Tips for Shipping Packaging?

[telelle_wings]

I'd like everyone's input on the best method for shipping ponies?

I have a few G1s I'd like to sell eventually and just haven't because I'm unsure of the best ways to do it. I've seen a lot of interesting packaging over the years. Bubble envelopes, inside-out hot chocolate boxes, multiple manila envelopes taped together, actual flat rate USPS boxes (which seems like the safest if not the cheapest)... I've seen the ponies themselves wrapped in ziplocks, in bubble wrap, wrapped in paper, wingy wings with cardboard protection on their wings, loose in the box... I'm pretty sure newspaper is a no-no. So I have a few questions:

How do you keep the costs of shipping down?
What kind of packaging do you use for awkward pose ponies?
So Softs... Safest way to keep flocking from coming off?

Any other tips are welcome!

Thanks!

[Elisto]

My general rule for myself is bubble mailers for most standard ponies, boxes with packing materials (foam, packing peanuts) for things that seem more fragile (Dream Beauties, wingers, etc). A lot I also put in clear plastic baggies or wrap in thin foam sheets too, which I figure would also protect flocking from getting rubbed off. But a lot of regular nothing-special ponies just go in a bubble envelope.

[LadyMoondancer]

I usually put the pony in a plastic sandwich bag.

If the pony doesn't have any fragile parts (no flutter pony wings, not MIB / MOC, etc) then I put the baggied pony in a padded envelope.

Anything MOC, MIB, or with parts that just wouldn't be safe in a bubble mailer goes in a cardboard box.  You can get them for free, in varying sizes, from local stores.  Just ask around.  Oh, and don't use wine boxes.  Even if you completely cover up the outside, the PO will reject them if they figure out it's a wine box.

I usually send wingers in a box because even though their wings are pretty tough, they can get dented if they're bent.

So-Softs  . . . I've always sent them in bubble mailers and have never had a problem with the flocking coming off.

For padding: 

I save the air bubble padding that Amazon sends in their boxes and reuse it. (I also reuse their boxes.)

Newsprint smears but you can use newspaper IF you completely surround the pony in protective plastic, like a sealed sandwich bag or (for MOCs / MIBs) grocery bags.  (Since grocery bags can't be 'sealed', I use two, one facing either direction, and tape the second bag to the first one to make sure they don't come off.)

That said, newspaper is really heavy compared to the air bubble things which can make for more expensive shipping.  But IMO it does make it less likely for the box to be crushed.  Newspaper has less "give" then the air bubbles, so it will lower the odds of a box caving in if something heavy lands on it.  In any case, never use newspaper unless you're sure it won't directly touch the pony.

I don't use packing peanuts because they get everywhere and are often made of styrofoam, which doesn't biodegrade.

[Elisto]

I don't use packing peanuts because they get everywhere and are often made of styrofoam, which doesn't biodegrade.

I use recycled packing peanuts from things people sent me.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I haven't shipped ponies in a while but what I generally do if it's not a custom I'll put it in a baggy or bubble wrap, then when I put it into the box I use plastic bags to take up space so the pony (or item) doesn't rattle around

The last pony I shipped (which was a custom) had paper towels wrapped around her for whatever reason I forgot, and straws in her hair to keep the curls there xD Then she was wrapped in a bit of bubble wrapped, placed in the only small box I had and filled in the paces with bags... since she was going overseas I wanted to be sure she was 100% protected

[Baby Sugarberry]

Packaging should vary with the fragility of what you're sending.  Most ponies are very durable.  Ones to watch out for are wingers, original flutter wings (ultra fragile!), any pony with hard plastic bits added (like Princess Ponies, Twinkle Eyes, BBE's), and those with special finishes, So Softs and the like.  Generally a plastic sandwich bag and a bubble mailer is more than enough to keep a MLP safe, when in doubt boxes are safer and less likely to be crushed.  At minimum ponies should be protected from getting wet and having dye/ink transfer from their outer packaging to the toy itself.

Never, ever pack your ponies in grocery bags, sandwich bags written on with sharpie, or anything else that has ink - like the aforementioned newspaper.  Vinyl picks up dye like a sponge.  Also never pack wet ponies or those which have been recently bathed until you're sure they're 100% dry on the inside.  Ponies in unstable poses may benefit form having their legs supported during shipping - the Buttons Pose and Love Melody pose come to mind as two that are easily warped.

[scarletjul]

I ship in a bubble envelope.  I also wrap the items in bubble wrap, because I'm over-protective of ponies?  . If it's anything fragile, like in a box or a winger, it goes in a box.  I usually make sure the box is tightly packed, so I'll throw in extra padding so the box doesn't rattle. 

Like Baby Sugarberry said, don't pack any ponies near ink.  Also avoid colored tissue paper because the color can transfer.

Good luck with your sales! 

[telelle_wings]

onies in unstable poses may benefit form having their legs supported during shipping - the Buttons Pose and Love Melody pose come to mind as two that are easily warped.

I hadn't thought about this one. Smart.

Excellent tips everyone!

I have a SS Angel and I worry about her head angle and if it would get overly rubbed in shipping if I don't put her in a box.

[Taffeta]

Yep, pretty much everything mentioned here.

I have never had a problem with SS ponies in normal post, but I think it's a good idea to put them in a clear bag beforehand. If I'm using carrier bags to pad out inside a box of stuff I always turn them insideout so no print can spread (although that's more with playsets, as ponies go nicely in food bags).
Flutter Ponies send better in their original boxes but loose if you can remove the wings safely before transit, it's a good idea. I always put wingers in boxes too. In fact the extra Windy Wings I have are living in a padded box at present just to ensure they don't get damaged while in my trade box.

I usually have an oversized padded envelope and fold it over so it gives double the padding through the post. Postage costs can also be dictated by size of your package so that's worth taking into consideration - some postal services use volumetric weight as well as actual weight (which is where they make up an imagined weight based on the size of your parcel rather than what it actually weighs).

MIP items always in box and well packed so they can't rattle. I have had 2 ponies in padded envelopes come off their card in transit. Mind you, don't go too mad. My MOC pony the other week was in a huge box full of peanut pellets and I have no idea why. It was like a lucky dip xD. Seller went overboard. So long as the box is big enough to comfortably fit the MIP pony with a layer of padding around it then it should be fine.

[Baby Sugarberry]

For super fragile items, such as sculpted customs, porcelains or MIB's, you can always go the double box route - pack the pony snugly in a well fitting box with good padding/support, then in a bigger box that also has been padded out with something like packing peanuts. Will tend to run up your shipping costs though.

[Haruna]

I agree with everyone above. I sell on Ebay fairly regularly and I ship regular ponies in a plastic Ziploc in a bubble mailer (unless, as noted in the above posts, they're fragile or need protection for some other reason). I used to ship ponies just in a bubble mailer, no bag, and never had any problems, but then one day I received a DVD I had purchased from Ebay and there was an apology note on it from the USPS because it was ripped open and had gotten wet. BUT, the DVD was fine because the seller not only packaged it in a bubble mailer but had wrapped it in bubble wrap. Ever since, I've tried to consider what would happen if the mailer ripped open!

As far as saving costs, I'd echo what others have said -- save every box, etc. you get and reuse the packaging, as long as it's still sturdy. If you need to buy bubble mailers, the Dollar Tree has two for a dollar, I believe. I get my plastic bags there, too.

And this I learned the hard way . . . ponies can almost always be shipped most cheaply through the U.S. post office. They have very good rates for light items; once an item is heavier than 13 oz, however, your best bet would be FedEx or UPS (or sometimes a USPS flat-rate box). When I was just starting to sell, I brought my sold and packaged and very light items to a FedEx to be shipped and lost all of my profits.  You're selling G1s, so I'd strongly recommend the USPS!

And . . . this is getting long, but if, like me, you don't own a scale, you can bring your package to the post office and weigh it on the automated machine to find out what they'd charge you to ship it to a certain zip code; you don't have to complete the purchase, you can just weigh it and then tell your buyer how much it would cost to ship and then come back later to buy the shipping label. Alternatively, you can estimate a weight (an adult pony is about 3 oz, for example, and a baby is about 2 oz) and add an ounce or two to account for packaging and then buy the label online, but it's riskier until you get a feel for it.   

Anyway, good luck!

[LadyMoondancer]

If you know you're going to be needing a lot of bubble mailers, you can buy a whole box of them from websites like this:

http://www.esupplystore.com/Bubble-Mailers_c_1.html

Or from Staples, probably, but I've always used websites.  

The one thing I will say is that the white poly self-seal bubble mailers from that particular site are VERY lightweight and resilient BUT . . . the outside of them picks up lint and hair like crazy!  I switched over to the manilla bubble mailers, which work just as well and have a paper-like exterior that doesn't attract every stray speck.

[hathorcat]

I used to ship in bubble mailers until recently with very well padded ponies on the inside (plenty of bubble wrap) but now I try to only ship in a box. It does not always add that much to the shipping cost but I feel it adds that extra security. I would rather go with a light weight box than a heavy duty envelope...I just feel a parcel gets better taken care of

[BlueyBirdy]

If it's not an expensive or fragile pony I will:

- Wrap it in a sandwich bag (I use medium sized ones so I can actually wrap the pony a bit)
- Pop it in a bubble envelope
- Seal the bubble envelope with tape if it's being shipped internationally

I have never had a pony get damaged this way. You should never put anything naked into a bubble envelope as they can potentially get torn or wet. A roll of sandwich bags costs me about 80p and lasts for months.

For anything expensive or likely to get damaged:

- Bubble wrap the pony and put in a plastic bag
- Line the shipping box with a sheet of bubble wrap (provides another layer of padding, stops the pony touching the sides of the carton and provides some minor waterproofing - I've had parcels that look like they swam across an ocean)
- Once the pony is in the box I pad all excess space with something (you should do this for anything you send in a box). I keep a stash of recycled packing peanuts for this, but as long as the pony is completely wrapped in bubble wrap you can pad the box with newspaper. Newspaper print will rub off on a lot of things and can easily stain plastic, so it's important to ensure the pony is snug in its own packaging if you do this.