Support your local post office...Please!

Sonnydaze

Sonnydaze

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Hi, I buy and sell a lot of folders because I love 'em. The ones that I buy, NIB from the Exchange, I will be selling again soon.
It pains me to receive a NIB folder in a box that has been crushed or damaged due to poor packaging. This box came in a Scotch bubble-wrap pack, and the knife is just fine. However, for those of us who tend to collect the finer specimens, or to gift them to relatives, the box is nearly as important as the knife.
So, please, guys/girls, spend $5.80 and package the NIB folder in a USPS Priority Small Flat Rate box, instead of spending $2.41 for the bubble-wrapped sack. Or, at least give me the option to pay you a couple of extra bucks so that you'll use a decent box.
I appreciate that, and so will a lot of readers.


 
I understand where you're coming from. I hate ording a knife and then see the mail man carrying a package in a bubble wrapped bag to my door. With that being said I had a knive box damaged that was inside a bubble wrapped bag, inside a box filled with newspaper. :grumpy: needless to say, not the shippers fault and any package can be damaged when you're dealing with the USPS.
 
Maybe I'm just a pack rat, but I always keep the bubble wrap from packages that I get, to re-use for when I want to mail something. Between recycled bubble wrap and free priority mailing boxes, there is really no excuse for not taking the extra time/effort to pack something up nicely. I've experienced the crushed-box-in-a-bubble-envelope before and was a little bummed out. I like to follow the Golden Rule in these situations... "Treat others' mail as you would like yours treated."
 
I always ship my knives in bubble wrap inside the original box, and I have a few friends at the post office , so they will wrap the box inside an envelope or two how ever many it takes so that the knife doesn't move around in the box. I agree though, If a seller doesn't want to spend the extra cash on a flat rate box, give me the option to do so myself. Gonna haft to agree with post #2 though, Like I said I have friends at the post office and some of the stories I've heard of how packages are handled not just with USPS but with UPS and FEDEX it's really a miracle we actually get our packages in one piece.
 
I would turn this around on ya and say that if you have a special request like this that YOU be the one to mention it. Not everyone will see this thread and not everyone who does will do what you ask. Just sayin.
 
Shotgun said:
I would turn this around on ya and say that if you have a special request like this that YOU be the one to mention it. Not everyone will see this thread and not everyone who does will do what you ask. Just sayin.
Click to expand...

Good advice from Shotgun.
I generally will state this (USPS Priority flat rate box) when I'm selling/advertising a folder. The great majority of the time, I receive mine in the flat rate box just fine. I've mailed (or received) over one hundred flat rate boxes within the last twelve months, and have not experienced a bad one yet. I have received other box types/sizes in the past which were ripped open and torn.
It is disappointing if you're a collector or reseller or wish to gift the folder...
Thanks for responses,
Sonnydaze
 
Out of all the knives I've bought online or received in trade I've had one box get crushed in transit, it wasn't the sellers fault , he packaged it right , it was 2 knives in a small flat rate box, one was a ZT box and it was the one that got smushed, no big deal as it popped back up good as new but one has to wonder what happened for it to get flattened.
 
I'm curious, how do you guys feel about shipping a knife with the box properly collapsed? The knife won't be in the box, but the box is less likely to be crushed.
 
I try my best to pack them as if they are going to be tossed around and possibly crushed. I used to do the same a few years back, but a gentleman gave me some great suggestions on how to ship them.
 
You can avoid that problem by stuffing the extra space in the box with packing chips. That will help to maintain the integrity of the box and prevent it from being mangled. You then wrap the outside with bubble wrap and you can use a padded envelope (I usually stuff the empty space in the envelope as well). Packaging is an art.
 
I agree with packaging properly being of huge importance. Personally, living in Canada I would venture to say that you could weld a package in a plate steel box, and it would still get damaged. So much of my stuff is late, damaged or missing, that I will pay extra for any shipping method that doesn't involve Canada post. Had an archery sight I ordered one time, that needed to travel about 700 miles. Paid for three day shipping, 5 weeks later I got my sight in a damaged box with mud on it.
 
I've received a few knives with the boxes crushed also.

I always send small flat rate, and I pack it so tight with newspaper/peanuts, I have to use a lot of force to even get it all shut and sealed. Once its shut, I layer duct tape on every seam and crack.
 
I had a loading job at UPS when i was 18 and we were expected to make packages fit no matter what. I agree with you that the box needs proper protection [ie inside a sturdy box] but a lot of the time, especially when I'm buying a knife that'll be a user, I'll tell the seller to go ahead and ship without the box in a bubble envelope to save himself a few bucks.
 
I have a message as follows saved on my desktop and after I purchase an item that is described or shows that it comes in the original box I cut and paste the message and send it to the seller right away and have not had any problems since. In fact they usually respond back stating they understand and will do their best to package it to help protect the box as well as the contents. I just change he name of the item depending on what it is I purchased such as Buck 120 Stag General to Spyderco Sage or whatever it was I purchased.

Hello; I just purchased and paid for the Buck 120 Stag General. Please pack in a secondary box with no tape put on the black Buck box. I have had a number of sellers selling items as new in box with pictures of a box in great condition only to tape up the box and or wrap the box in paper and ship it to me. When I receive them the boxes are torn up in shipping or have stickers and tape on them. Sorry if I sound picky but this has happened on about 25% of the items I have purchased so from now on I ask each sellers to please pack well in a secondary box with no tape etc on the original box.

Thank you in advance for your time.

James
 
Depends...I've experienced USPS small flat rate box being crushed! Of course a padded envelope will be easily crushed verse the box. For those that sold the knife at a lost, and want to save some $$$ using a padded envelope, I recommend you cut out some cardboard precisely, fold them to snug fit the Spyderco or Benchmade box. Then place it into the padded envelope. Absolutely protect the box. If you go the cheap way...this will definitely save your arse. Something like this...takes time but well worth it. Protects the box.
 
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The USPS is now offering free $50.00 insurance and tracking on their packages now, not sure if it's just the flat rate boxes, but I hope it is , That way it's more incentive for people to use the boxes and not envelopes...
 
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