Shipping - good and bad

[RichMcGillicuddy]

Scott,

I've got 100's of things in simple bubble mailers. Maybe 1 had been bent but always successful. Kind of like anything else, it works until it doesn't. I'd agree with the other post on using the flat rate boxes. They would seem to have a better protection.

There needs to be a clear $ cutoff (any card over $15?) where using more protection probably makes sense.

[buymycards]

Scott, she must have been a new employee if she only gets a 3 hour break!

Rick

[Joe Hunter]

Placing a slabbed card between two stiff pieces of cardboard will normally provide adequate protection for the card when shipping in a bubbble mailer. Several years ago, I had a slab crack in a bubble envelope without the cardboard protection, so I have used the cardboard ever since,with no problems.

[iggyman]

Here is my shipping good and bad rant...

EXHIBIT A: I won three prewar lots from yesterdays Hunts auction. The hammer price on all three lots was ~$1,100 and "325" prewar cards were purchased.

The shipping charge was $18 (which I thought was reasonable, considering the package will have 325 cards and be insured for ~$1,000).


EXHIBIT B: Won one prewar lot from an auction house that shall remain nameless (due to the fact that I like them and I never did complain about the shipping charge). Hammer price was ~$650 and "10" prewar cards were purchased.

The shipping charge was $15 (which I though was a little on the high side, considering it's only ten cards and the insurance is ~$650).


Neither shipping charge was completely outrageous, but in the future I would be more incline to bid on Exhibit A's auction then Exhibit B's. Just my two cents!

Sterling and Brockelman & Luckey are two more auction companies that come to mind with very reasonable shipping charges.

Lovely Day...

[Runscott]

Rich/Iggy - you hit the nail on the head about not outing anyone here who you would like to do business with in the future. It just isn't good business sense to do so.

The auction house I described previously with high charges, sent me an email apologizing for the mistake, and is sending me a refund check - I never mentioned their name or contacted them about it, so it shows that these guys keep an eye on the board. Also, the person who contacted me showed me that it was an honest mistake, and he was right. They just caught me at a bad time - three very high s&h invoices in one week, and they were number three

The other thing is, you get a feel for what these guys charge and you factor that into your bids. For instance - winning one small inexpensive photo is a deal-killer, even if it's bargain-basement priced. I need to make sure I win three next time