postcard.co.uk

I am getting very fed up with ebay sellers who cannot be bothered to package their postcards properly. Many seem to think that a single piece of corrugated cardboard cut from a box is adequate protection. It is not. Corrugated cardboard will crease very easily in one direction. This is just penny pinching and laziness. Many professional dealers still do this. I am more than happy to pay the few pennies extra it costs to buy adequate packaging materials.

Fortunately there are some who use good packaging, eg card backed photo envelopes, or lightweight plastic inserts.

I received a postcard this morning in a jiffy bag with no protection at all. The card was completely bent in half!

Don't get me started on those who think it is a good idea to use so much sellotape on the envelope that it is impossible to open without damaging the contents...

santadog99 wrote:I am getting very fed up with ebay sellers who cannot be bothered to package their postcards properly. Many seem to think that a single piece of corrugated cardboard cut from a box is adequate protection. It is not. Corrugated cardboard will crease very easily in one direction. This is just penny pinching and laziness. Many professional dealers still do this. I am more than happy to pay the few pennies extra it costs to buy adequate packaging materials.

Fortunately there are some who use good packaging, eg card backed photo envelopes, or lightweight plastic inserts.

I received a postcard this morning in a jiffy bag with no protection at all. The card was completely bent in half!

Don't get me started on those who think it is a good idea to use so much sellotape on the envelope that it is impossible to open without damaging the contents...

The trouble is there is very little you can do about this, as there are hundreds of individuals involved, each acting independently.

I have had a few customers in the past spelling out how they would like their cards to be packaged. Though I don't mind this, I can imagine many postcard dealers taking exception to being told how to do things, such is the nature of the beast.

I have been surprised that some of the cards I have purchased have arrived in good order (why do sellers think that a jiffy bag offers any meaningful protection for a postcard?) but, as I live in a rural area, I suspect more care is taken in the final delivery stages than it might be in some urban areas with a higher staff turnover etc and perhaps a more carefree attitude to mail handling.

I agree with the comments about jiffy bags and over-sellotaped envelopes; to open some of the latter one needs to use a scalpel very carefully!

Another issue is the use of a stiffener thick enough to protect but thin enough not to be make the envelope into a packet, so needing more postage.

I also collect old engravings and prints, and so many times the delicate print comes enclosed in a substantial boarded envelope, ony to be additionally wrapped in a freezer bag with huge amounts of sellotape, making it very difficult to extract the item without creasing it in any way. Easy to package up, thinking it is secure, without thinking of how the recipient might unpack it.

Hi - I am an occasional seller on eBay and I have just invested in 500 'Defenda' hard backed envelopes. They fit a few old standard and modern cards, are small enough to be eligible for the minimum postage and there is no messing around with celllotape, bits of board etc. In fact the size I have is tailor made for postcards. The amount I bought works out at about 11p per envelope but it's worth the lack of hassle and you can be sure of the protection. You can pay by PayPal on their site.

Tony

santadog99 wrote:I am getting very fed up with ebay sellers who cannot be bothered to package their postcards properly. Many seem to think that a single piece of corrugated cardboard cut from a box is adequate protection. It is not. Corrugated cardboard will crease very easily in one direction. This is just penny pinching and laziness. Many professional dealers still do this. I am more than happy to pay the few pennies extra it costs to buy adequate packaging materials.

Fortunately there are some who use good packaging, eg card backed photo envelopes, or lightweight plastic inserts.

I received a postcard this morning in a jiffy bag with no protection at all. The card was completely bent in half!

Don't get me started on those who think it is a good idea to use so much sellotape on the envelope that it is impossible to open without damaging the contents...

Why not persuade ebay (it would be in their interest too) to post some guidlines for sellers - gathered from buyers like yourselves.......