Red Cobb destroyed by FedEx
 

So here’s a terrible lesson in how to pack your cards. I recently won a very nice PSA 3 Red Cobb off eBay. The seller shipped the card to me via FedEx. I just now received it and I noticed the box had been through some damage. Hoping for the best (I have never had a card get damaged in transit) I took some pictures and proceeded to open the box. The seller had packed the smaller box tight with packing paper but no other protection. The damage propagated to the card itself, cracking the case length wise and severely creasing the Cobb. I am confident I will get my money back but this is a lesson for all. Pack carefully! This wonderful piece of the hobby largely survived intact for more than a century with very little protection. A terrible combination of the slab, a bad packing job, and shippers who could care less have ruined this piece of history.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4e60c7db15.jpg


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So sorry that happened Mathew, Fedex ground?

Yup.


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The slab was wrapped in packing paper, inside a small box, inside a larger box? Some SERIOUS force had to be applied to get the PSA slab to fold like that, not sure I'd call that a bad packing job. I usually send/receive slabs in just a bubble mailer, and the worst experience was a chipped corner.

Based on the info provided, I put this solely on the shipping company (FedEx). Sorry to hear what happened, hope you get your money back, good luck!

Just FYI to the board, Fedex ground are all contract 1099 drivers and have little to no oversite on their behavior. If shipping something like Mathews card FedEx Express is the bare minimum. I wish you the best getting compensated.

That's heartbreaking...
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Exactly how I feel. Beautiful piece of history delivered in a damn tobacco package survives a century to go down like this. Awful!

Also, I was a little unclear about the packaging. The card was only in one smaller box. Inside the box the card was wrapped in tissue paper, so much tissue paper that it was packed tight. No Russian doll configuration, no cardboard sandwich, just tons of tissue paper inside a single box. WTF!!!


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Sorry to hear this. I feel your pain. This is what arrived in my mailbox a few years ago. Look at the centering and color on that card. Ughhh. Still bums me out.

FedEx Insurance Maximum Liability?
 

The card will show delivered per the tracking number.

is any refund at the sellers discretion to issue you a refund since the card was delivered in good faith but damaged in transit --or will the seller and eBay have you file a insurance claim --also is it true FedEx maximum liability in fine print is capped at $1,000?

Another reason to have a private insurance carrier in the event of rejection by the transit carrier or eBay declining to issue any refund--

A real shame the card looked to be a strong PSA-3

That is sad and infuriating!

I Second the private insurance idea!

I live in what most of you would consider “the hills”,and I rarely have good experiences with Fedex ground. Maybe 20% of the time.

Thomas Church

So sad to see that. Such a shame. Best of luck getting your money back. This situation is why I hold my breath until the cards arrive safe and sound. I can’t believe the lack of packaging on something as precious as this.

You cannot count on the box for support. When I have to ship a valuable slab I swaddle it in a bunch of layers of bubble wrap, thick so that if I drop it there will be no damage. Then I box it.

I would NEVER use FedEx for anything worth more than $1K
 

Yes. FEDEX will only pay out a maximum of $1K regardless of how much of your money they take for a larger insured amount - imo - is flat out theft - which also happened to me with FedEx!

So sorry this happened. While it sounds like it could have been packed a little better - from the look of that card - not sure it could have been packed well enough - did they run it over with a FedEx truck!?

Please follow up on the insurance outcome, I suspect the seller is going to eat any $$ over $1K.

Packaged with a smaller box inside a larger box, correct?

What material was in the larger box, keeping the smaller one from moving around?

Red Cobb destroyed by FedEx
 

No, I didn’t write that clear enough. There was only one box and it was relatively small (think 4x4x7). Inside of this box was the card wrapped in tissue paper. That’s it.


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Thanks for clarifying.

Holy crap, that's a lousy way to package a valuable card for transit. I take more care when sending things worth far less.

The graded cards that I purchase usually have bubble wrap around the slab, and are sandwiched between two hard cardboard pieces. This method has never caused me any issues - either as a buyer or seller.

That damage is extensive. There was significant force. The force may have even damaged a card packaged in the method I described, which I find sufficient. It’s not reasonable for a seller to package an item in such a way that it would survive a forklift driving over it or a pallet falling on it.

I wasn’t there and haven’t seen the packaging so don’t know if the seller should’ve done more. Terrible situation.

Sorry to hear about this. If you look at the sellers feedback he already had a negative about the way he ships his cards. Hopefully, this one is an expensive lesson for him.


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If the seller is 92 years of age, maybe he thought the packaging was satisfactory, no excuse but reality.
I am not sure if this would be a "not as described return open case". If you were the seller would you ask eBay to step in for a fair resolution. Who bears the most fault, the packaging or the carrier. The worst situation the carrier was FedEx with their limited liability clause. If the seller would offer a 50 percent refund upon receipt of the card is that a fair resolution?

A unfortunate scenario for both the seller and buyer.

Probably best way to ship higher prices items is USPS Registered , at least can insure items up to $50,000. If you don't have a private insurance carrier for your cards at least a $25.000 policy look into it!

Sadness
 

That great Cobb and then the Sport Kings basketball both made me sad and kind of angry. Both cards are still highly collectible but their monetary values of course and eye appeal are drastically reduced. It is possible that on removal from those destroyed slabs the cards may not look “too” bad when flattened back out .. but a sadness nonetheless. I sold a near mint 1959 Bazooka Mantle in an auction back in 1985 or so… shipped insured in very thick cardboard and the PO crunched one corner despite the bold red PHOTOS DO NOT BEND all over the mailer. The buyer sent the whole shebang back to me and I of course refunded his money ($250 as I recall). I put the card in a screw down to minimize the corner creasing and its still in there today…. Guess it’s time to get it out now LOL but I’m glad I still have it anyhow!

I wrap slabs in a long sheet of bubble wrap two and three times over. The only time a guy claimed it was damaged was when I suspected he cracked it out of the slab on purpose in order to sell it raw and wanted a refund.

I would use USPS registered insured for anything this valuable, box in box, extra peanuts or bubble wrap.

Some supply company (such as the one that produces Pelican cases) should make a high-end graded card mailer.

Hi

I agree with all the above. Sorry for your loss and the loss of history.
It is a good reminder to all to take extra care with the packaging.
Just not sure how it happened to know if it is was truly preventable

Private insurance
 

It is so sad to see 2 beautiful cards destroyed like that. It is just terrible.
I'm not familiar with the private insurance for a mailed item. Could you elaborate ? Thanks.

Most likely, eBay will fully compensate the buyer via refund (for item received damaged). Conversely, the seller will have to duke it out with FedEx.

I suppose collectable's type insurance policies may vary the policy I have covers my sport cards for loss. I sold a card on eBay USPS Priority insured which was either lost or stolen, in any event the buyer claimed the card was missing. USPS denied my claim.

I filed a claim with all the appropriate paperwork and within 12 days I was reimbursed.--I now only ship higher dollar items USPS registered mail.

These kind of things can haunt a collector for ages. If you can, don't let it.

The title of this thread should have a graphic content warning. Kills me every time I see what was done to that beautiful Cobb!

Thanks for the info

I appreciate the commiseration. I’m super sad about it as I’ve hunted for a few months now to find my first Cobb.

The seller has accepted my return and I will get a full refund. I sent him all of the photos I had as well as all of his original packing materials. I removed the Cobb from the cracked slab (after asking him if he wanted me to do so) and put it in a card saver 1 sandwiched between thick pieces of cardboard. It should get back to him safely. I hope he gets some compensation from FedEx but please everyone take this as a lesson in packaging and risk.


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duplicate

Adam has the right idea. The owner is obligated to package an item as if it will be dropped, crushed, etc. Writing things like "Fragile" or "Do Not Bend" is useless. When a package is mailed it is containerized with other packages of all sizes and weights. The container is then dumped/unloaded/turned upside down mechanically for processing. It is not handled gently by human hands like it used to be in days past. I'm actually surprised more packages aren't damaged severely.

When dealing with courier companies, do not use as small a box as OP has described. Per someone who owns a local UPS Store, smaller packages are far more likely to get lost, or "lost", or incur damage. Of note is that the price to ship it using lots of bubble wrap and a larger box will be pretty much the same, as weight is a stronger consideration than package size (within reason).

The only time I ever had a problem was a PSA card cracked in the mailer. The buyer sent it back and the original package had tire tracks(!) on it.

Funny thing was, the former PSA 7 now raw card with a single crease sold for more raw than it had in the holder.

The Priority Mail flat rate boxes are a beautiful thing. The medium square one (12 x 12 x 6) is perfect for a well swaddled card. That won't get wrecked unless it is run over.

I am very saddened to see this. Oy…painful stuff.

The handful of items I sold that were both fragile and expensive went out in handmade crates I built to fit inside a flat rate box.
Strong enough I could stand on them.

When worked in industrial stuff I regularly shipped boxes about the size of a large flat rate that were in the 50lb range. I usually try to pack as if one or more of my old packages will be on top of the one I'm sending out.

I'm more lax on my usual stuff which is mostly well under $50

Just saw this one on ebay:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7gEAA...Jp/s-l1600.jpg


The listing says it was damaged by USPS.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40307034717...EAAOSwvwphFxJp


Steve

Personally, I've had two instances where cards I bought on ebay have arrived damaged. One was a PSA 4 T206 Southern Leaguer with damage very similar to the Cobb in the OP, except that the slab was broken in half horizontally, putting a crease across the middle of the card. I contacted the seller, and he refunded my money to me, and I returned the card to him.

The other was a 1933 Sport Kings Red Grange PSA 2. With it, we were extremely lucky, as even though the slab was broken apart diagonally in the lower-right, across the card itself, the card somehow suffered no further damage. I submitted it to PSA for regrading, and it got the same grade, and I still have it.

Steve

Good thing I didn't see this thread after eating a meal!

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

When is Otter Box Authentication going to be a thing?

Wow. Awful to see. My last USPS baseball shipment came completely destroyed and with no contents. Not sure which is worse.

The Mays is already at an ironic $660 with 8 days to go. How much are two halves of a RC worth?