Apple store ships ridiculous boxes

I recently ordered a backpack from the apple store.  This pack was specifically selected because it was hoped to be light, compact and durable.

So imagine my surprise when the delivery guy showed up at my door with a box big enough to hold a baby horse.

As I opened it I was trying to figure out what it could be. Did I get drunk and order a mini fridge carved out of Styrofoam? But no, it was a small backpack wrapped in several feet of bubble wrap and shipped in a giant box.

At first I figured maybe it was a one-off thing. Maybe the packing guy was tired and grabbed the closest box at hand even though it was 5 times bigger than necessary.

But then my second box from the apple store arrived – this one with a Line 6 Audio Port and a Cocoon Grid-it.  Again my first thoughts on seeing the box was ‘what did I order?’.  Upon opening the box I assumed I had ordered a whole bunch of crumpled paper because that’s all that seemed to be in the box until I dug down to the bottom.

I understand that if you’re shipping sensitive electronic devices it’s responsible to pack them well to keep them safe, but come on, this is ridiculous.  Perhaps if I didn’t have Amazon to compare them too this wouldn’t look so bad, but Amazon consistently ships things safely in reasonable size boxes.

It’s particularly odd since Apple is so good at efficient minimalist design – their packaging for consumer electronics is a reasonable size. So why do they need to use up so many dead trees and fill so much space for shipping soft items?