We guess: In the top package there is a calculator with a pair of socks in it. Picture: dpa
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That’s why small things often come in large boxes
Who does not know it? The DHL courier rings, you open your handsome package from Amazon – did I still order the shoes? – and find in it: a pair of socks. Isn’t the box a little big for that?
Many of us do. No wonder: Despite protests against packaging waste, Amazon and other online retailers continue to rely on large boxes – no matter how small the goods shipped.
This is shown by research carried out by the rbb consumer magazine “Super.Markt”. This had called on viewers to document the biggest packaging sins. Over 70 cases were captured by photo and video.
No coincidence, it’s about money
The result: the whole thing is no accident. The large packaging helps online retailers save money. Amazon explained this at the request of rbb.
You have 30 different box sizes. For each product, data such as weight, size, height and width would be stored in the Amazon logistics center. Then the employees at the packing station would receive a recommendation for the right box size.
But: Standard cardboard is not available for all products. For example with wipers. However, these could not simply be sent in the original packaging – because it is too narrow to print on the shipping label, Amazon explains.
Means: The responsible Amazon employee has to improvise and grab a box into which the windshield wipers fit with their unusual, elongated shape. Then it can happen that the square box ends up looking too big for the buyer.
Not all, however, are as lavishly equipped as Amazon with its 30 standard sizes for boxes. At the internationally active mail order company Conrad Electronics, according to their own statements, only six standard box sizes are used. This could cause “that small items are delivered in a comparatively large box “,
(Om)
