One order. 15 of the same item. 15 separate packages. All shipped from the same place.

I don’t get it. In what I shall dub “The Snorkel Saga”, Amazon.com has made yet another mis-step. It started with a simple desire – my wife wanted to give each of her students an inexpensive yet functional snorkel. Amazon seemed to be one of the few places with snorkels under $10, so we ordered some in August – they “usually ship in 24 hours”. Suddenly after our order, they go out of stock. 2 months later, we’re asked to approve a delay, and again for 3 more months, getting apologetic promotional certificates along the way. Finally at 5 months, they cancel the order. Brilliant. They show up as in stock again. We order. Same drill. I ask customer service if they can fill my order with a different product, or a combination of 2 types of snorkel. They change the order to another type, never actually claiming to be able to fill it, and go through the approve-a-delay process again.

Fast forward to this week. We ordered 15 of these – total shipping cost $16.80. Imagine the surprise when shipping confirmations began rolling in one by one. Checking the account today, we have 15 different shipments, 15 different tracking numbers, all originating from Chambersburg, PA. Somebody needs to get their act together. They’re almost certainly taking a beating on shipping costs, and I don’t know how hard it can be to pack 15 items into 1 box rather than sending 15 different boxes. It will be funny, to be sure, to come home to 15 boxes on the doorstep, but what a hassle unpacking them all. The message Amazon is sending me is not to bother ordering items other than books, music, and games, because they have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to those things.