| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I love the pathfinders products and I love the subscription program. My feedback for improvement is in the packing of shipments. Those "peanuts" ... what a mess. Static electricity, clinging, getting all over ... is there something better? It takes some of the fun out of receiving a Paizo package when you must arm yourself to do battle with the peanut monster. You should put that in the next Beastiary :-)
|
I love the pathfinders products and I love the subscription program. My feedback for improvement is in the packing of shipments. Those "peanuts" ... what a mess. Static electricity, clinging, getting all over ... is there something better? It takes some of the fun out of receiving a Paizo package when you must arm yourself to do battle with the peanut monster. You should put that in the next Beastiary :-)
I hate them too. I always feel guilty for having to fill my barrel with them too.
If you have a local packing/shipping store, they will happily accept the peanuts for re-use.
|
I will add my voice to the "oh god not peanuts again!" group. We hate them, and most of the time they serve no purpose except to stick to cats.
They really are a terrible option for packing. Especially when they show up Tuesday morning all over the neighborhood because the garbage guys broke the bag open.
Environmentally unfriendly, difficult to dispose, and stick to EVERYTHING.
Please find a better alternative. Air bags, wrapping paper, anything is better than styrofoam peanuts.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The old white styrofoam peanuts weren't that bad (from a customers POV, I am not talking about their enviromental impact), but that gren stuff must come straight out of warehouse hell. It sticks to pretty much everything, especially it seems to like to stick to hair (hellooo green dressed kitty) and paper - little flakes of that stuff works its way into every book to remind you of the fun you had unpacking for months to come!
Seriously, I am pretty happy that everything (well everything that finds its way into the box ;-) ) gets to me undamaged, but, oh most awesome Customer Service, if there is an alternative to the shiny green styrofoam peanuts, I would be delighted if you took it.
Costs for Paizo shipping are already pretty high. I suppose hard to compete with the "big boys" on shipping prices.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If they are cornstarch, you can art with them.
What a great concept Treppa. The link you provided says that the cornstarch peanuts dissolve in water. I was so excited I tried it ... but alas, the green meanies continue to float about in the sink as I type this.
I love the pathfinders products and I love the subscription program. My feedback for improvement is in the packing of shipments. Those "peanuts" ... what a mess. Static electricity, clinging, getting all over ... is there something better? It takes some of the fun out of receiving a Paizo package when you must arm yourself to do battle with the peanut monster. You should put that in the next Beastiary :-)
I have to agree. Is there another way?
What a great concept Treppa. The link you provided says that the cornstarch peanuts dissolve in water. I was so excited I tried it ... but alas, the green meanies continue to float about in the sink as I type this.
Aw, bummer. I has the sads. Yes, you'll know the cornstarch peanuts immediately.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Unfortunately the company that holds the patent on the white peanuts (the ones that we prefer to use) has discontinued them and will not sell the patent to anyone else so those are no longer available. The ones made from cornstarch shed organic materials on everything and make books sticky so they aren't a good option either. So the green peanuts are the only option for us as far as peanuts go right now.
We've looked into air pillows and kraft paper options as well but they take much longer to use and don't stand up to the weight of our books in transit as well as the peanut options.
I'm constantly re-evaluating our shipping materials and experimenting so believe me I'm as motivated to move from the green peanuts as everyone else. ;)
Thanks Jeff, its simply good to know you understand the problem and will make any improvements you can as time goes on.
What about anti-static peanuts? That would at least cut down on the peanuts here peanuts there peanuts peanuts everywhere issue. I know my mailroom folks would prefer it! (I get stuff shipped to work so I can unbox everything and give them the packing materials for reuse. I can't be the only person doing this....)
The peanuts that we currently use ARE anti-static peanuts...
|
|
The peanuts that we currently use ARE anti-static peanuts...
Having seen fragments of them travel several feet horizontally to adhere to the nearest surface, I'm pretty sure that they don't work as designed then! They are almost impossible to remove from your hands once they have been thoroughly pulverised in shipping.
I've had products shipped from other retailers in the USA that had white, foam-like, peanuts that didn't seem to be leaving a residue. I wish I could remember who so I could give you a contact to try for an alternative.
|
|
What about anti-static peanuts? That would at least cut down on the peanuts here peanuts there peanuts peanuts everywhere issue. I know my mailroom folks would prefer it! (I get stuff shipped to work so I can unbox everything and give them the packing materials for reuse. I can't be the only person doing this....)The peanuts that we currently use ARE anti-static peanuts...
That is...worrying...
Chief Technical Officer
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
2 Notes
1) as the rambler states, the green ones are recycled material2)And at least a few years ago, Vic had said that all of the packing peanuts that Paizo used were recycled from what they received from distributors. So "other options" might raise the shipping and handling prices
We long ago surpassed our ability to rely on reusing peanuts. But the green ones we buy *are* still 100% recycled polystyrene, and can themselves be recycled.
The vendor has this to say regarding their antistatic properties:
•Anti-static coating to reduce clinging.
•Will not dissipate static charges from product.
•Dry air conditions may increase clinging.
Note that this implies a distinction between "anti-static" and "non-clinging" much like the difference between "water resistant" and "waterproof."
Is it possible to request your box to be packed without void fill? I'd consider rather getting dinged books than having to deal with the peanuts...
Unfortunately this is not an option in our system so sorry Samy.
I, for one, will not be ordering anything more from Paizo until the compromise of cost vs. ecological harm is clearly shifted the other direction. There is another solution, but it will probably cost more. I'd definitely pay more for the improvement.
Styrofoam peanuts are a blight on rural communities that have no option for recycling or reuse locally. I appreciate that these are made from recycled material, but that does not change the outcome of their use. They are still going to last nearly forever in the landfills, highway medians, gardens, city parks, rivers, and such of the world.
By "clearly," above, I mean I'd like to see a verbal description of how materials are packaged at a shipping information link that appears when placing an order. Then casual shoppers don't have to hunt all over the place for the information and can choose whether they want to continue with their order or buy elsewhere, which I will be doing until I can clearly recognize a positive change.
I love your products, but not your packaging.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
For a shipment like this month - with all the thin books in a cardboard envelope and the hardcover having corner guards... I wish there had been no fill. Really hop you can look into a no-fill option for shipping.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
He reads mine to me.
Vic Wertz has started hand-delivering my copies.
-Skeld
So that's how you get the PDFs early...
Customer Service Manager
|
The cardboard corners are great and need to be used more often, i hate packing peanuts and we really need to move away from them. They are purely and plainly just a pain for us on the receiving end.
Per package the cardboard corners are pretty expensive compared to packing peanuts and they don't work for all products. We use them when we can though. Peanuts, as annoying as they are, remain the most efficient protection for the cost. Customer service and warehouse absolutely feel your packing peanut pain and if we can find the same protection for cost intersection that peanuts provide for the volume we ship at, I am sure we will happily switch things up.
|
While I agree that the peanuts make an unholy mess, I do have to praise them also... I had one shipment which got left out in the rain and the cardboard box was completely soaked through and falling apart by the time I got home. I expected everything inside to be ruined, but instead those evil peanuts had somehow absorbed all the moisture and left the books completely untouched.
|
Customer Service Manager
|
While I agree that the peanuts make an unholy mess, I do have to praise them also... I had one shipment which got left out in the rain and the cardboard box was completely soaked through and falling apart by the time I got home. I expected everything inside to be ruined, but instead those evil peanuts had somehow absorbed all the moisture and left the books completely untouched.
I hope you adequately destroyed them as rain has been known to activate latent sentience in packing peanuts.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Add me to the list of those who hate the peanuts (moreso my wife than me, seeing as she always seems to be the one that opens the boxes with the peanuts then spends an hour chasing the cats after they steal them and has now threatened to cut me off from ordering from Paizo because of said feline shenanigans) but want to make sure that materials that are ecologically-conscious are used. I respect that others don't want to pay more for shipping - if there were to be another option for packing materials it should be a choice when placing the order.
Wait, how did you get Vic Wertz to read to you? I'm jealous. If I had a choice, I would probably want Richard Pett to be my narrator - his stuff is so dark and creepy. Love it.