posted on October 22, 2009 10:15:08 AM new
I am seeking information for a personal reason but I ask here because some eBay sellers will likely deal with the same issues in packing and mailing.
As background, we are packing the contents of our house for a 1,500 mile move. When I say that this is a nightmare scenario I am not exaggerating. We have been in this house for 36 years and we have collected way too much in way too many categories. I say we have a collection of collections. Some have several thousand items (books and photographs which are annoying to pack but not nightmare material) and others are much smaller but much more challenging.
Questions #1 - Are safety match books safe to pack in a moving box? We have a number of advertising match books that I held back. I remember a cousin who had a cherished collection of match books that got "lost" in a move after he handed the box to the loader and said "These are my match books. Be sure they get on the truck."
Question #2 - What is the chance that snow globes, plastic or glass, will leak? We have a few and I am thinking they might be chancy to pack with other things.
Question #3 - Does any one sell clock-work toys and music boxes? After packing several of them I bumped into a box and was surprised to hear whirring and clicking coming from inside. Also I sat a box down on the floor and heard a few notes of music. I am wondering if clicking, ticking, and whirring from the boxes might freak out a mover and my boxes might suffer the fate of my cousin's match books. I actually mentioned that to our contact at the moving company and he told me tell the driver about my concern. I can just hear the conversation in his head. "She is telling me to ignore the noises from the boxes because she has put bombs in them!"
In conclusion let me advise anyone who is afflicted with a long-time collecting bug to carefully consider a move. We used to say that we would die in this house but after we both retired we realized that being close to family is more important than having an easy life by staying put. -----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on October 22, 2009 11:22:26 AM new
I don't envy you at all! My step father is still going through my mother's things and she died in Apr 2008. She had numerous collections. In fact, she still had most of her childhood toys! I, too, have more in my house that I would ever want to pack up. I do envy people who can pick up and move at the drop of a hat. It would probably take me a year to pack up things in my house.
The only suggestion I have is to take with you the things you don't want lost or broken. How big can the box of matches be? I'd put a small U-Haul trailer on the back of my car for the things you don't trust to anyone else. IMHO that's the only way you're not going to be on pins and needles.
posted on October 22, 2009 11:32:11 AM new
Reminds me of when we went yard saling and I bought a TICKLE ME ELMO DOLL. Everytime we turned a corner or put on the brakes, the darn think starting laughing. We did too........
posted on October 22, 2009 12:30:08 PM new
Why not hold a gigantic garage sale ,do your heirs a favor,do yourself a favor?
Do it while you still have the stamina to host a yard sale?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on October 22, 2009 12:45:34 PM new
I remember when my parents moved to another state, the moving company told them not to pack any matches.
Snow globes and the like? I have moved quite a few times (without a moving company) and one did leak once. I would not chance packing them with anything that they could ruin if they explode or leak. I wrap each one in a towel and pack them in a plastic container.
posted on October 22, 2009 01:24:11 PM new
I sold a metal figural bell which rang all the way across the country.
USPS just have to open the box to investigate and did a poor job sealing it back.
I got a neg for poor packing !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on October 22, 2009 01:44:45 PM new
We are talking about renting a U-Haul van. The match books and snow globes will not take much room. There are several collection that I worry about trusting to the moving company like daguerreotypes and some of the rarer photographs.
Hwahwa we think we will have several more years to enjoy our collections. We have sent some larger viewers and cameras to auction and have been selling darkroom and photographic equipment on Craig's List. Just today we took 16 cartons of books to the library at my husband's former school. I am also putting together some big boxes for Goodwill.
We are taking some things we will not be able to display in the new house to add to our expanded online shop. I may even try eBay again although I am not thrilled by the new rules.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on October 22, 2009 06:28:42 PM new
I moved from a large house to an apartment several years ago. I can't answer your packing concerns but I have to ask you to rethink your move and what you want to take with you. Do you have room in your future home for all the things you are taking with you or are you planning on storing them? I had many collections that I put in storage and never looked at. I paid thousands in storage fees before I had the courage to part with them. So many wonderful books - I gave them away. The more saleable items went to a garage sale where I made far less than the fees to store them. A huge problem were the tons of precious-to-me rocks I collected from the Oregon coast - I can't believe I paid storage for them! Couldn't give them away and was afraid I'd have to pay landfill charges on them til my ex took them off my hands. It's painful to say goodbye to collections, but at some point we have to consider how the stuff we hang on to affects our lives.
posted on October 22, 2009 06:49:23 PM new
Do yourself a favor-give away those music box and snow globes,you will be glad you did someday!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on October 22, 2009 07:00:31 PM new
My dad was a pipe smoker and always pocketed a few of the matchbooks at every place that offered them. As my Mom downsized, I took some of his matchbooks to my place. They hold wonderful memories, yet are under a bunch of stuff in a spare room. Should I sell them on eBay? Do you have to remove the matches before shipping?
posted on October 23, 2009 05:40:08 AM new
Thanks Niel. There are not too many matches. I will pack them in a tin and carry them with us in the car.
I appreciate the advice about dumping our collections and I must say that I have had flashes of feeling the same while I pack. On the other hand we picked a house with wall space for hanging prints and space for book and display cases. While we have sent a number of things to auction and are giving away lots more we still enjoy living with our collections and will keep our favorites.
Back to packing...
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
