Homebrew stores and packaging

Is it just me, or are most homebrew stores that ship severely addicted to those Styrofoam peanuts when they send out packages?

The other week i ordered a racking bucket from Northern Brewer, the bucket was in the box with some of that tan paper on the outside of the bucket, however the entire bucket was filled with these annoying peanuts. Just a little excessive for a plastic bucket i think.

Next i order a kit from a random homebrew store, open the box and find all the ingredients, under it is another box, so i open it up wondering whats inside. Well the entire box was just full of Styrofoam peanuts with nothing inside.

So far everything I've ordered has been obsessively packaged with these things.

Put them in a clean garbage bag & reuse them when you ship stuff; that's what I do.
Regards, GF.

Speaking from the other end of the equation, Yes peanuts are a pain. UPS has requirements for the proper amount of peanuts. If we ship a package that gets damaged, we eat the cost of shipping as well as the product, if it does not meet UPS specs. Did your bucket have a lid? If not, the peanuts that were "outside" the bucket would have fallen inside the bucket, leaving very little protecion. It seems the vendor could have put it in a bag first to alleviate the problem. But either way, the product arrived safely.

Peanuts-love'em and hate'em all at the same time!!!

I would definitely prefer to deal with the peanuts or bubble wrap than receive a damaged item because they did not use them.

As to the bucket, maybe they were worried about it getting crushed.

If they are biodegradable peanuts, biodegrade them. If they are the polystyrene kind, collect a bag/bags of them to drop of at the UPS store. They will take them and reuse them.

I like the ones that are made of potato starch, or maybe its macaroni. I like to watch them dissolve after I use an eye droppen on them.