Test Equipment Anonymous

I've just been handed an enormous box by a courier. 20" x 14" x 10" or 508 x 356 x 254 mm for those who prefer metric when holding their arms wide and saying, "It was this big!" What was in it? Well, there were ten thermistor temperature sensors, each about the size of a matchstick, and twenty four clip-on ferrites that are oooh, 24mm long and 15mm in diameter. That is all. Even by Farnell standards this was a ludicrously large box for the contents.Can anyone beat that?

Well at least when your famous delivery service, "Herpes", throws it over walls and such the contents won't break.

EC8010 wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 4:29 pm I've just been handed an enormous box by a courier. 20" x 14" x 10" or 508 x 356 x 254 mm for those who prefer metric when holding their arms wide and saying, "It was this big!" What was in it? Well, there were ten thermistor temperature sensors, each about the size of a matchstick, and twenty four clip-on ferrites that are oooh, 24mm long and 15mm in diameter. That is all. Even by Farnell standards this was a ludicrously large box for the contents.Can anyone beat that?

I remember having similar incredulous reactions, but since that was in the late 80s, the details have become "like tears in the rain".

There is a modern variant: the parcel size quantisations with the various carriers; fleabay's "simple postage" means everything apart from small feathers might as well be in a 16*25*45cm package.

I can't think of anything quite like that, but I have heard stories. I've had orders from CPC, the Farnell sister company, turn up in a box outsized for the contents. I think it's a consequence of dealing with a bureaucracy, where there are competing boxes to be ticked and as long as the order is sent, that's the main consideration. They may have run out of small boxes and common sense is not a quality bureaucracies are noted for.

When Covid was still disrupting things, I placed an order for about 200 of what I thought were run-of-the-mill parts, enough to qualify for free postage. Some had a lead time of six months. They turned up bit by bit in over six months in about 20 Jiffy bags. Some only contained a few diodes worth less than 50p and certainly less than the P&P.