Packaging Pet Peeves

Not using ziplock bags. With the size that ziplock bags can get to these days, please BA's, buy some gallon sized zip lock bags and put each (or multiple) bubble wrapped bottle in a bag and seal it. One leaky bottle can ruin an entire shipment and companies are known to lose leaky packages.

 

Shredded paper. its a mess to clean up,

 

I don't get annoyed with packing, it's part of trading (unless it's very poorly packed). I'd rather have beer arrive safely, free of issues, than have issues with boxes being returned and prolonging trades. Shredded paper is really messy, but I've gotten it a few times and just swept it up after. Same with tape on bubble wrap. A utility knife can cut that really easily and then the wrap unfolds and I reuse it. I'd rather someone overpack a box and go to extremes than half-ass it. As said, companies have a tendency to lose things when something leaks or breaks.

I'll admit, I don't always use ziplock bags myself, but many times I have a garbage bag liner, or I do a box in a box with the inside box in a bag. Many times I don't use them if I have a styro shipper as well. I should start, I know it's a bad habit I have to break because bags are good to avoid possible leaking.

 

Packaging that doesn't get the job done.

 

I started using the electrical tape on stuff I bubble wrap. One of the pieces of bubble wrap I used that way actually came back to me with the same electrical tape on it, so it must have worked out pretty well.

 

Count me in among those who loathe tape, especially when it's way overdone. At best, tape on the bubble wrap is an inconvenience. At its worst, it's a nightmare. I shouldn't need scissors to get through bubble wrap. Rubber bands sometimes, but never tape. You just don't need it. Roll your cans/bottles in bubble wrap, and put them in the box. If there's no negative space in the box (and there shouldn't be) they won't come unwrapped.

In a similar way, I cannot stand when people tape caps on bottles. And once, I actually got a can with a big piece of packing tape across the top of it. No joke.

I also have a disdain for noisemakers. I once got a beer mail and inside it was a plastic cup half full of rice and covered with saran wrap and packing tape. Please don't send me your garbage, it's just a waste of my time.

 

I don't give a crap how somebody packages the beer they send me. If it arrives without any damage/broken bottles then the sender did a fine job. Yea, I get its nice to reuse packing materials but I don't fret over it.

 

I also hate the packing tape on the bubble wrap. Use rubber bands people so I can re-use the bubble wrap instead of destroying it. The loose Noise makers are annoying as well, but I did have someone send me a box of Mike and Ikes... I'll take that anytime.

 

I'm always able to re-use bubble wrap even if there is some packaging tape on it. Sure, it might tear a little, but no biggie.

IMO There's a bit too much complaining. Is it too much for people to be satisfied the beer trade was successful - no loss or damaged beer ?!?

 

No complaints as long as they put some time and effort into padding the box/beers. Having a re-usable box would be great too. I swear, some of the boxes I get are in TERRIBLE shape (taped like crazy to keep from busting open). Surprised FedEx even shipped them.

 

I use self-fusing rubber tape on most of my bottle caps ever since one of my first boxes came back leaking but with all bottles fully intact - one of them had somehow just leaked through the cap. (I've learned a lot since then anyways, and usually put a garbage bag inside the box, then the box inside another garbage bag inside another box...)

 

I had to retrieve a box where a Jester king Biere de Miel had leaked half its contents all over the box while still having the cap on. Please tape the lids on my bottles, it helps a little to prevent leaking

 

Gotta agree with all of these.

And another vote for self-fusing rubber tape. Costs very little, seals very tight, and leaves no residue.

 

Noise makers drive me crazy. They're messy and they draw more attention to your box, it makes it sound like something is broken inside. This is from another thread, but see below.

 

I've never been angry, or even annoyed, with anyone for overpacking, and I'll never apologize for the same.

 

I think there's a stark difference between over packing and obnoxiously doing so. To me, over packing is just adding more padding than you need. Tape adds nothing to structural integrity, so there's such a thing as too much tape. There's never such a thing as too much padding.

 

Not taping the bubble wrap is amateur stuff, And people wonder why their bottles get broken. Wanting to re-use bubble wrap to re wrap bottles and not just for filler is being cheap and lazy. Idc if I'm out 10 bucks I want to make my tradin partner happy and guarantee them their bottle will not be broken. imo I think it's terrible form to complain about someone goin above and beyond making sure you get your package safely

"oh, what? He took the time to wrap my bottles with so much attention to detail, so that I got the beer I really wanted safe and sound? What a dick!"

 

"My bottles are all broken, but at least I can reuse this bubble wrap!"

 

I've shipped literally hundreds of boxes of beer, without using any tape at all on the bubble wrap, and have never had a single bottle break. I have thrown out several garbage cans worth of bubble wrap I've received, that was rendered unusable because of tape.

Taping the bubble wrap is unnecessary at best. If you're concerned about the bottles staying in the wrap, use rubber bands. If you're really concerned about the bottles arriving intact, use a bottle shipper, line the box with a garbage bag, wrap each bottle in enough bubble wrap so that it sits securely in the shipper, and tape the caps of any bottles you suspect could leak.