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Inadequate packaging = cracked CGC slab... A case study

Started by Doohickamabob,

79 posts in this topic

KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
USPS Box 1095.

 

(thumbs u

Any Canadians out there with suggestions? Our postal service doesn't provide nice FREE boxes on demand like the USPS. I wonder if I can order them from the USPS??? hm

 

I'm looking to sell off my remaining inventory and unwanted books from my collection, in the upcoming months, many of which are slabbed. It would be nice to know where to get some good boxes. :wishluck: Canadapost DOES have decent boxes for up to 3 slabs, but you have to BUY them.... :(

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VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted

You can usually buy decent sized boxes for about $1-$1.50 a box from a cardboard manufacturer.

 

I know it sucks to pay the $1-$1.50 per box (plus packaging materials) but it saves a lot of time and effort.

 

Short of freebie boxes I don't know of any other alternative.

 

 

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Rocketeer

Rocketeer

Posted
Posted
USPS Box 1095.

 

...+1,....

 

I have been using this box for 10 years,..you have to order them online usually cause I've never seen a post office that carries them in stock,...they will gladly deliver them for free to your front door in boxes of 25 for free,...the box is long enough to give adequate protection to the top and bottom of the book so it's not necessary to double box,...just some peanuts or bubble wrap does the trick,...in 10 years I think I only had 2 issues of cracked slabs and the boxes were so crushed that no amount of protection would have saved them

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DeliBebek

DeliBebek

Posted
Posted
USPS Box 1095.

 

...+1,....

 

I have been using this box for 10 years,..you have to order them online usually cause I've never seen a post office that carries them in stock,...they will gladly deliver them for free to your front door in boxes of 25 for free,...the box is long enough to give adequate protection to the top and bottom of the book so it's not necessary to double box,...just some peanuts or bubble wrap does the trick,...in 10 years I think I only had 2 issues of cracked slabs and the boxes were so crushed that no amount of protection would have saved them

 

+1

 

(my first use of the +1, the brainwashing is taking)

 

I recently bought my first slab off these boards and the 1095 was the box of choice, along with the bubblewrap and extra stuffing mentioned by others. The bubblewrapped slab was sandwiched in corrugated cardboard on top of that. The box had obviously been handled with care as marked on the box, the USPS definition of care being quite different mine of course. The slab arrived in perfect condition.

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CKB

CKB

Posted
Posted

I've been using a 1097 inside of a 1095 with great success.

 

I've also been using the Board Game Large Flat Rate box for $15 when cost effective for a pile of slabs. I cut it down a bit becuse it's LONG. :)

 

 

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porky

porky

Posted
Posted
I recently purchased a CGC-graded comic online, and when it arrived the CGC case was cracked. Has this ever happened to you?

 

As I see it, the problem was the way it was packaged. The seller put a thin layer of cardboard around the CGC case, and wrapped it in packaging paper. None of this was my request -- I did not know he would send it this way, and I would have been fine with a more costly method of shipping.

 

Here's the way it was packaged:

joepalooka-packaging.jpg

 

You can't see it in the photo, but the slab is cracked up the lower backside, in several spots on the bottom, and a little but up the lower frontside.

 

I wrote to the seller and very politely told him the situation. I did not make a request for a discount or anything, but I did mention that as a result of the packaging, I would need to send the slab into CGC to have it re-holdered. He responded:

 

"Sorry to hear about the book, you can send it back for a refund if you like."

 

 

I then said that was beside the point, since my concern was with the packaging and the CGC slab, not the actual comic (which I am happy with). He then wrote:

 

"I have sent out probably 100 CGC books this past year packaged the same way yours was and have not received another complaint about my packing methods. If you are upset about the Post Office treating your package with disregard, I'm sorry." (He also offered to refund the $11 for re-holdering the CGC slab, which seems quite reasonable. But the part about putting all blame on the post office is.....questionable.)

 

I'm just curious -- what do you all think of this packaging method? Adequate? The seller thinks so, but me and my cracked CGC case disagree.

 

Also, and more importantly: What is the best low-cost method to package and ship a CGC slab? What are the best materials, and where is the best place to get inexpensive materials to do such? (If there is another thread that has all this information, linking there would be cool too, but I'm curious to hear a variety of responses and methods.)

 

the larger of the two medium USPS flat rate boxes has plenty of room for a slab or two and your choice of padding. hard to imagine a slab getting cracked in there short of someone jumping on the box.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
Posted

Slabbed books should always be boxed.

 

I like the double box method (although I haven't always used it).

 

The larger priority box will fit a graded book that is well protected. I usually will bubble wrap the slab (alot) and put in some sort of packing materials all around it (peanuts, shredded paper, crumpled newspaper, et al. in the large priority box.

 

Never had any issues/complaints.

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KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
Its actually illegal to use those Priority boxes as pieces of cardboard like he did. If you are upset with the seller, forward that photo to his local Post Office and ask for a Postal Inspector to look into it.

Yeah, I almost learned that the hard way. I used to re-use old priority boxes to send books to the States, until someone told me it was illegal to do so. I guess I got lucky....

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KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
You can usually buy decent sized boxes for about $1-$1.50 a box from a cardboard manufacturer.

 

I know it sucks to pay the $1-$1.50 per box (plus packaging materials) but it saves a lot of time and effort.

 

Short of freebie boxes I don't know of any other alternative.

 

Canadapost does have a box little smaller in 2 dimensions than the USPS Box 1095, but I think they charge something ridiculous like $5+ per box. I'll check it out today when I visit the post office.

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nocutename

nocutename

Posted
Posted

I don't mean to add salt to your wound but did you request it to be shipped in a box and packed a certain way? Is this the auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Joe-Palooka-23-Harvey-Comics-1948-CGC-9-4-Good-Girl-Art-Cover-GGA-Awesome-Book-/380383972573?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item5890a6ccdd

 

If so, don't you think that $4 for shipping is just too cheap for a properly packaged CGC book?

 

From your picture, it looks like the seller used a priority box which is a big no-no with the post office unless it was shipping via priority mail. You should point that out to the seller.

 

I recently purchased a CGC-graded comic online, and when it arrived the CGC case was cracked. Has this ever happened to you?

 

As I see it, the problem was the way it was packaged. The seller put a thin layer of cardboard around the CGC case, and wrapped it in packaging paper. None of this was my request -- I did not know he would send it this way, and I would have been fine with a more costly method of shipping.

 

Here's the way it was packaged:

joepalooka-packaging.jpg

 

You can't see it in the photo, but the slab is cracked up the lower backside, in several spots on the bottom, and a little but up the lower frontside.

 

I wrote to the seller and very politely told him the situation. I did not make a request for a discount or anything, but I did mention that as a result of the packaging, I would need to send the slab into CGC to have it re-holdered. He responded:

 

"Sorry to hear about the book, you can send it back for a refund if you like."

 

I then said that was beside the point, since my concern was with the packaging and the CGC slab, not the actual comic (which I am happy with). He then wrote:

 

"I have sent out probably 100 CGC books this past year packaged the same way yours was and have not received another complaint about my packing methods. If you are upset about the Post Office treating your package with disregard, I'm sorry." (He also offered to refund the $11 for re-holdering the CGC slab, which seems quite reasonable. But the part about putting all blame on the post office is.....questionable.)

 

I'm just curious -- what do you all think of this packaging method? Adequate? The seller thinks so, but me and my cracked CGC case disagree.

 

Also, and more importantly: What is the best low-cost method to package and ship a CGC slab? What are the best materials, and where is the best place to get inexpensive materials to do such? (If there is another thread that has all this information, linking there would be cool too, but I'm curious to hear a variety of responses and methods.)

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KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
I don't mean to add salt to your wound but did you request it to be shipped in a box and packed a certain way? Is this the auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Joe-Palooka-23-Harvey-Comics-1948-CGC-9-4-Good-Girl-Art-Cover-GGA-Awesome-Book-/380383972573?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item5890a6ccdd

 

If so, don't you think that $4 for shipping is just too cheap for a properly packaged CGC book?

 

From your picture, it looks like the seller used a priority box which is a big no-no with the post office unless it was shipping via priority mail. You should point that out to the seller.

 

I recently purchased a CGC-graded comic online, and when it arrived the CGC case was cracked. Has this ever happened to you?

 

As I see it, the problem was the way it was packaged. The seller put a thin layer of cardboard around the CGC case, and wrapped it in packaging paper. None of this was my request -- I did not know he would send it this way, and I would have been fine with a more costly method of shipping.

 

Here's the way it was packaged:

joepalooka-packaging.jpg

 

You can't see it in the photo, but the slab is cracked up the lower backside, in several spots on the bottom, and a little but up the lower frontside.

 

I wrote to the seller and very politely told him the situation. I did not make a request for a discount or anything, but I did mention that as a result of the packaging, I would need to send the slab into CGC to have it re-holdered. He responded:

 

"Sorry to hear about the book, you can send it back for a refund if you like."

 

I then said that was beside the point, since my concern was with the packaging and the CGC slab, not the actual comic (which I am happy with). He then wrote:

 

"I have sent out probably 100 CGC books this past year packaged the same way yours was and have not received another complaint about my packing methods. If you are upset about the Post Office treating your package with disregard, I'm sorry." (He also offered to refund the $11 for re-holdering the CGC slab, which seems quite reasonable. But the part about putting all blame on the post office is.....questionable.)

 

I'm just curious -- what do you all think of this packaging method? Adequate? The seller thinks so, but me and my cracked CGC case disagree.

 

Also, and more importantly: What is the best low-cost method to package and ship a CGC slab? What are the best materials, and where is the best place to get inexpensive materials to do such? (If there is another thread that has all this information, linking there would be cool too, but I'm curious to hear a variety of responses and methods.)

$4.00?!?!? Ouch. There's no way you're going to get safe packaging for that amount. The seller shouldn't even offer such a rate for a slab. Bad customer service IMHO.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
Posted

Also, and more importantly: What is the best low-cost method to package and ship a CGC slab? What are the best materials, and where is the best place to get inexpensive materials to do such? (If there is another thread that has all this information, linking there would be cool too, but I'm curious to hear a variety of responses and methods.)

 

I noted it earlier, but one thing I have done is use shredded paper. I put the shredded paper in grocery store plastic bags and tie them off. Provides good, inexpensive protection around the edges of slabs. Doesn't cost anything to do (as long as you've got a paper shredder).

 

I still use bubble wrap (which does cost $$, but worth it) too. Bubble wrap should be mandatory for packaging slabs.

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