suggestion when buying vintage/antiques

[teacher316]

I just purchased a G2 MLP puzzle from someone off ebay. It came wrapped in brown paper w/o padding underneath. When I opened it, I found that the marker used to write my address had bled through onto a few pieces. 
I was irritated that the seller would not protect the puzzle inside the brown wrapping!
So I spoke to my MIL and she told me when she pays for her items, she instructs the seller to wrap the item in bubble wrap when they ship. It seems silly but the last 3 items I've purchased have had little or no protection at all. I would suggest if you're buying anything valuable from ebay, you write the seller a note and instruct how you want it shipped.

[Galactica]

Oh- that is a shame.  I have also received some shoddy packaged goods over the years, and I absolutely agree with you.

When it is something that I don't want to have damaged, I definitely make it clear that "I really value the packaging, it is the reason I bought your item, so can you please package very carefully with bubble wrap and protect it from damage in the mail? Thanks"

Generally that works.  Once it was an absolute tragic loss- I had purchased a beautiful vintage doll from Brazil still in her original box! Truly an amazing thing.  The box was of course made from soft, OLD cardboard. The seller didn't even put it in another box, just wrapped it with brown paper and sent it along.  It was completely and utterly squished and destroyed by the time it arrived to me. 

[MiRaja]

That's just freaking idiotic. 

I make part of my living on vintage and antique goods, and trust me when I say I know how to ship and pack, and it's really all common sense.  I once had a seller break a doll in half ( at her ankles, she was wired to a stand )  and ship her that way with little to no packing, with a glass dome that was with her for some reason ( not original ).  Safe to say, it came in even more busted and I actually cut my hand on some of the glass trying to free the doll.  I had a rightful scream at the seller who played all stupid and ignorant, but did refund my purchase. . .  But yet wanted me to file an insurance claim.  Oh, hell no, I'm not committing insurance fraud because the butt didn't know how to pack or didn't care, and willfully destroyed that item. 

:shakes head:  Now, I don't use bubble wrap unless it's something I have on hand, I'm a very green person when it comes to packaging and I do try to reuse whatever I can.  I get *great* boxes at the restaurant I work at, and then I use mostly grocery bags ( I only keep dry bags, rest go into a turn-in bag ) but they work wonderfully in place of bubble wrap, and also some paper towels or newspaper ( but only if the item is secured in another bag or some such so the newspaper is in no way in contact with said item ).  When I ship textiles(which is what I've been doing mostly, hence my ability to build up a stock pile of grocery bags ), or non-breakables, I generally send them in an envelop, but I do double bag and wrap everything before it goes into said envelope in an effort to give it a bit more protection. 

As far as odd packaging goes, I sometimes have some very expensive and very fragile come through my hands.  Like German bisque doll, and apparently, the community as a whole agrees the best way to ship them with their fragile heads, is wrapped up in a couple ( obviously clean ) diapers.  Works though!