am I alone in thinking that I would gladly give up this immediate gratification (amazon prime, usps priority, etc...) and take on an additional one, two (or even three) day delay if my parcels could arrive in something that could be considered as it doesn't look like it was "run over, tossed about, crushed on a conveyor belt, thrown, kicked, stepped on, etc..."

I've been wondering exactly how much shipping companies as well as the companies shipping the products are losing from claims due to damage and negligence incurred during shipping (barring the fact that usps has become notorious for not honoring insurance claims to items damaged while in their possession)

part of the problem is that in this "time sensitive" world that we've been accustomed to, companies aren't allowing their employees to take that much needed time to adequately package items. I've received heavy hardcover books along with delicate electronics tossed into an oversized box with virtually no air pillows, wadded paper or bubble wrap to keep the items stable during shipping. about 90% of the time, this has resulted in first edition hardcover books arriving with a broken spine or dog-eared corners or the more delicate items crushed beyond recognition from the weight of the other items they were packaged with.

the latest incident was a nice hanging guitar stand from fender. originally retailing at $250, it was on sale for $59 during their "days of summer". it arrived with a fedex sticker simply affixed to the outside of the retail package (not over-boxed in something non-descript for shipping) and it was quite obvious that it had been flipped end over end more than a few times. the fact that the oak base (which is approximately 2.5' x 2' wide and about 1" thick) wasn't captured in the inner box (or blocked in with styrofoam or cardboard wedges), allowed it to move freely explains why the end near the box end was completely crushed and chipped.

I'm guess I'm just "getting old" and harken back to the days where people didn't stress out because you didn't call them back 30 seconds after they left you a message