I got some Lapua brass from Midway a couple of days ago. I generally use Lapua because of the quality, plus it comes in a neat blue box that is very useful.

I have been a MidWay customer for a lot of years and can honestly say that they have been awesome over time. But ................

My order of brass and a couple of other smallish items was shipped in an envelope. Not a box ... an envelope. And the results are evident in the attached photo. Nice plastic box destroyed and brass loose in the envelope.

Not trying to start a gang-bash on Midway, but this poor packaging is obviously how the market is evolving to create as much profit as possible.

IMG_1957 by John Doe, on Flickr

My wife and I were in the hydraulic parts business for 25 years. 99% of our parts were shipped, and packing was a priority. We opened a postal center a couple of years before retirement and did a lot of packaging there as well. Figured it out early on that a trained "monkey" with a little common sense in shipping can avoid most claims for loss and damage. We used a lot of "air bags" or padded envelopes where appropriate, but you gotta use a little bit of common sense and fit the container to the shipment.

Its not just Midway, all shipping departments need to be trained in proper packaging. I think most, if not all companies assume that any monkey can put something in a box and get it out the door; the problem is the "monkeys" do just that with no concern, or common sense.

Sam's is a great example. We order a lot of canned goods and granola cereal from Sam's. They put the granola bags in with several cases of canned goods in a box twice as big as it needs to be and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the granola and corn meal on arrival. Now we place the order for canned goods one day and granola the next.....more than one way to skin a cat.

If I were you, I'd give Midway a call about the condition of your package and suggest a little training is in order in their shipping department.

Regards,
hm

I did that already. The response I received was ........ "Feel free to return the merchandise and it will be replaced".

Seems like they need some training in the CS department also ........

Guess they're getting the same attitude as all the rest of the big box stores. Just me, but I believe I'd have asked to speak to a supervisor about that time.

Regards,
hm

Well, I didn't want to raise a huge stink over one box of brass. But I was definitely disappointed. Not a huge issue, but like I said everyone seems to be cutting corners anywhere they can these days. Sad to see companies like MidWay go that route.

Par for the Midway course. I don’t know how many boxes of bullets I’ve had show-up busted open in shipping.

IDK, something as simple as not placing a large square box in an envelope is not rocket science. My thoughts on advising a supervisor is more a preventive measure, than the simple replacement of the item that was destroyed by an inattentive shipping clerk. A bit of training on their part would easily prevent such occurrences in the future. Guess that's just one of my pet peeves.

Regards,
hm

That really is disappointing. And, sadly, not surprising.

It's been a lot of years since I had complete responsibility for a shipping warehouse. But back then, packaging was mostly free from the shipping company and always free if using USPS Priority. Cost was a factor, as free packaging wasn't all the same rate. But, as the guy held responsible for all costs, a single return and re-ship wiped out the shipping cost of better packaging for a crap ton of shipments.

That's bottom sucking mindset they are doing right there.

- DAA

Not sticking up for Midway but I've never had an issue with them. I'd send the brass back and ask them to package it better or cancel the order and refund your money. I know the box is trivial but they are handy to have.

That’s par for the course with them. Their packaging absolutely sucks. I’ve had multiple orders from them with busted bullet boxes and missing contents. To be fair they always refund what’s missing but over the last several years sometimes what’s ordered is not replaceable due to it being out of stock by the time the package is delivered. I complain every time I have to call and the simple answer is………THEY DON’T CARE!!!! It’s cheaper to replace or refund than to do it correctly.

Our postal carriers are getting pretty bad as well. They take little to no care of our packages

Seems like there is a mixed bag of experiences. I will say one thing for them ..... any box I have received was glued at the bottom as well as taped. Nobody else I buy from does that.

ya the sorting conveyers are absolutely brutal on packaging. or they can be anyway if something gets stuck where it shouldnt.

Sorting conveyors are likely responsible for the loss of a fine rifle I bought on Gunbroker a few months ago. A early Browning Safari .30-06 in near mint condition arrived literally broken in half at the crosspin/throughbolt under the action. The seller, in this case a brokerage house, made it right with me immediately upon receiving pics and documentation, and I assume were eventually compensated by UPS.

I complained to Natchez Shooter's Supply on my last order from them - I ordered some 12 gauge #1 buckshot in 25 round boxes, it arrived in a shipping box but so loosely packaged that the heavy shotshells had destroyed their boxes by the time it arrived.