carolinetyler
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posted on August 10, 2005 03:33:56 PM
I swear - people just have no common sense when it comes to packaging sometimes. I just received 2 packages. One was from a seller in France, an old Imari planter, no bubble wrap whatsoever and instead of packing peanuts she used dried wheat or grass or some other type of dead plant material.
It is now from one end of my kitchen to the other. It's not like it was a cheap item w/ cheap shipping. I paid $70 for the item, and another $70! for shipping.
The other package was a heavy, 12 inch majolica/ceramic bird figure. It was wrapped in a t-shirt - clean, but not my size, and then tons of wadded up newspaper. It weighed so much she shipped it parcel post instead of priority like her description said.
Amazing that both pieces made it here without breaking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Caroline
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sthoemke
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posted on August 10, 2005 03:37:20 PM
I don't think bubble wrap or packing peanuts are legal in France.
Free t-shirt and newspaper sounds OK to me.
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glassgrl
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posted on August 10, 2005 03:58:43 PM
I feel your pain. I paid bu-coo bucks to have a Gobel figurine shipped from the UK. The seller said he had to charge so much because of the cost of packing materials.
When it arrived it had two 4" flimsy bag type pieces of bubble wrap like sunglasses would be wrapped in and newspaper.
He got a big fat Neg from Me.
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 10, 2005 04:22:09 PM
Glassgrl: Did it arrive okay or broken? Just curious.
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glassgrl
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posted on August 10, 2005 04:30:50 PM
It arrived all in one piece and I couldn't believe it. The box was barely bigger than the figurine. It was a life-size Yorkshire Terrier figurine and the top knot with bow could have easily broken off.
OTOH I have bought/received a gorgeous glass dresser set from the UK that was exquisitely packed. I've never HAD such a well wrapped package. It was from an antique dealer.
At least now I have sympathy for the buyers that want to know how I'm going to pack something or tell me how to pack it.
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Vickrose
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posted on August 10, 2005 05:02:28 PM
I bought from this seller a Kutani piece and it was shipped in a clean diaper, packing peanuts, bubble wrap. It came to me safe.Matter of fact I reused the diaper to another customer,
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sparkz
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posted on August 10, 2005 05:32:58 PM
There is a diaper plant in a town about 35 miles from here. On the diapers that are miscut or otherwise don't pass QC, they donate them to the Salvation Army. Our local S.A. outlet routinely wraps all their delicate glassware and pottery sales in them. I've wound up with dozens of them in the past, but never have used one to wrap a customer's item. As far as the strange packing materials some sellers use, I was going to make a comment, but after 40 years in the moving business, I'll just wait and let you read them all in the book I plan to write some day 
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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carolinetyler
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posted on August 10, 2005 06:15:25 PM
Actually Depends bed pads are widely used by dealers, particularly those who do shows. Reason being is the soft side does not scratch handpainted porcelain and glassware, you can reuse them, and they cushion very well.
I used them for years when I was doing shows. I've also used them in shipping when the paint is really delicate, but I forewarn the buyer!
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Caroline
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cblev65252
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posted on August 10, 2005 07:44:17 PM
Our local drug store was selling out the 3M Inflata-Paks for 75% off. I bought all of them. They're great. I tested them by packaging an old porcelain piece in it that wasn't worth anything and then tossed it around the room in a box. Not one broken piece. Cost me $.75 a piece. No bubble wrap, no peanuts.
Cheryl
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maggiemuggins
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posted on August 10, 2005 08:15:03 PM
I must admit that the first time I received an antique doll with it's head wrapped and taped with a huge depends underpants.. it was a little off-putting!!! hee hee
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 10, 2005 08:46:50 PM
When my husband's aunt died, we cleared out her whole apartment, gave furniture away, had everything else shipped to us in another state. I used her UNused adult diapers and the big square diaper-like mattress pads. Wonderful packing. I reused them then when I started to sell some of her stuff.
The thrift store here in town had 5 big bundles of the square ones (NEW) out front one day. Someone had donated them and they were giving them out free. I got 4 big bundles.
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sparkz
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posted on August 10, 2005 08:48:30 PM
I once got a letter from a customer who had their furniture stored in my warehouse. They were in Ireland, and had purchased a set of Waterford crystal goblets. They were having them shipped to me to add to their storage lot, but they wanted me to open the package upon arrival and inspect for damage. When it arrived, I opened it and discovered it had been packed in wooden excelsior, the kind you find in the pads for swamp coolers. I must say that whoever packed it took great care in arranging the goblets. They arrived in perfect condition. You could tell that this wasn't their first attempt at packing this way. Must be the way they do it on export items.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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carolinetyler
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posted on August 11, 2005 05:50:40 AM
It does work well, I received several pieces of pottery from France packed in it, it's very durable - but goodness it can make a mess!
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Caroline
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mingotree
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posted on August 11, 2005 05:58:41 AM
glassgirl , I don't get it . You got what you paid for and it wasn't damaged and you NEGGED the seller...what an asp!
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pelorus
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posted on August 11, 2005 06:17:03 AM
Peanuts (or les arachides, as they call them), are just too declasse for the French. Bubble wrap (or les wrappes de bubble) are on ebay's forbidden items list on ebay France. The sound they make puts them in the French ebay category of offensive materials.
Zut alors!
Sacre bleu!
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 11, 2005 09:47:08 AM
I heard a few years ago that Europe is getting much smarter than the U.S. in terms of environmental issues. Because land isn't as plentiful in Europe, they are attempting to keep as much out of their landfills as possible. Bubble wrap, styrofoam peanuts, etc. don't degrade easily and that's probably why they're forbidden.
Wish the U.S. were as forward thinking as Europe in this regard! They must just shake their heads over our squandering ways.
Friends who recently visited Germany told us that the garbage cans there are much much smaller than ours,too, and one's the limit for pickup.
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glassgrl
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posted on August 11, 2005 02:39:16 PM
mingotree - I guess you would have to of been there.
1)The seller sent me a shipping invoice and then the next day sent me another shipping invoice with the price doubled. Both were USA and not UK shipping prices.
2)While I was waiting to hear from Ebay the Seller negged me the next day saying I wouldn't pay.
3)I paid the highly inflated shipping costs which were equal to the item price and was told that the cost was because of the price of packing materials. Which was newspaper.
4)So when I did receive the item I left the following - yes Negative feedback since I already had one: "Left UNDESERVED negative. I PAID $65.00 packed/shipped to the USA in NEWSPAPER!"
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sanmar
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posted on August 11, 2005 04:32:56 PM
I just finished shipping the last of 4 oprders to UK. A 1 lb box was $11.00 bt express parcel post. One box of china was $48.00 & another was $31.00 & the 4th was $91.00. I used shredded paper & all went through in perfect condition. This was all very old Minton china & went to Staffordshire where Minton was made until the plant closed in 1978.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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glassgrl
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posted on August 11, 2005 05:19:53 PM
Why would you use shredded paper sanmar? That stuff is Nasty!
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niel35
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posted on August 11, 2005 06:10:55 PM
and dirty and heavy
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sanmar
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posted on August 11, 2005 06:19:50 PM
Reason:
#1: It is free
#2 I have an available endless supply
#3 It makes good packing material for china
#4 I don't care what the cost of shipping is. The buyer is paying for it.
#5 It is not dirty, I use newspaper & my deleted email paper which is 20# paper.
Works for me! as Hunter used to say on the TV shaow.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
[ edited by sanmar on Aug 11, 2005 06:21 PM ]
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sparkz
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posted on August 11, 2005 06:35:04 PM
Many people are not aware that a shredder is not a recent invention for security purposes to dispose of sensitive documents. They've been around for over a hundred years, and were originally used to shred newspaper for packing material. Shredded paper was the standard material used by professionals for packing dishes, china and other glassware up until the early 60's. It was eventually replaced by unprinted newspaper which is still the standard of the industry. Numerous industry tests have confirmed that newspaper is still the safest and most cost effective way to protect glassware from transit damage. The secret is in learning how to use it. In addition to bubblewrap, styrofoam, and various other materials, I still make extensive use of newsprint for the exact same reason Sanmar does. I could care less how much it weighs. The main concern for me is to make sure the fragile item is safely packed and arrives at the customers home in the same condition it left here.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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jackswebb
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posted on August 11, 2005 06:48:56 PM
HEY!!!! what about POP Corn? It's bio de gradable and smells GREAT! I am munching down some right now matter o' fact....
Space is Valuable. It's later than you .
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sparkz
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posted on August 11, 2005 07:42:09 PM
Gosh Jack!! Please don't send me anything packed in real popcorn. My Rottweiler would take one sniff of that box and there wouldn't be enough left of the box, popcorn or item to be able to identify what you sent.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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jackswebb
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posted on August 11, 2005 09:21:40 PM
Nooooooooooooooooooooo,,,,,,,,butter!!!!!
OR salt!!!!!!!!!
Space is Valuable. It's later than you .
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sanmar
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posted on August 12, 2005 12:12:05 AM
Thanks sparkz, at you & I see eye to eye on this. I have used shredded paper for the 8 yrs I have been selling on eBay & have had almost no damaged goods.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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carolinetyler
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posted on August 12, 2005 05:45:54 AM
I like the shredded paper as well, but for some reason it just goes everywhere and makes a HUGE mess. Although the packing peanuts seem to scatter from one end of the house to the other as well.
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Caroline
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jackswebb
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posted on August 12, 2005 08:56:55 AM
Dried Dung would work quite well.....
Anyone ever get a package from that starving Country that don't believe in eating cows. They have TONS of packing material.
Space is Valuable. It's later than you .
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carolinetyler
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posted on August 12, 2005 11:40:42 AM
With 3 dogs and 8 puppies, I do have plenty of that - I'll get some right out to you.
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Caroline
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sanmar
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posted on August 12, 2005 01:58:16 PM
I live in a mobil home (manufactured) & have 8X20 enclosed porch with lots of windows. All of my packing materials are kept there & its not hard to sweep up after packing. I put my box on the floor & work from there. My shredded paper is in large garbage bags, so it is easy handle.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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