Proper packing of parcels

It seems to me that when packing stuff for shipping, the stuff should be in the centre of the box, and it should be surrounded by packing material. Once upon a time, I remember stuff arriving this way.

DirectCanada just puts stuff in the box, against the sides, and then fills the remaining space with packing material. This leaves product boxes resting against the outer box. In those locations, impacts are transferred directly to product boxes. Because of that, I've seen damage to product boxes. Fortunately, product boxes generally have padding and space inside, and so I didn't receive any damaged products.

I just got my first order from NewEgg Canada, and they did the same thing. Is this way of packing the norm now?

I guess it might not matter because product boxes protect the products. Things are also probably less fragile than I assume. For example this EVGA 8600GT video card was totally loose in its own box and able to rattle around. I thought that would break solder connections, but the card still works perfectly over two and a half years later.