A former Amazon employee turned to Reddit to warn shoppers about one thing you should ‘never’ do when sending an item back to the online retailer — and they said there are several reasons behind the request.
Ideally, every online order would arrive exactly as you pictured it, but that’s not always how it plays out.
Sometimes the sizing isn’t what you expected, you hit the wrong color option, or you get persuaded by glowing reviews for something you don’t actually need. Whatever the cause, most people end up making a return sooner or later.
Once you’ve dropped the package off and (hopefully) see the refund land back in your account, it’s easy to stop thinking about it. But on Amazon’s end, returned items go through a detailed intake and processing system — and someone who used to work in that area has shared a glimpse of what it’s like.
In a thread on the r/IamA subreddit, the user said they previously worked as an Amazon Returns Employee and invited others to ask questions about the job.
One commenter asked whether they had “any tips for us to make the overall return process easier on both us and on folks like you?”, and the former employee didn’t hesitate.
“Never ever use packing peanuts,” the Reddit poster wrote, explaining that bubble wrap is ‘better’ and that it ‘helps take the edge off’.
There’s nothing that outright prevents someone from stuffing a return box with packing peanuts, but they’re notorious for spilling everywhere and creating unnecessary cleanup. They’re also widely criticized as a wasteful option compared with other packaging materials.
Packaging firm Box Agency notes on its website that Amazon ‘does not support the use of packing peanuts and shredded paper for void fill due to environmental requirements’. While Amazon doesn’t appear to list a strict set of forbidden packing materials on its own site, it does recommend sending returns back using the original packaging whenever possible.
On its site, Amazon explains: “Most returns do not need to be boxed or labeled. Please ensure that your item is returned in original or unused condition with tags attached and hygiene seals and liners intact, and in the original manufacturer’s packaging including tags, components, accessories, manuals, certificates of authenticity, and other inserts.”