magman22
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posted on October 30, 2000 10:53:37 AM
Why do some sellers insist on packing a paper collectible as if it is being sent to the moon? On some occasions, while you're fighting with all of the tape and packing materials, you can end up DAMAGING the item!
Packing paper items is so easy too. I can't figure out why they complicate it so much.
I just received an old magazine that was:
--sealed in plastic
--wrapped in a priority envelope and taped closed
--reinforced with cardboard
--wedged between several layers of padding
--placed in a priority box, whcih was tightly taped shut (I had to destroy the box just to get in!).
Answer? Plastic sleeve, cardboard reinforcement, padded envelope. PERIOD!
The irony is "I" have to pay for this!
GOD I HATE OVERPACKING!
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reddeer
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posted on October 30, 2000 10:58:44 AM
Now that's a first.
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busybiddy
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posted on October 30, 2000 11:02:15 AM
I am probably guilty of overpacking. LOL!
It's just that I have only one of an item and if it gets damaged, the buyer will get their money back, sure, but there goes the item. I know I'd prefer to HAVE the item and not have to start looking for it all over again. So, I pack like it's going to ME! And I care whether it's in one piece or not.
Why don't you ASK the seller how they intend to pack the item and if they seem receptive, you can let them know how you would like it sent. I certainly am open to different ideas for packing and shipping.
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jsamuel
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posted on October 30, 2000 11:22:36 AM
I hate overpacking too.
When I sell baseball cards, I just put an address label and stamp on one side of the card and drop it in the mailbox. Why waste money on packaging that is just hard for the buyer to open.
Jim
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HJW
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posted on October 30, 2000 11:26:21 AM
Was the package from Helen?
Helen
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sg52
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posted on October 30, 2000 11:40:14 AM
Overpacking itself isn't really the problem, excepting perhaps the cost.
The problem is packing without regard to the unpacking process, and how likely the item is to be damaged during unpacking.
The worst is bubble wrap with layer upon layer of tape which requires a knife to get the thing out, and the item is easily damaged by a knife. Priority mail tape is the worst.
Bubble wrap can usually be held together with a minuscule amount of tape.
sg52
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cdnbooks
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posted on October 30, 2000 12:05:13 PM
I just put the address and a stamp on the back of post cards......
Bill
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kudzurose
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posted on October 30, 2000 12:08:53 PM
I'm guilty of it to! But I wonder if you've seen what the post office sometimes does to packages! We have had them arrive with big holes punched in them, the corners literally crushed OFF, etc. My husband collects iron cookware, and he's received not one, but TWO skillets in the past few months with the handles broken off in the mail.
I try to keep in mind that someone does have to open the package, but I know I overpack and overtape. I am guilty of taping all the corners of Priority boxes because they pop open so easily if crushed.
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gboy
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posted on October 30, 2000 12:11:45 PM
I usually just ship items in a pizza box.
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sissyclarke
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posted on October 30, 2000 12:19:09 PM
I just sent a package, now think should of really overpacked.  What with boxes popping open, iron skillets gettings their handles broke off, holes being gouged into the boxes. [ouch] Maybe I should double pack from now on.
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amy
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posted on October 30, 2000 12:53:55 PM
I am ROFL over putting an address label on a sports card and dropping it in the mail! Too funny!
The next time you are annoyed at the "overpacking" just try to imagine how you would feel if the item had been damaged during shipping..then utter a little prayer of thanks for the seller who cares about getting your item to you in one undamaged piece!
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magman22
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posted on October 30, 2000 01:07:38 PM
Amy:
Packing poorly and packing so I can't get the item out without damaging it are 2 very different things. I guess I just expect too many people to have common sense.
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Shadowcat
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posted on October 30, 2000 01:07:52 PM
Gosh. I'd rather the packages were overpacked rather than underpacked.
Besides, I can always reuse the bubble wrap...
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magman22
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posted on October 30, 2000 01:26:26 PM
This IS NOT about underpacking vs. overpacking.
Obviously underpacking is bad. Overpacking is what I am addressing.
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amy
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posted on October 30, 2000 01:38:36 PM
Magman22..
1)wrapped in plastic...item is paper and can be damaged if wet, plasic helps keep moisture out
2) wrapped in a priority envelope..if this was a tyvec one it was for added insurance that moisture could not get near the magazine
3)Reinforced with cardboard...value of a collectible magazine can be degraded if magazine is creased...cardboard keeps the mag flat and less likely to be creased and damaged.
4)wedged between several layers of padding....boxes do get punctured by the post office, padding lessens the chance of the magazine being punctured by a foreign object
5) place in a priority box which was tightly taped shut...priority box is safer than a bubble envelope...but priority boxes do come open , especially the self seal ones..taping shut is to prevent the box from opening and your item falling out and being lost forever (I know from personal experience that those boxes DO come open...had to refund a customer who got an empty, open box...wasn't sent that way!)
I stand by my statement earlier...be happy it is overpacked.
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macandjan
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:13:22 PM
Usually from sad experience of the seller getting a couple items back folded over/corners chewed off/holes poked through.
I have had things bent so bad I started sending expensive prints on a piece of 1/4 inch plywood. Suckers have not bent that.
[ edited by macandjan on Oct 30, 2000 02:14 PM ]
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snowyegret
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:22:57 PM
Overpacking? No such word around here. 
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eventer
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:34:50 PM
Dang, magman22, you must have been peeking at the items I just shipped out.
It was a printed item, encased in plastic, then covered with cardboard & taped closed. Then it was placed in the box & "light" packing placed around it to make sure it didn't move around.
These are "collectible" papers & I wanted to make sure it couldn't get wet, couldn't get bent & didn't get damaged corners.
All this packing cost my customer's a whopping $2.00. Now I could have tossed it in a regular envelope for about $1 but then figured I'd see my name posted under one of those "lousy packer" threads.
IMHO, better to have overpacked than never to have packed at all. 
And yes, I've lost several items using priority boxes when they've popped open, been gouged into mulch & stomped by the circus elephants who must work in the routing department.
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hardoutfit
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:39:04 PM
Here is part of a feedback left for me, says it all !!
"packaged to survive a nuclear attack!"
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snowyegret
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:43:58 PM
hardoutfit: But is it packed to survive the postal attack?
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eventer
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:51:58 PM
snowyegret
LOL!
hardoutfit,
I once got one that said "bombproof". I assumed it was complimentary.
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hardoutfit
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:53:11 PM
snowyegret
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chizlemon
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:54:23 PM
Had item been sent with cardboard backing in a bubble envlope and was bent by the postperson to fit in home mail box on outside of house and then gets caught in a rain/snow storm like the one that is happening here in the N.E. today, you would of had a bent soggy mess and then we would be reading another thread about improper packing. I would say it is better to have it packed to survive than have a magazine totaly destroyed because it is underpacked.
JMO
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on October 30, 2000 02:54:47 PM
"packaged to survive a nuclear attack!"
As long as you don't get one that says:
"Item might be nice, but [b]I can't get the damn thing open!!![/b}
you're probably okay.
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HJW
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posted on October 30, 2000 03:31:19 PM
magman
Well, I figure most people can open a box.
It's really not a big problem.
As you say, most people have "enough common
sense" to handle this task
Helen
[ edited by HJW on Oct 30, 2000 03:38 PM ]
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CleverGirl
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posted on October 30, 2000 03:43:13 PM
Oh, ditto ditto ditto on the OVERUSE of tape on bubble wrap. Not only does it make it a nightmare to *liberate* the item, it's dangerous. I've banged more than one thing on the desk just trying to wangle it loose. Nearly cut myself.
Just as bad, the bubblewrap can't be reused when it's all taped up and ends up in the landfill instead of being *naturally* recycled.
The P.O. ought to start charging for the danged stuff so folks don't go overboard with it.
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busybiddy
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posted on October 30, 2000 04:29:23 PM
Too Funny!
I am reading this thread when an e-mail comes in. It's from a buyer who just won one of my auctions. After they state their name and address, they have a long paragraph detailing how they want their item packaged and they state in CAPITAL letters that they will not accept a damaged item due to the seller not packing properly!
This is a high feedback user so I guess they have had some problems with poorly packed shipments.
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corrdogg
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posted on October 30, 2000 04:36:38 PM
magman22:
I agree with your frustration in this area. It is not so much “overpacking” as packing with absolutely no thought to unpacking.
On paper goods it is absolutely necessary to pack in plastic: but – that plastic does not need to be wound in yards of tape.
I understand sellers (I’m one myself) wanting to ensure that the item arrives undamaged, but they should give some thought to what happens when the buyer receives it. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m doing an autopsy or an archaeological dig as I go about removing my purchase from the packaging it comes in. And, like you, I dread the prospect of damaging my purchase while attempting to extricate it from the packaging it arrived in.
I would suggest securing bubble wrap with rubber bands rather than tape. They hold just as well but are a lot easier to remove – and they’re cheap!
If the ability to package things properly were an innate human skill companies would not need to have “packaging specialists”.
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magman22
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posted on October 30, 2000 05:31:36 PM
To all of those who seem to think I am stupid for criticizing overpacking:
After having sold literally thousands of old mags on Ebay, I have been complimented on my packing AND have NEVER ONCE had a problem with damage. NEVER ONCE.
As a BUYER who has purchased many hundred old mags, I can tell you that occasionally I get a package that is like the one outlined above. SOmetimes it is a real struggle to get this very fragile PAPER item out of a tangled mess of packing material and tape WITHOUT RIPPING part of the item.
You likely HAVE NOT dealt with as much paper as I have in this regard, so your criticisms of me are ignorant and unfounded.
You don't even know what you're talking about.
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dman3
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posted on October 30, 2000 05:33:15 PM
We never over pack our Items no more here I keep close count on the rolls of tape per item each person here uses now.
WWW.dman-n-company.com
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