An Amazonian rant and more LibraryThing…

My last two orders from Amazon have arrived slightly bashed about the head so I’ve had a whinge to them. Not in the hope of vouchers or refunds, just to address what has lately been a really poor effort of packaging on Amazon’s behalf. Here’s the email I sent, along with some photos of the damage:

Hi there, the last two orders I’ve made with Amazon have arrived in pretty bad shape. In both cases the airbags were totally deflated which left the books/dvds free to play twister in the box. I’ve got photos on my blog for you to see the damage. I’m not after a refund or replacement; I want to bring to your attention the fact that the last two orders I’ve received just haven’t been packaged well enough to survive the trip to Australia. Thanks, -Chris

The top right-hand corner of the book.

From the inside of the book, you can see the damage to the hardcover.

The damage done to my second last order.

The completely deflated air-bags sit on the damaged books.

The box from the latest shipment, deflated airbags and a large knock in the side.

It’s pretty clear in the latest case that the airbags deflated, and afterwards a large knock busted the corner off the book and tore the dustjacket up. If I was buying second-hand it’d be a different story, but I think anybody buying something brand new from Amazon should at least expect things to arrive okay.

Update: Here’s the reply from Amazon…

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I’m sorry to hear about this problem with your shipment’s packaging.
We always appreciate customer input on how we can improve our store,
and I’ve passed your message along to our shipping department.

The packaging methods we use have been proven to protect a variety
of items effectively. Virtually every Amazon.com order is shipped in
a corrugated container. Air-filled cushions are sometimes used to
protect the items. Some shipments may contain Flo-Pak polystyrene
loose fill packing material, commonly known as peanuts.

I realise that the air cushions were deflated in this case. I also
saw the picutures on post on blog, which clearly show the damage.

Again, we sincere apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

Oh and while still on the topic of books (and not rants), I’ve managed to get all but half a bookcase into my LibraryThing, and scan the remainder of what didn’t already have covers available. They’ve also added a neat javascript blog generator, which I’ve added on the sidebar on the right. So if you haven’t already, join LT and get your collection online, it’s the easiest and neatest way to catalogue your books. Oh and here’s a Simpsons quote for you non-bookies to chew on:

Dr. Taylor: Hi Lisa. I’m Alison’s father, Professor Taylor. I’ve heard great things about you.
Lisa: Oh really? I…
Dr. Taylor: Oh, don’t be modest. I’m glad we have someone who can join us in our anagram game.
Alison Taylor: We take proper names and rearrange the letters to form a description of that person.
Dr. Taylor: Like, er… oh, I don’t know, uh… Alec Guinness.
Alison Taylor: [thinking] Genuine class.
Dr. Taylor: Ho ho, very good. Alright Lisa, um… Jeremy Irons.
Lisa: [looks worried] Jeremy’s… iron.
Dr. Taylor: Mm hmm, well, that’s… very good… for a first try. You know what? I have a ball. Perhaps you’d like to bounce it?