Why do you vendors love packing peanuts so much???

Do you need to put 5000 packing peanuts in the box with my bags of grain? Is the grain going to break? I recieved a shipment today that consisted of a 6.5 gallon bucket and 25,000 peanuts. I have bags and bags of packing peanuts in my basement. Stop the insanity! Rant over. Carry on.

LOL, I'm sooo with you on this. The thing I've always hated most about ordering online is the disposables, which is why I usually have stuff sent to my job. Well... that and no one is usually home to accept packages during business hours. But at work I can easily dispose of all that crap and take home just the important stuff.

That said, I love ordering from NorthernBrewer because they use air pocket type packing. All you need to do is cut it down the middle with scissors to open each air valve and then it's just some, still somewhat thick, plastic you can dispose of. Still much easier than styrofoam.

Heads up, this thread is guaranteed to be moved to the "Drunken rants and mindless ramblings" forum or whatever it's called being it's not really a beer topic.


Rev.

I happen to like how AHS uses starch based packing peanuts, just dump them in the sink and run some hot water over them and they dissolve.

Ha! I had a huge trashbag full. Got $5 for them at a yardsale!

I can see why they use the foam 'nuts in boxes even when they contain grain... They need to take up the dead space with something. Otherwise, with how UPS, FedEx, etc. handle the packages, you'd probably have grain spilled all over the inside of the box...

Different vendors use different packing materials. Some use recycled paper, others the air filled bladders, others the foam nuts... I think it has more to do with what they think will do the best job for how they pack things. In the end, it all does just as good a job...

I DO wish that you could put the foam materials out for recycling, and get them picked up. Last time I tried that, they left it all on the sidewalk... So now I have to put them into trash bags (which we have to pay extra for, since they're special for the town) and put it out at the curb. If I get a decent amount of deliveries, I space the packing materials out over a few trash days... Or I take them up to my mother's place, where they don't have to use special bags. Or, when working, I'll toss them into the dumpster there (as long as no one minds)... I could use the dumpster near where I live, but the police station is within eye-shot, so I'd rather not do it... Plus, I believe it's for use by the town hall only...

Northern Brewer knows how to pack some ****. A gorilla couldn't have broken the bottles and carboys they sent me.

NICE!! I will say Farmhouse Brewing Supply, in my experience, doesn't use too much packing material... I do like how they line the bottom of the box with an empty bulk grain bag... Even better when the last one came with a little grain still in it... Not enough to brew with (maybe an ounce or two) but I'm taking it to my mother's place this weekend so she can use it in her bird feeder...

+1 for Northern Brewer! I wish everyone would use the air pockets. Although,.. I can see in some circumstance needing the "extra" protection of the peanuts. I think it is also a game that, the bigger the box, the more they can justify the shipping charges.. but that's just my own two cents.


Cheers!

40watt said:

Northern Brewer knows how to pack some ****. A gorilla couldn't have broken the bottles and carboys they sent me.

Click to expand...

Definitely. Such professional packaging, I'm actually delighted, no joke, with each box I receive. Granted, I've never had any issue whatsoever with the packing from Midwest or Labelpeelers even over several orders, but Northern is so slick. They have their logo's stamped on the boxes, the taping is always so clean and perfect, the boxes are always perfect in shape (meaning never a bit overstuffed or malformed from being underpacked and crushed). LOL, they definitely do an impeccable job.


Rev.

If you don't want to keep them around, call the local UPS Store. Most of them will take them as long as they're clean. That's where I take them once I get a garbage bag full.

Id rather my stuff come together ok rather then broken or all over the place. I ordered some 2row from morebeer once and it came with the grain bag broken and all over the place. Was kind of annoying. Just my .02

Love the air bags. I order a lot of stuff from Amazon for work and they pretty much use the airbags or paper. The kids love to pop the bags as they make a hell of a noise and then they go in the hippie (recycling) bin.