To sellers: Use a Box!

[+SabertoothRetro]

Most of the people that sell retro games on eBay seem to understand that these things should be shipped in a box. That said, every once in awhile I have an issue where some knucklehead uses a bubble mailer. Witness this NIB copy of Alien Brigade. The bubble mailer was smashed and so was the game box. Suffice it to say, I'll be reaching out to the seller for a resolution. Grrr.

 

Please sellers, use a freakin' box!

Edited July 21, 2014 by atariLBC

[Andre81]

That's why I'm sending every seller a message and ask them to ship in a box. Sometimes a seller ignores it and ships in a bubble mailer. In that case I'm always giving negative feedback. No exception. No matter if the game was actually damaged or not.

[bennybingo]

Same just happened to me recently with some CV games I bought...the guy sent all three of the CIB games, smushed into a bubble mailer that should only be able to fit two. Nice.

[Albert]

That's why I'm sending every seller a message and ask them to ship in a box. Sometimes a seller ignores it and ships in a bubble mailer. In that case I'm always giving negative feedback. No exception. No matter if the game was actually damaged or not.

Yep, I do the same exact thing. I always ask in advance if they will ship the item in box. Several times I've had people ignore that and either ship an item in a bubble mailer, or even worse, just put paper around the item. Every time it results in the item getting damaged (or at least more damaged than it appeared in the auction photos). And, yes, any sellers that lie in this fashion just so you'll bid on their items deserve the negative feedback.

 

..Al

[CPUWIZ]

This isn't just ebay, I recently ordered a box of 42 small packages of crisps from the UK, through Amazon. They just wrapped the flimsy box from the manufacturer, with a black garbage bag. LOL

 

Luckily, only the shipping box got damaged and not the crisps.

[+save2600]

We need a modern day super hero that can fly around and castrate anyone that pulls this shit. Beyond idiotic and defies ALL common sense. If you're that stupid, you should not be allowed to reproduce.

[Albert]

Yeah, Amazon Marketplace sellers can be pretty bad. It's even more difficult to communicate with these sellers than it is on eBay. Plus, for any used item you can't see photos of the item in question, and you're lucky if the item's condition is described at all. I just assume anything sent through an Amazon Marketplace seller will arrive with the least amount of packaging possible.

 

..Al

[TrekMD]

I've started asking sellers about boxes also on ebay. Recently someone shipped a Sega CD in a flimsy envelope and the entire case was crushed and the disk damaged. I was able to return it but the seller had no idea why the case would break. Duh!

[Albert]

I've started asking sellers about boxes also on ebay. Recently someone shipped a Sega CD in a flimsy envelope and the entire case was crushed and the disk damaged. I was able to return it but the seller had no idea why the case would break. Duh!

Some sellers must think that someone will hand carry their package all the way to the destination.

[TrekMD]

Some sellers must think that someone will hand carry their package all the way to the destination.

They need to mark it "Baby on Board" if expect that type of treatment of their packages!

[bojay1997]

Some sellers must think that someone will hand carry their package all the way to the destination.

I actually had a seller basically tell me that last week when I received a badly damaged item that was shipped in a flimsy bubble envelope with no other padding that ended up arriving with massive dents and tears in the outer game box. He said the post office wouldn't have accepted the package in that condition if they didn't think it would arrive safely and undamaged. I didn't really know what to say to the guy, other than to immediately file an Ebay claim when he refused to accept a return for a refund.

Edited July 21, 2014 by bojay1997

[TrekMD]

I can only post this image in response to what that seller told you, bojay...

 

[Albert]

I actually had a seller basically tell me that last week when I received a badly damaged item that was shipped in a flimsy bubble envelope with no other padding that ended up arriving with massive dents and tears in the outer game box. He said the post office wouldn't have accepted the package in that condition if they didn't think it would arrive safely and undamaged. I didn't really know what to say to the guy, other than to immediately file an Ebay claim when he refused to accept a return for a refund.

This is not the first time I've heard this, although nobody's tried it on me yet. Yeah, like the post office knows what you have packaged inside your cheap bubble envelope. That is really one of the most ridiculous things I've heard from a seller. When I drop off a large number of packages at the post office with postage already affixed, they simply dump those packages in a large bin containing many other packages. Unfortunately, some people will probably take that seller's word at face value. Some people are just genuinely rotten.

 

..Al

[atari181]

Same thing happens to me all the time. The last one was a CIB Suntek game sent from Australia in a regular envelope. I paid $160 for it and was told that it had flaws prior to shipping so the fact that it was flattened was not his fault.

[Andre81]

Same thing happens to me all the time. The last one was a CIB Suntek game sent from Australia in a regular envelope. I paid $160 for it and was told that it had flaws prior to shipping so the fact that it was flattened was not his fault.

I have a game from the same seller on the way to me and he said he'll ship in a box. Hope he did so.

[krslam]

ebay stongly encourages free or cheapest possible shipping, which leads to cheap packaging. Shipping in a sturdy box usually means higher postage, and a seller whose shipping costs reflects this will have his/her listings demoted in search results, will be punished via the DSRs, and will pay higher fees (since shipping cost is included in fee calculations). Collectors, like the people commenting here, might be willing to pay extra to ensure safe delivery but most buyers just want stuff as cheap as possible. One of many, many reasons I don't sell there.

[atari181]

ebay stongly encourages free or cheapest possible shipping, which leads to cheap packaging. Shipping in a sturdy box usually means higher postage, and a seller whose shipping costs reflects this will have his/her listings demoted in search results, will be punished via the DSRs, and will pay higher fees (since shipping cost is included in fee calculations). Collectors, like the people commenting here, might be willing to pay extra to ensure safe delivery but most buyers just want stuff as cheap as possible. One of many, many reasons I don't sell there.

I routinely ship boxed atari games in a cardboard box for $3-4 anywhere in the US with full tracking. The only extra coat is the weight of the box. Utilizing First class mail when shipping single boxed games is very cheap and very reliable.

[bojay1997]

ebay stongly encourages free or cheapest possible shipping, which leads to cheap packaging. Shipping in a sturdy box usually means higher postage, and a seller whose shipping costs reflects this will have his/her listings demoted in search results, will be punished via the DSRs, and will pay higher fees (since shipping cost is included in fee calculations). Collectors, like the people commenting here, might be willing to pay extra to ensure safe delivery but most buyers just want stuff as cheap as possible. One of many, many reasons I don't sell there.

While this is undoubtedly true, I still find it shocking when I purchase a very expensive item and receive the most minimal of packaging. I bought an item for several hundred dollars a few weeks back and the seller literally just took brown paper wrap and some tape and sent it off as is. This despite the fact that I asked and offered to pay any costs associated with a box and proper padding. The seller ignored me, shipped it his way and ended up eating postage both ways and receiving a badly damaged item back. I mean, what's the logic in gambling on the post office and trying to save a few bucks in fees and postage when you're selling an item for far more than you paid for it initially to someone you know cares about condition?

[Albert]

ebay stongly encourages free or cheapest possible shipping, which leads to cheap packaging. Shipping in a sturdy box usually means higher postage, and a seller whose shipping costs reflects this will have his/her listings demoted in search results, will be punished via the DSRs, and will pay higher fees (since shipping cost is included in fee calculations). Collectors, like the people commenting here, might be willing to pay extra to ensure safe delivery but most buyers just want stuff as cheap as possible. One of many, many reasons I don't sell there.

As an eBay seller who has shipped hundreds of packages, I always use a box for everything I ship. This did not negatively affect my DSRs in any way:

 

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=atariage&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2050430.m2531.l4585

 

There's really no excuse to use crappy packaging. If you're selling items on a routine basis, you can buy boxes online very inexpensively from places like U-Line.

 

..Al

[King_Salamon]

It all varies on the value of the item I sold. If I sell a used ps2 game for $2, I'll place the dvd cased game in an envelope (not even bubbleope) but if I sell something that is rare, or if it sells for a decent value, I will ask the buyer if they would pay extra to ship it in a box.

 

Seeing things like this Alien Brigade example hurts. As a seller, I take great efforts to make sure the item arrives in top notch condition.

[BDW]

I have no idea why sellers dont ship stuff in boxes by default. You can get them for free at the post office, for Christ's sake!

[Albert]

I have no idea why sellers dont ship stuff in boxes by default. You can get them for free at the post office, for Christ's sake!

They are only free if you are using Priority Mail, which is more expensive for packages that are 13 ounces or less. Anything over that and you are using either Priority Mail and can use the free boxes, or you're using Parcel Post, which isn't much less expensive than Priority Mail. Unfortunately, the USPS boxes come in some oddball shapes and sizes and aren't always ideal. So, I often use my own boxes for Priority Mail, unless it's an item that is well-suited to one of the USPS boxes.

 

..Al

[+save2600]

I love it when sellers take all the trouble to turn USPS Priority boxes inside out, then wrap the hell out of the box as if some carrier has X-Ray vision, in order to save $.38 in postage.

[BDW]

They are only free if you are using Priority Mail, which is more expensive for packages that are 13 ounces or less. Anything over that and you are using either Priority Mail and can use the free boxes, or you're using Parcel Post, which isn't much less expensive than Priority Mail. Unfortunately, the USPS boxes come in some oddball shapes and sizes and aren't always ideal. So, I often use my own boxes for Priority Mail, unless it's an item that is well-suited to one of the USPS boxes.

 

..Al

I normally just wrap the priority box in brown paper and ship it first class. There's no excuse.

[bojay1997]

I normally just wrap the priority box in brown paper and ship it first class. There's no excuse.

I don't know if I'd be so confident of priority mail boxes being a safe shipping alternative. They have become very thin recently and I have actually had items shipped to me in them with interior padding where the box was crushed in and the item was damaged. It seems to be happening on a regular basis so I suspect in an effort to combat all the free box misuse, they went cheap on the construction and legitimate users are paying the price.