Is this packaging acceptable? (70-200L II)

98kellrs wrote in post #18232459
Actually I agree, someone that makes a complaint follows the correct channels to ensure any issues with the vendor or carrier service used are dealt with by the parties involved, instead you are someone that has publicly named both vendor and carrier and have suggested that they have been neglectful in their service despite receiving the goods in an undamaged state (you have actually tested the products prior to making this thread I assume).

From the vendor's site: "If the merchandise is damaged, please make a notation on the delivery manifest, and have the person delivering the merchandise sign as well. Contact us within 48 business hours to report the damage."

1. I have not fully tested the lens, yet.

2. The outside of the box was not damaged. I am under no obligation to open and view the contents of the box while in the presence of the carrier. They were long gone before I opened the box in the comfort of my own living room. The issue here is not with the carrier, it is with the packaging done by the seller.

I contacted Helen at Adorama very soon after starting this thread, via email. I haven't heard back yet - that's not a problem, it's been a short time, Helen has a very good reputation and I am sure that she will respond.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with me addressing this issue on a public forum. Many who have responded say that the packaging is not acceptable. Some have said that they stopped doing business with sellers who packaged in this way. If anything, this thread will help fellow photographers make informed purchasing decisions.

The lens box looks to be in great condition...i could see if that was damaged, but it all seems fine

sandwedge wrote in post #18232482
There is absolutely nothing wrong with me addressing this issue on a public forum. Many who have responded say that the packaging is not acceptable. Some have said that they stopped doing business with sellers who packaged in this way. If anything, this thread will help fellow photographers make informed purchasing decisions.

Well I've seen businesses ruined due to people mouthing off online when the matter could be settled in a much more civilised manner so we shall have to agree to disagree there.

Given this is apparently now a public service thread, I may add that I've used both carrier and vendor numerous times over the years and have never had a single issue with any product or it's packaging.

the lens box itself is protection enough. Hell, I received my lights in the same manner, and they're much more fragile, and fine.

I think it's standard that big items that are itself, very well boxed, wont need super good packaging. The lens is steel and heavy duty glass surrounded by styrofoam. Many report it widthstanding drops on concrete, the styrofoam and padded bag inside will protect the lens plenty.

98kellrs wrote in post #18232515
Well I've seen businesses ruined due to people mouthing off online when the matter could be settled in a much more civilised manner so we shall have to agree to disagree there.

Given this is apparently now a public service thread, I may add that I've used both carrier and vendor numerous times over the years and have never had a single issue with any product or it's packaging.

I believe that I've been pretty civil about the whole thing, with the possible exception of my comment to you about re-packaging your best lens and rolling it down the stairs. While that wasn't very civil, I am still willing to stand by that statement.

We can agree to disagree about the rest.

I will state that I've never had an issue with the packaging of any of my camera equipment in the past, not from Adorama or anyone else. That's one of the reasons I was shocked about this one.

As for UPS, I'm not sure why you keep bringing them up. I've never had a problem with them either, but they are not the issue here.

I would have had an expectation of some air packs to minimize item movement during shipping. I recently had the opposite experience with a non photography item. I had a 12 inch frypan (a hunk of metal) come from Williams-Sonoma in a box 5x the size of the frypan box, with air packs stuffed into the whole thing. It made me chuckle that it was overkill.

So if they shipped the lens by itself in its own box, wouldn't that be fine? Then having that same box inside another box is no different.

The lens is in a soft case, that is sandwiched between foam inside a box with air all around the soft case. You could very easily take just the lens box itself and drop it body length with no issues (I have done this). Sure it would be nice to have things with air bladders between them when inside a larger box, but my litmus test is more that if the item could have been shipped as it by itself and then if it is floating around inside another box, it doesn't matter.

It is a bit of OCD that we deal with when looking at separate items in a box, expecting all of them to be separated from each other. In many cases with electronics, the manufacturer's box and their packaging is sufficient for shipping by itself.

No it's not acceptable packaging IMO especially for a lens and I'm sure that is not the packing the company has instructed it's employees/shipper to use.

If it put's a conscious thought in your mind that the lens might be damaged then the shipper has failed. Packing IQ varies widely from vendor to vendor, person to person. It would have cost next to nothing to put more bubble wrap in that box so why not do it. It's just a rogue employee not doing his/her job.

I've gotten plenty of packages from Amazon and sometimes the packing is great other times it's crap.

aquaforester wrote in post #18232806
No it's not acceptable packaging IMO especially for a lens and I'm sure that is not the packing the company has instructed it's employees/shipper to use.

If it put's a conscious thought in your mind that the lens might be damaged then the shipper has failed. Packing IQ varies widely from vendor to vendor, person to person. It would have cost next to nothing to put more bubble wrap in that box so why not do it. It's just a rogue employee not doing his/her job.

I've gotten plenty of packages from Amazon and sometimes the packing is great other times it's crap.

I have too, and the only time that floating packages inside a bigger box posed an issue was when the product wasn't sealed from the manufacturer, so parts flew out of those boxes and around inside the larger box, or when the product is in a polybag. For products that are already packed in a plush soft case, inside styrofoam, inside a thick box, no additional packing is needed, the lens can be shipped in its own box, in fact. You can wrap the lens box with brown paper and label it.

So back to the OP.... If the outer box was fine, and the lens box from Canon was also fine, and the lens works, then isn't really an issue at this point, is there? If anything was damaged even a little bit, then perhaps I would then be concerned. Hindsight says that the lens was obviously packaged well enough.

To address your concerns and raise awareness to Helen or Adorama, instead of using opinion on how it should have been packaged, you could point them to the Fedex guidelines, particularly page 3. However I wouldn't consider the Canon lens and its packaging as a fragile item, as it is well insulated from moderate impacts.

http://images.fedex.co​m …rlPkgGuidelines​_fxcom.pdf

In particular...

aquaforester wrote in post #18232806
No it's not acceptable packaging IMO especially for a lens and I'm sure that is not the packing the company has instructed it's employees/shipper to use.

If it put's a conscious thought in your mind that the lens might be damaged then the shipper has failed. Packing IQ varies widely from vendor to vendor, person to person. It would have cost next to nothing to put more bubble wrap in that box so why not do it. It's just a rogue employee not doing his/her job.

I've gotten plenty of packages from Amazon and sometimes the packing is great other times it's crap.

I'de say the lens itself can be shipped just fine in it's own box. The only purpose of the outer bigger box is privacy and keep the OEM box looking good. I'de say the package in it's entirety could withstand a 7' drop, and serve it's purpose.

So why even bother with an outside box? The shipper would save money by using just brown wrap. If the box is for 'appearance' then that has failed since it puts a question in one's mind (whether logical or not) that the lens might get damaged bouncing around. To purchase a lens and not put 10 cents worth of bubble wrap (even if it does nothing) is short-sighted since a certain amount of people will be turned off from a vendor and not reorder.

BTW unless you have a packing test lab you don't know for sure if lenses might get damaged the way it was packed. Could be 1 in 10, 1 in 100 but someone could end up with a damaged lens because the shipper didn't spend 10 cents on bubblewrap. The fact that this thread exists means it bothers some people and put's doubt in ones mind whether there is real damage or not.

there were 3 other things in the box...they couldn't just use the factory box...

That's not the point. Are you saying if he only ordered the lens, it's common practice to use just the factory box? No it always comes in an outside box. So it's just for show? Obviously the outside box makes the buyer feel better about eliminating possible damage. If you open the box like the OP did and there's no packaging your defeating the purpose of this reassurance.

I'm not faulting the seller, it happens anywhere, it's just someone not doing their job correctly.

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #18232012
These large companies weigh the historical returns rate vs. cost of additional packaging.
.....

Not the case.....Our procedure is to blanket the bottom and the sides of the box with pillows, place the item in the middle and then fold over the pillows and add more to fill the box where needed. The only thing we don’t add any pillows to are those items that ship in the vendor box, and soft goods (t-shirts, backpacks, hats, etc).

Larry Johnson wrote in post #18232295
Adorama did the same to me with a new camera. They shipped it fast and free, but lucky it wasn't damaged. I snapped a pic just in case.

While this is completely unacceptable 'packaging' I feel duty bound to correct you.....'Adorama' did not do this to you. An individual packer did it. The sooner we can find out your order number the sooner we can ID him or her.....and deal with it!