Dear Erroll,

Good topic. The big danger is multiple items in one package. I always contact sellers and insist that they pack single items box in box and should there be multiple items each item to be packed in its own box in the main outer box. This includes cover and lids.  People seem to thing the use of foam chips will keep items apart when this is  not the case.  There can never be enough packing !   

Cheers

Michael

Dear Erroll and Michael,

it is a matter related to the seller. The majority of sellers say that they are not responsible for damages during transport. That is not correct, because everybody knows that workers in transport system has no care about parcels. It is not enough to apply a “Fragile” sticker, the objects must be packed properly.

In my listings, I clearly say that “I guarantee a safe packing, don’t be afraid about a safe delivery. I will refund all costs if you will receive a damaged item because of a not proper packing” unless a truck driven over it, as you said. In that case it is obvious that the receiver has to dispute with the transporter.

The goods must be properly packed, even heavy vases must be packed in a way to stand dropping down from one meter. Bubble plastic sheet is not a good protection, it is totally useless for the corners of the ceramics. The item must be wrapped in foam, and the carton box reinforced inside with polystyrene sheets.

It is costing, but necessary.

In my opinion, the buyer has the right to enquire the seller, prior to buying, if he will take responsibility for transport damages. If the seller refuses, then do not buy.

Giovanni

My worst experience was recently. It was a german listing with 3 large Arabia Valencia serving chargers (36cm diameter) on eBay, that were listed at a crazy low buy now price. I bought them and contacted the seller to make sure that they got packed safely. Long story short, they arrived in a package that at first glance was not large enough for safe packing, and when I shook the package, it was very clear something was broken.

Turned out that this sellers definition of good packing was a thin layer of bubble wrap on each plate, then placed on top of each other loosely in a pack with loosely balled newspaper and ads. By some miracly only two of the chargers were broken. I did get a refund for the broken chargers, but the seller was an ass about it.

On another note, I sell Scandinavian midcentury ceramics and antiques online, and use a mix of premium packing materials and new/refurbised cardboard boxes. Some items do not require double boxing, others do. It all depends on how you pack an item, and what kind of item you are packing, as well as what kind of packing materials you use (I prefer air cushions, rather than pellets or similar that can move around under transport). When packing I always pack with "worst case scenarios" in mind, even though most things will break if run over by trucks, no matter how well you pack them.

Although I have bought porcelain from all over the world, I have luckily never experienced any damages due to bad packaging. But I experienced it where I least expected it, with Borderlinx. This is a company that allows you to buy from sellers who don't ship outside their own country. In my case Borderlinx provided an adress in Britain where the seller shipped to, then they shipped it on to me. They are really fast, it took only a few days, but they open each parcel to decide on its value and the fee you have to pay. And the problem is: they don't close the parcel afterwards. This happened to me twice, once they closed the package with a bit of Scotch tape, the second time they didn't reseal it at all. Fortunately the parcel was then given to DHL express, which means it's transported by an own driver from the DHL hub to your house, otherwise I'm sure the plate would have slipped out of the gap in the package. As there was no damage done, all I could do was leave a negative feedback, but I would warn everybody from using this service.

Hello all:

The better eBay sellers end their listings with illustrations of how they pack items. Jeroen of qing-period in the Netherlands does that and he packs items very well. I think Giovanni is correct that reinforcing the box on its interior on all sides with polystyrene slabs about 1-1/2" thick does help a lot. I think bubblewrap is helpful too and  peanuts do work. A combination of precautions is required. Also, the box needs to be sufficiently rigid. The use of discarded food boxes from supermarkets is bad.

I also like double boxing. Then if there is damage to the exterior box, the interior box usually remains undamaged unless extraordinary trauma is inflicted. I have not had problems with 2-3 items arriving in the same container provided that each is bubble wrapped quite extensively and provided that they cannot move around freely. Some sellers will, for example, in sending a teapot or jar with a lid, bubble wrap each item separately and then fix the separately wrapped items to each other with packing tape so they they cannot move independently of each other.

So there are a wide variety of options. The essential component, as Giovanni points out, is that the packer needs to prepare for the worst case scenario. 

When an item arrives in an old food box surrounded by old newspaper one knows one is dealing with a seller who is cutting corners. Miraculously, however, some of these items arrive intact!

Errol

You were unlucky ErrolL. Bad story to hear. And the effort expended to sort it all out was tremendous. Glad its sorted out now. Best wishes

I wouldn't choose air cushions over packing peanuts as air cushions carry pressure through. I have had a few porcelain items packed like this smashed to pieces. Yes with packing peanuts items can travel around, but the packer should pack the item quite tightly with packing peanuts so that it doesn't move much. Ideally double boxed also, or with the boxed sealed with a good amount of layers of bubble wrap in some cases.

One important distinction to make with packing peanuts is between the 'eco bio-degradable peanuts' and the normal peanuts. You need to use the normal ones, the eco ones squash really easily and are essentially useless. I have had a few items arrived damaged with these, but one item in particular was very poor, the parcel had somehow got damp in transit and the eco packing peanuts actually solidified into a compressed lump ? 

Good

Bad

I think leaving a negative feedback even though the item arrived safely is a bit harsh, I would have just left the seller a message, perhaps a neutral feedback at the absolute worst. Negative feedback should not be taken lightly in my opinion, I pass over many opportunities to give sellers negative feedback (for example I have bought and paid for many buy it now items on eBay where the seller cancels the order because they change their mind in wanting to sell it).

I also buy tonnes of items from UK sellers and as mentioned above, so many pack the items awfully in old re-used food cartons etc using newspaper. I tend to message them before they post the item asking them to be extra careful packing the items and offer them extra payment for materials etc and they even get offended  in many cases where the item arrives smashed to pieces. But even in these cases I would not leave them a negative feedback as long as they give me a full refund.

With UK sellers I tend to find the issue is mostly with the 'non-professional' sellers, but surprisingly some of the bigger sellers use recycled boxes and newspaper.

The goldentoad,

 of course I didn't leave a negative feedback for the Ebay seller, it wasn't his fault at all, he was a great seller. I was asked for a feedback from the Borderlinx website. It was already full of negative feedbacks. It looks as if they have stopped working in Summer 2018, according to their website.

Ah my mistake.

Hi all:

I think this thread reveals that there are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to shipping fragile items. The one essential ingredient though is that the seller care enough to pack the item properly. Old food cartons and old newspapers are not justifiable under any circumstances for packing fragile items. 

I would recommend to Forum members that they not hesitate to write to the seller  after winning an item at auction and to emphasize the need for careful packing. If they take offence that is just too bad. That certainly helps with a PayPal claim, or example, if the item arrives broken. I also think that sellers who act in this irresponsible way need to be told that firmly by the buyer. There is no place for reticence and politeness when items costing hundreds of dollars are shipped long distances without adequate protection.

Errol

I got a saucer in an envelop recently. It did have a thin sheet of  'used' plastic but nothing else. I have pictures for the morbidly inclined who may wish to rubberneck this disaster.  ( For those that are less inclined 'The saucer was killed'  DOA.   

Actual Envelope:

Actual Saucer, (not a reenactment )

Hi S-D:

Was this an eBay purchase and did you get a refund?

Errol

Who on earth would send porcelain in a JiffyBag?  Ridiculous!