What is the best way to ship a pennant?

[ibuysportsephemera]

One other thing...if you use the adhesive strips to seal the ends, make sure that the tip or end of the pennant does not get stuck to this. I ship everything in plastic anyway, but once a newspaper slipped out of the plastic and got stuck and I had to refund the customers money.

Jeff

[lefty147]

I use the priority 38" tube boxes (you can order free from PO). Two of them opposite and put together works great. They are thick and do not bend. Weight with 1 pennant is usually 1lb 3 or 4oz. Mike

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by ibuysportsephemera

One other thing...if you use the adhesive strips to seal the ends, make sure that the tip or end of the pennant does not get stuck to this. I ship everything in plastic anyway, but once a newspaper slipped out of the plastic and got stuck and I had to refund the customers money.

Jeff

This was a very important comment. Ive received many with tips damaged, due to either the following...

Tip was touching adhesive strip, and it took a portion of felt with it.

Tip was too close to the edge of the box, and got caught in the sealing tape.

By simply placing the pennant in a plastic sleeve, this can be avoided. The plastic also protects pennant from potentially getting wet (a recurring issue here in Seattle). I wish there was a way to make the plastic sleeves mandatory for ebay sellers. The major auction houses almost always use them.

[Hankphenom]

I've bought many pennants over the years, and always request this shipping method: place the pennant (in a plastic sleeve if possible) around the inside perimeter of a box the size of the deeper priority box. In other words, in a loose roll around the inside of the box. Then fill the middle of the box with enough paper (not newspaper if there's no plastic sleeve) that will keep the pennant firmly in place around the outside interior of the box. Similarly with posters and broadsides, I'd rather have them rolled up inside a tube than attempted to ship flat. No matter how strong the cardboard, a flat item of any size will have at least one amazing crease that it seems would have taken a man holding half of the package in place with his foot and bending up with the other half until the cardboard had been bent 90 degrees, with a similar crease now embedded in the piece. And writing "do not bend" anywhere on a package seems to pretty much guarantee this result. The loose roll in a large box method, on the other hand, eliminates the possibility of creasing a pennant and keeps the heavy paint on older ones from cracking. And it's certainly true that the incredibly strong glue USPS uses to seal their priority boxes can be a serious hazard to the contents.

[tony]

I guess thats why the post office is bankrupt. Everybody is using their priority mail boxes

[nameless]

Thanks Hank! Awesome idea!