it needs.
 
Victor Engel said:
Mackiesback said:
1. They are discreet. The factory boxes tell the onlooker walking by that there is a $3000 camera on the porch. A brown box says diapers. If I had a camera store that shipped bodies anywhere, I would use Chewy boxes. Nobody steals cat food.
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They do steal kitty litter, though. Ask my neighbor.
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Jeez. Maybe they are using it as oil dry under their van parked down by the river.
 
Mackiesback said:
Victor Engel said:
Mackiesback said:
1. They are discreet. The factory boxes tell the onlooker walking by that there is a $3000 camera on the porch. A brown box says diapers. If I had a camera store that shipped bodies anywhere, I would use Chewy boxes. Nobody steals cat food.
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You'd think so, but I once had somebody steal four 50 pound bags of organic steer manure fertilizer out of the bed of my pickup.

If I'd known they needed 200 pounds of crap that bad I'd probably have just given it to them :)

--
Personal, non commercial vacation snapshots at
https://www.castle-explorers.com
 
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Your Sony box would have just had a plastic bag taped around it with a label on.

Itā€™s simple really just use and enjoy your new camera . It comes with a years warranty anyway and if it hasnā€™t died within weeks of owning them you can be safe in the knowledge no harm came to it in transit.
 
Rossi46 said:
Hi all,
I received my new Sony A6400 a few weeks ago. These were hard to come by for a while, so I was very pleased with the delivery. The happiness did not last long unfortunately, when I discovered that the Amazon package was hardly 'filled up'. I guess the picture tells it all; the Sony box had all the opportunity to bounce all over the place due to this lack of filling.

cab15a0c1a524b8c9084ea53b4a534e1.jpg

I must say that the Sony box does not seem to have any damage at all. But still, with this kind of 'free play', It must have had a rough time.

Should I be worried over internal damage within the camera? Or are these manufacturer boxed designed in a way that they 'absorb' all the energy in case of bouncing and dropping and the camera stays safe?

Looking forward to your thoughts, because I can't decide if I want to keep the camera or return it.
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Got this message from my son showing the Amazon packing job they did for a small blister pack of vinyl repair kit my grandson ordered. Guess they use different packers for cameras and vinyl repair kits.



b160a68506fc41b08cf537b485128f90.jpg
 
Bob A L said:
Rossi46 said:
Hi all,
I received my new Sony A6400 a few weeks ago. These were hard to come by for a while, so I was very pleased with the delivery. The happiness did not last long unfortunately, when I discovered that the Amazon package was hardly 'filled up'. I guess the picture tells it all; the Sony box had all the opportunity to bounce all over the place due to this lack of filling.

cab15a0c1a524b8c9084ea53b4a534e1.jpg

I must say that the Sony box does not seem to have any damage at all. But still, with this kind of 'free play', It must have had a rough time.

Should I be worried over internal damage within the camera? Or are these manufacturer boxed designed in a way that they 'absorb' all the energy in case of bouncing and dropping and the camera stays safe?

Looking forward to your thoughts, because I can't decide if I want to keep the camera or return it.
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Got this message from my son showing the Amazon packing job they did for a small blister pack of vinyl repair kit my grandson ordered. Guess they use different packers for cameras and vinyl repair kits.

b160a68506fc41b08cf537b485128f90.jpg
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The packer was probably not an environmentalist. I myself have had it from both ends of the spectrum as well. People lack common sense these days.
 
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
 
jackwelch said:
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
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My experience is that Amazon will frequently ship a replacement product before the returned product reaches them.
 
Michael Fryd said:
jackwelch said:
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
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My experience is that Amazon will frequently ship a replacement product before the returned product reaches them.
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Yes, I find them to be great. I once had goods that I hadnā€™t ordered, probably somehow sent to the wrong address. Nothing valuable, although they certainly had a value and my account was never debited for them. I got in touch with Amazon and they said just to keep them, because since they didnā€™t have an order number for them, they could not provide me with a return label or re-process them.
 
jackwelch said:
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
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Iā€™ll remind people of the old proverb...

ā€œWhat the eye doesnā€™t see, the heart doesnā€™t grieve overā€.

Another quote in a similar vein, from D H Lawrence...

"What the eye doesn't see and the mind doesn't know, doesn't exist"
 
Aberaeron said:
Michael Fryd said:
jackwelch said:
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
Click to expand...
My experience is that Amazon will frequently ship a replacement product before the returned product reaches them.
Click to expand...
Yes, I find them to be great. I once had goods that I hadnā€™t ordered, probably somehow sent to the wrong address. Nothing valuable, although they certainly had a value and my account was never debited for them. I got in touch with Amazon and they said just to keep them, because since they didnā€™t have an order number for them, they could not provide me with a return label or re-process them.
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I've had that happen as well. We once got a duplicated order of a soft-shell jacket (only 1 on the order and only charged for 1). When contacted they told us to keep the extra.
 
Mark B. said:
Aberaeron said:
Michael Fryd said:
jackwelch said:
Even if you ship it back and they ship you a new one, there's no telling whether they'll ship you the same item again. Meaning double Jeopardy, double damage.
Click to expand...
My experience is that Amazon will frequently ship a replacement product before the returned product reaches them.
Click to expand...
Yes, I find them to be great. I once had goods that I hadnā€™t ordered, probably somehow sent to the wrong address. Nothing valuable, although they certainly had a value and my account was never debited for them. I got in touch with Amazon and they said just to keep them, because since they didnā€™t have an order number for them, they could not provide me with a return label or re-process them.
Click to expand...
I've had that happen as well. We once got a duplicated order of a soft-shell jacket (only 1 on the order and only charged for 1). When contacted they told us to keep the extra.
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I received a clothing item (not Amazon) that was the wrong size. They sent us another but told us to keep the wrong item. I presume that the return shipping and restocking would cost more than the item itself. I knew someone who worked for a clothing retailer. They told me that the markup was about 10 times what the item actually cost. In other words, something that retailed for $60 cost the store only $6.
 
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