Approximately 67 million packages are shipped within the United States every single day. So one would think that companies have this down to a science. Everything should be delicately packed, with plenty of bubble wrap and an absurd amount of packing peanuts.
But for some reason, there are companies and employees out there who are extremely lazy when it comes to packing products. And the Packaging Fail subreddit is a testament to that. We visited this online community and compiled a list of their most hilarious and concerning posts below. So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the pics that encourage you to never order anything online again!
#1 This Hammer Gave Me Joy On A Friday Afternoon
Image source: chuckamuuuck
#2 Someone Didn’t Proofread The Back
Image source: Dependent_Muscle9757
#3 This Was My Box Of Silverware. I Thought It Felt A Little Bottom-Heavy — It’s Because The Whole Upper Section Was Empty
Image source: staque
Back in the day, receiving a package was a rare and exciting occurrence. If your parents shipped you a present from across the country, it might be the highlight of your month. And there’s a good chance that you had to wait for a month for it to arrive in the first place.
Today, however, sending and receiving packages is a normal part of many people’s daily lives. If you live in a country with Amazon Prime, you can even receive orders within 24 hours of placing them. But as you’ll see from this list, the art of packing and shipping an item still hasn’t been perfected yet.
#4 This Book Is Wrapped In Plastic
Image source: keith2301
#5 A Single Car Freshener. This Was Part Of A 9 Piece Order, They Just Sent It In It’s Own Separate Box
Image source: MrsKoliver
#6 Small Box Of Bolts. It Had Just As Much Paper On Top As Well. They Didn’t Budge An Inch Though
Image source: M374llic4
According to Capital One Shopping, the average American receives 66 package deliveries every year. And a typical household in the United States receives 167 packages annually. These numbers are only expected to rise, with experts projecting that by 2029, global package deliveries will exceed 500 billion.
Americans do receive packages at a particularly high rate, 52.4% higher than the global average, to be exact. But these deliveries are primarily small purchases, as the average cost per package was only $9.08 in 2024. Meanwhile, globally, the average person received 42 packages in 2022. And the average cost per package worldwide was only $3.01 that year.
#7 Got A Bluetooth USB Today
Image source: Jonmooreread
#8 Bottle Of Juice Filled 100% To The Brim. Spills When You Open It
Image source: Kobesowner712
#9 Thanks Mailman!
Image source: iamcnicole
Unsurprisingly, a huge portion of the packages shipped each year come from online retailers. Ordering a product that will show up on your doorstep is significantly simpler than having to drive to the mall and pick something out. But speed isn’t every customer’s priority, as 46% of online shoppers say they’ve opted for a longer shipping option to cut costs. Customers are also twice as likely to value free shipping over fast shipping.
#10 My Sister Orders Some New Pen Tips And This Was The Packaging For It
Image source: outragebadger
#11 Russian Nesting Fan. Thanks Amazon
Image source: TilTheLastPetalFalls
#12 One Roll Per Box, Thanks Amazon
Image source: anenglishdirector
In the United States, a whopping 92.1% of all domestic shipments are handled by the US Postal Service (USPS), Amazon Logistics, UPS, and FedEx. These four main carriers bring in over 96% of market revenue. The USPS still handles the majority of shipments, but the percentage that they take on has been declining for a long time. In fact, between 2017 and 2024, the USPS’s share of domestic package volume shrank by over 28%.
#13 Why?
Image source: Xand3rPand3r
#14 Hmmm
Image source: BORB-
#15 Box Packaging Fail!
Image source: global-vision
If you have a great experience ordering something online, you’re likely to do it again. But if something arrives smashed, broken, and dripping wet, you might swear off online ordering forever. Companies seem to have an incredibly difficult time finding the middle ground between excessive packaging and shoving something into a box that’s clearly far too small. But according to the BBC, they often opt for the former, just to be safe.
#16 Did Someone Take A Bite?
Image source: acinonyxs
#17 Ya Done Goofed, Ball Park
Image source: desertflock
#18 ‘ice’
Image source: global-vision
Barry Kronhaus, director of sales and marketing at Sun Packaging Technologies, told the BBC that workers often choose excessively large boxes for items simply because they’re in a rush. If there are two options in front of them, one that’s too small and one that’s far too big, they’re simply going to pick the larger box and move on. Especially when they’re working for a massive corporation that won’t lose any money by giving out gigantic boxes from time to time.
#19 Had To Collect A Parcel From The Post Office As It Was Too Large For My Postbox
Image source: Snookerman
#20 Erm, I’ll Take The 130 Pieces Thank You Very Much
Image source: veeveebee
#21 Thanks Kraft, This Duct Taped Package Of Cheese Isn’t Suspicious At All
Image source: RevMick
There’s also a bit of psychology that can play into why things are packaged the way that they are. Apparently, an object that arrives in a large box makes customers assume that they got a good deal on their purchase, even if they didn’t. Elements like the color, shape, and texture of a package can even influence how the customer feels about it. Receiving something small is underwhelming. But if you get to pick up a huge box from your front porch, there’s probably a small part of you that will become excited about getting to open it up. (And if you have a cat, they’ll be thrilled about the box too.)
#22 The Package Says Plastic Free
Image source: Velicks
#23 So Our New Mini Croquet Set Arrived! (Thanks Amazon)
Image source: wjp666
#24 Keep The Doggy Treats Safe
Image source: wildmtmoms
Are these photos reminding you why you stopped ordering items online, pandas? Keep upvoting the pics that you find particularly silly, and let us know in the comments below what the most ridiculous package you’ve ever received was. Then, if you’d like to check out another article from Bored Panda discussing unnecessary packaging, we recommend reading this one next!
#25 I Was The Only Person In My Store To Notice This Fail
Image source: colethetechie
#26 How Do I Tie This Knot? Instructions Unclear
Image source: Phoenixf1zzle
#27 “Non-Dairy” Creamer
Image source: DvB_17
#28 The More I Look The More Flaws I See
Image source: handy_manny_sandy
#29 Can Opener Fail
Image source: rhuiz28
#30 Told The Customer To Pack The Laptops With Care. This Is How That Worked Out…
Image source: vt2126
#31 Gluten Free Cookie… Or Not?
Image source: EndersGame_Reviewer
#32 Make Racism A Part Of Your Breakfast
Image source: keith2301
#33 Got The Appropriate Size Boss!
Image source: DiseaseAndPestilence
#34 So Close
Image source: ZedGardner
#35 My Mom Bought Two Cooling Dog’s Bed At The Same Time And They Were Delivered In Two Different Boxes, When They Fit Into One With A Little Room Left
Image source: spookyreads
#36 Easy Tear! Still Can’t Get The Boxes Out
Image source: supercman99
#37 Does This Count As A Packaging Fail?
Image source: Duke_Boz
#38 Threadlocker Red In A Blue Tube, Threadlocker Blue In A Red Tube
Image source: Timsruz
#39 Tastes Like Grandma Jam
Image source: global-vision
#40 I’m Afraid To Plug Them In
Image source: grueinthedark
#41 Make Sure It Says It’s Better At Least Three Times!
Image source: PlumbusTina
#42 Now With 50% Air
Image source: sierraa687
#43 You Know How Fragile Laptop Sleeves Can Be
Image source: AbbeDrewNear
#44 I Ordered A Pair Of Snowshoes Then Received Them In A Box Taller Than Me. They Had To Hold It At The Post Office Cause It Was Too Big To Deliver
Image source: matt_andersen
#45 Stupidly Packaged Packaging Paper
Image source: XmasRights
#46 My Cell Phone Case Came In Packaging That Made Me Question The Purchase
Image source: inotnew
#47 Pretty Sure That’s Not Cards
Image source: camocoder30
#48 I Think They Ran Out Of Small Pizza Bases
Image source: PotatoTurtle13
#49 I Thought There Were More Than Just One In The Box, Nope Just Paper
Image source: luedriver
#50 Umm
Image source: Jaypke
#51 All This For An Item Made Of Foam
Image source: LawTortoise
#52 “Professional Precious Fast” Seems Legit
Image source: alwaysinbedsleeping
#53 Ordered 7 Cans Of Food. Came In 2 Large Boxes. Goku For Scale
Image source: Thund3r_C0ugar
#54 My Hot Chocolate That I Just Opened
Image source: Mace1237
#55 Callin Em Out
Image source: jacobMcButtface
#56 Ordered A Battery From Amazon
Image source: i_am_a_robot_beep
#57 The Most Extreme Over-Packaging I Have Seen
Image source: killrpooh
#58 Yigooood We Together We Design We For
Image source: peegoo
#59 If You’ve Got A Problem With Me, Say It To My Face!
Image source: fkunecke
#60 This Packaging Fail Looks Like A Story Of Forbidden Love. They Just Wanted To Be Together!
Image source: torikid5
#61 I Don’t Think This Instructional DVD Was Packaged Very Well
Image source: MindWandererB
#62 Mistake Found While At Store
Image source: Charliepossum2212
#63 Bar Of Shampoo Soap From Duluth Trading Co
Image source: notsoprofessional
#64 That’s An Odd Way To Spell Pen
Image source: Thesociallymindedpk
#65 Guess Which One Ended Up In The Dishwasher
Image source: kingsargon13
#66 The Black Cap Is An Eye Brow Pen. That Was The Only Product In This Whole Box
Image source: MiMiQueen
#67 Such Compact. Big Efficient. Wow
Image source: barackstar
#68 I Was A Bit Upset That I Pulled Out A Sealed Empty Wrapper But The Connected Wrapper Made Up For It
Image source: r2d2andunicorns
#69 I Guess Putting 3 Of These Next To Each Other Was Never Thought Of… Or Was It
Image source: Ziplicemou
#70 Bésame Cosmetics, 1 Item In A Boat
Image source: DementedSpud
#71 Adidas Really Dropped The Ball On This
Image source: Adiddy1980
#72 Super Impulse Decided To Put The Galaga Game In The Box Backwards!
Image source: RobloxDude5456
#73 This Packaging Makes The Cheese Look Moldy
Image source: neverpennyless
#74 Ordered A 3-Pack Of Labels From Amazon. They Came In Individual Packages, Shipped From The Same Warehouse
Image source: jmack9000
#75 Not The Worst, But Really Amazon?
Image source: DTFoldlaundry
#76 The Smallest One Came In The Biggest Box!
Image source: Bewy
#77 “Make Sure To Put Some Extra Padding In There To Keep Things From Moving Around.” “All Done, Boss!”
Image source: bsoyka
#78 Giant Box For Stickers And Picks
Image source: TheRevTholomeuPlague
#79 Car Battery Returned In A Bucket Taped Shut. Acid Leaked From Battery Being On Its Side
Image source: Comfortable_Bid9947
#80 I Got A Bacon Cheezit In My Box Of Normal Cheezits. Bacon Cheezits Are Actually Tasty LOL
Image source: austing0301
#81 Does This Fit Here?
Image source: Snowhogs
#82 I Live In Aus
Image source: mattscann_2
#83 On A Bottle Of Nasal Spray: Ask Your Doctor Before Use If You…have Had A Nose
Image source: JacobianKitten
#84 So My Mom Bought My Baby Sister A Toy Phone. (Its Out Of The Package As Of Taking These Pics) How Are You Gonna Tell Someone “Try Me” On The Front, Then Say It Doesn’t Include Batteries On The Back?
Image source: DreamOracle42
#85 Um…….?
Image source: CoyoteCrush556
#86 This Serving Suggestion For Eggs
Image source: gquintard_
#87 I Only Wanted 1 Cube
Image source: kaiserkeiser
#88 I Almost Didn’t See This Bag Of Chips
Image source: triplep220
#89 My Dog
Image source: global-vision
#90 Magic Knives – Would Love To Know What’s Magic
Image source: coach8000
#91 This Probably Shouldn’t Have Made It Through
Image source: Dr_MoonOrGun
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