[78-L] eBay Packing Standards

[David Lennick]

Even with the most careful packing, an accident can occur. I've been selling 
since last year and have had two items arrive broken. In one case, the item was 
sent to a third party and it was broken by the time it was relayed overseas (to 
Iceland!) and the buyer still left positive feedback and assured me that the 
original packing had been good. Another single disc arrived in two pieces (the 
only time this has occurred) and I told the buyer to make an insurance claim. 
"Too much hassle..you owe me one" he said. Okay, sure, I'm going to make good 
on something for which I paid insurance (I always do that since I allow for it 
in the shipping fee I charge) but the buyer doesn't want to be bothered.

And then there's the guy who bid the minimum and won a record and tried to 
remove a label sticker by blow-drying it with a hair dryer and caused the small 
crack (described in the listing) to spread and wants to know if I'll give him a 
partial refund. If he wonders why I haven't responded, it's because I'm still 
rolling on the floor from that one.

dl

On 3/3/2012 10:17 AM, Roger Wade wrote:
> Hi David,
>
> When I see an interesting 78 on ebay from a seller I don't know I first look at his feedback, as you did.  If he has no feedback for transactions involving 78s I just move on, no matter how much I want the record. Like you, too many bad experiences with amateurs.
>
> Myself, I do sell 78s on ebay, not because I love ebay but because no other site has the traffic they do.  Anyone looking at my feedback will see immediately that I have scores of favorable comments about safely packing records for shipment.  There are  quite a few other sellers on ebay who handle 78s in a professional manner.  You just have to find them.  ebay is like a giant worldwide flea market.  Anyone can sell there who pays the fees.  A giant flea market can also have many professional vendors among scores of clueless amateurs.  It seems like you did your homework, read his feedback, and bought the record anyway.  You did not deserve what happened but neither should you have been totally surprised.
>
> Don't let this experience sour you on ebay completely.  As I said there are plenty of competent dealers in 78s on ebay.  I consider myself to be one of them, but you also have nickjay, Warren Hodgdon (warrensdiscs), Mark Berresford (mr.jelly), John Tefteller (johntefteller), and Tom Kelly (tomkellyarchives) just for starters.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Roger Wade
> Really Old Records
>
> http://www.reallyoldrecords.com
>
> http://stores.ebay.com/Really-Old-Records?RefID=store
>
> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Really-Old-Records/113492545338506?ref=search
>
> http://www.amazon.com/shops/reallyoldrecords
>
>
> On Mar 3, 2012, at 9:52 AM, marimbamoods at comcast.net wrote:
>
>>
>> undoubtably, members of this list are familiar with eBay's 5-Star rating system. eBay feedback includes a specific rating for how fast an item is shipped, but no such rating is included for how well an item, such as a fragile 78 record, is packed.
>>
>>
>> perhaps this encourages sellers to pack items hastily, and without regard for safe packaging, in order to get them in the mail quickly, thus protecting the criterium for which they know they will be rated. it seems to me that eBay should be persuaded to ammend the 5-Star rating criteria to include not only how QUICKLY, but also how WELL, items are packed.
>>
>>
>> i mention this because i received once again yesterday several pieces of shattered shellac that formally constituted Emerson 10182, ca. 1920. by way of preparing this disc for the rigors of the USPS, this eBay seller simply placed the Emerson disc in-between 2 pieces of cardboard that were then taped together. that's it - no box, no padding, just a single layer of cardboard on each side of the disc; slap on the shipping labels, and leave the heavy lifting to Uncle Sam.
>>
>>
>> this seller has 100% positive feedback for more than 100 transactions, however when i made this purchase i noticed that he has little history with 78's. therefore, when i paid for the item i immediately sent the seller a friendly and detailed email explaining the importance of thorough packing of 78's for shipment. i included in that email the following link, detailing precisely how to properly package a 78 for shipment:
>
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