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Lesson Learned - How NOT to Ship

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w.t. anderson

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Bought a knife from Tomahawk6442. WHAT A DISASTER! I just found the USPS box on my front steps, the cardboard soaked and falling apart, the poorly wrapped with brown paper towels leather sheath was also soaking wet, and the knife blade coated in rust! This is why I always post the USPS tracking number (Tom never provide one, said he lost it) so the buyer can keep tabs as well as to properly wrap knives and sheaths separately in plastic bubble wrap thoroughly taped or at least in a baggie.
I suggested that he (and others) do the same.
 
That is a lot of money to spend on a knife and then have the packaging skimped on. SMH. Sorry you had to deal with this.
 
I had a member with great feedback in good standing here send me a knife in its box in a USPS Tyvez bag. As you might imagine, the box got beat to hell which will most definitely decrease its resale value if ever I was to do so.

Seems irresponsibility with some folks is an epidemic. I ship using PayPal, so it’s just as easy to copy from PayPal over to my inbox on Bladeforums and drop a link to the tracking info for my buyer. Takes less than five minutes. If for some reason I do have to buy postage at the PO, I’ll take a quick snapshot Of the receipt and send it to my buyer. Tape is cheap and so is packing material.
 
Can't help with the poor packaging ... poor packaging is just irresponsible. However, with respect to tracking numbers, that is something you can have control over .... USPS Informed Delivery. I've been using it since it was first introduced as USPS Dashboard. Works flawlessly for me. Always get informed of when a package is going to be delivered, so I can track and be ready to accept it. Don't need the seller to provide me with a tracking #. It's discussed in this thread.
 
Note to self: learn weather control, remote viewing, and telekenetic porch roof construction skills to ensure good package condition and safe arrival space BEFORE buying gold membership.


How much of this had something to do with the seller, anyway?
 
Note to self: learn weather control, remote viewing, and telekenetic porch roof construction skills to ensure good package condition and safe arrival space BEFORE buying gold membership.


How much of this had something to do with the seller, anyway?

I would say the way the seller packaged the knife has to do with the seller.
 
Note to self: learn weather control, remote viewing, and telekenetic porch roof construction skills to ensure good package condition and safe arrival space BEFORE buying gold membership.


How much of this had something to do with the seller, anyway?

Aside from everything that matters, not much.
 
So, seller should have checked the weather? What did the seller do wrong? If a package arrives sodden and falling apart, my problem will not be with the shipper. It will be with the carrier for leaving a package out in the rain, and myself for not having a dry package drop for things that I can't take hand delivery of. Who's fault is it that a package sat in the rain till it was soggy? Should the maker have readied the knife to be transported via Colorado river raft? A knife wrapped in anything will rust if it's soaked, leather sheath, bubble wrap, whatever. If the package got that wet, then it doesn't matter how the knife was packed. I really doubt the fella that sent the package dunked it in the tub before he shipped it, and anything that happened while the package waited to be picked up off the porch was out of his control.
If someone is to blame here, I would look to the carrier who left it out in the rain. Or let it get wet before, or whatever.
 
Do what BHQ does, get a small flat rate PM box, seal it up and put it in the flat rate envelope, seal and tape that. Those things are pretty water resistant and hey you save all of 40 cents. I've never had one not do well in shipping packed that way, even had one save a Spyderco box from obliteration when some idiot letter carrier shoved it into an apartment complex size little mail box. The envelope sacrificed itself but the contents in the box were fine.
 
At least it was boxed. I have many legitimate dealers drop the original box in the Tyvex mailer with no other packing.

I typically bag everything in plastic before boxing but I see very few sellers doing that.
Box and paper wrapping are adequate packing. How many retailers plastic wrap in case of rain? Amazon, Zappos, etc...nope, and very few at all really
 
OP, did you take a picture of the box or anything?
Perhaps seller could have done a bit better packing, but sounds like it being left out in the rain is the main issue at hand that was the root cause of the problem? no? Be nice to have a little more specifics on the packaging itself before we completely blast the seller. Was it packed so that it would not have been flopping around in the box etc?
 
Can't help with the poor packaging ... poor packaging is just irresponsible. However, with respect to tracking numbers, that is something you can have control over .... USPS Informed Delivery. I've been using it since it was first introduced as USPS Dashboard. Works flawlessly for me. Always get informed of when a package is going to be delivered, so I can track and be ready to accept it. Don't need the seller to provide me with a tracking #. It's discussed in this thread.

Good advice, Dennis. I've been using it since then also. I almost always get a tracking number when I purchase something but Informed Delivery has helped with at least 2 packages in which I got no notifications from the sender. It also keeps all of your tracked packages in one place on the website. If you have four packages coming they are all on the same page. No hopping around to check for updates.

It will notify you of any USPS package shipping to your address which means that if your wife or kids or anybody in your household has a package coming, you'll know about it. You'll also know if somebody sent you a surprise although you might not know what it is.

I like Informed Delivery. It's an excellent feature as long as you can work around those little quirks.
 
Note to self: don't buy from Andre.


You'd be fine, assuming you're: home to receive on a rainy day, possessed of a covered porch/large mailbox, or blessed with a non idiotic carrier. I package things the way I'd like to reiceve them.
I get plenty of nightmare packages.. I have a bad ebay problem, so I see at least 4 deliveries week.. none of them arrive 'soaked and falling apart' or 'completely rusted' because I have a dry place for them to be left when I'm not home to get them right off.. my carrier also is not an idiot: she has left me notices instead of larger packages in absolutely terrible conditions, or has bagged my small packages in a plastic post office bag before leaving them when I'm not home. Benefits of a small town, perhaps, but still.. Carriers have as much to do with the condition of your packages when you pick them up off your porch as the party shipping them does. Frequently more.

I dont get how the seller can be blamed for this wet package unless he got it wet before he sent it.
 
I dont get how the seller can be blamed for this wet package unless he got it wet before he sent it.

I don't think the OP is blaming the seller for the wet package, it's more about how the items were packaged inside the box that allowed them to get wet... brown paper towels :rolleyes:, that's extremely lazy, cheap, and careless on the sellers part.
 
I always wrap the knife and original box in plastic bubble wrap, with a lot of tape. Then that goes inside the shipping box.
 
I don't think the OP is blaming the seller for the wet package, it's more about how the items were packaged inside the box that allowed them to get wet... brown paper towels :rolleyes:, that's extremely lazy, cheap, and careless on the sellers part.

Well, honestly the OP has not really given specific details of how it was packed. For example if it was wrapped with paper towels and taped, then placed into the box with some sort of filler to secure the knife so it did not move around, and then put into a USPS priority box sealed, and then adequately taped - then that is an adequate packing job. I try to wrap most of mine in bubble wrap and tape it inside; but that doesn't mean that is a requirement for everyone.
Again, the only thing we really know in this case (unless we hear again from the OP) is that the package was left out in the rain and everything got wet.
It is perfectly logical that the carrier - aka USPS - is the main one at fault for the problem. They should be trained and have enough sense to know that unless it is protected - by a delivery bag or covered area, you should not leave it in the middle of a rain storm.
Based on the known facts - at this time - it's not fair to place all them blame on the seller. In fact, they may have done an adequate packing job - just to little info to say no or yes with any certainty.

And yes he essentially is blaming the seller - read the title - that pretty much says it all.
 
Before reading this thread, I’ve never even considered the fact that a package could possibly be left out in the rain. I do know that high humidity could cause rust spots on some carbon steels, while in transit, and even though packaged well. Now I use oil or grease for those types of knives.
 
Aside from everything that matters, not much.

I do not think we really know what part - if any - that the seller played in this. Not until there are complete facts on the details of packaging. We do know that USPS left it out in a rain storm and that is why it got soaked, package fell apart and contents wet. I am very experienced in parcel shipping - 20+ years in transportation >> my main beef would be with the USPS in this case - even if the packaging could have been better. Who ever the letter carrier is needs to be reprimanded and re-trained - just plain lazy and stupid decision on their part - and that IS a known fact.

This is my take on it so far, and I have no issue if others do not feel that way - it's America.
 
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