General shipping questions, tips and answers

[Brick625]

7 minutes ago, barakamon said:

So I got a buyer for a Sea Cow, and looked through his feedback. He only has a total of 6, being a member only from the 29th last month of March. What I find weird about it is that, of that 6, 3 were from the same seller, who doesn't have anything for sale at the moment even though it's a 2k+ top seller. 

The next seller has a whopping rating of 184k+, but multiple negative feedback as of the last month, with nothing on sale at its store currently. 

Another big fish seller with 49k+, again with a lot of negative feedback the last month, also with nothing for sale at the moment. 

There's only one seller without any negative feedback that gave this buyer a positive one. Should I be worried about this sale? I haven't accepted the offer yet. 

Insurance+signature confirmation+pictures of the item packed before taping the shipping box and you shouldn't have problems. Had many buyers like this and no problems so far. 

[aw004g]

Hi. Just sold a sealed Malevolence and got this message:

Hi I just purchased this item. Please ship quick with no invoice, receipt or any paper work.

Shipping Instructions:

We would prefer if you would please ship UPS or FedEx. If possible require a signature.

Please upload the tracking info to eBay or email it, We need it for our records.

Thank you

this is our address as within eBay order

They have loads of recent feedback but their one item they're selling is listed as shipping from Miami and the eBay address I'm shipping to is in Oklahoma.

Any red flags?

[exciter1]

46 minutes ago, aw004g said:

Hi. Just sold a sealed Malevolence and got this message:

Hi I just purchased this item. Please ship quick with no invoice, receipt or any paper work.

Shipping Instructions:

We would prefer if you would please ship UPS or FedEx. If possible require a signature.

Please upload the tracking info to eBay or email it, We need it for our records.

Thank you

this is our address as within eBay order

They have loads of recent feedback but their one item they're selling is listed as shipping from Miami and the eBay address I'm shipping to is in Oklahoma.

Any red flags?

They are using you as a drop shipment.  I haven't had any issues with these transactions in the past.

[donbee]

I've seen that term many times here. What's a drop shipper ? Should I be weary?

[jbacunn]

9 minutes ago, donbee said:

I've seen that term many times here. What's a drop shipper ? Should I be weary?

In this case, the buyer sold the same item to a customer and didn't have anymore so they are buying one from aw004g and having him/her ship it directly to their customer. It's considered somewhat shady and risky but **** happens so sometimes you have to do it to avoid cancelling an order. I've done it before for this reason. 

[Phil B]

4 minutes ago, jbacunn said:

In this case, the buyer sold the same item to a customer and didn't have anymore so they are buying one from aw004g and having him/her ship it directly to their customer. It's considered somewhat shady and risky but **** happens so sometimes you have to do it to avoid cancelling an order. I've done it before for this reason. 

That is one scenario, and likely what is happening here. There is another whole set of sellers doing nothing more than dropshipping as a way to make money - check out all the "Niko" threads on this forum. They basically (mis)use Amazon Prime and credit card incentives to earn minimal dollars per sale on very high volume of transactions.

[SpaceFan9]

31 minutes ago, Phil B said:

That is one scenario, and likely what is happening here. There is another whole set of sellers doing nothing more than dropshipping as a way to make money - check out all the "Niko" threads on this forum. They basically (mis)use Amazon Prime and credit card incentives to earn minimal dollars per sale on very high volume of transactions.

Or, the buyer is drop shipping because they don't want to keep any physical stock on hand.  The request for 'quick ship' and need of a tracking number implies to me that the sale was on Amazon.  That may not be the case here, though, as the price difference is only around $30.  I see it more often on bricklink with sealed sets than anywhere else.

[Alpinemaps]

The no paperwork is also a clue. The seller doesn't want to key the buyer into the origin of the product. Good way to lose a customer if they see the product came from somewhere else (perhaps cheaper)

[cissi]

Well, it could also just be gift for someone. I order gift online to be shipped to my friends a lot.

[thegooch49]

I need a bit of advice....I sold two relatively large lego sets to the same seller, that are already in shipping boxes. Ok, they are Technic Porsche's (yeah, I'm QFLL trash). Anyway, I sold two to the same buyer, that is via GSP. So, I'm shipping to Kentucky. I don't want to ship these in one big box, because it will require a HUGE box that I would have to buy. Can I ship these to GSP individually, to the same address, in their own shipments? Is that OK with GSP, or will it be confusing when they get two different boxes? 

Since these are in the original brown lego crates, I had one though of just using a LOT of packing tape, and wrapping them up completely with tape to make a single package. Anyone got advice on this? 

[plastic passion]

alpinemaps.....   you might be ok.....   i know our post office accepts delivery's for fed ex         - if you are close, i would swing by (or call( tomorrow and ask...  they could be holding it for you also....    best of luck...  pp

[thegooch49]

35 minutes ago, thegooch49 said:

I need a bit of advice....I sold two relatively large lego sets to the same seller, that are already in shipping boxes. Ok, they are Technic Porsche's (yeah, I'm QFLL trash). Anyway, I sold two to the same buyer, that is via GSP. So, I'm shipping to Kentucky. I don't want to ship these in one big box, because it will require a HUGE box that I would have to buy. Can I ship these to GSP individually, to the same address, in their own shipments? Is that OK with GSP, or will it be confusing when they get two different boxes? 

Since these are in the original brown lego crates, I had one though of just using a LOT of packing tape, and wrapping them up completely with tape to make a single package. Anyone got advice on this? 

I'll answer my own question here, I called eBay. These can indeed be shipped separately, and he said that with GSP, you actually need to ship separately. Lesson learned. 

[Alpinemaps]

alpinemaps.....   you might be ok.....   i know our post office accepts delivery's for fed ex         - if you are close, i would swing by (or call( tomorrow and ask...  they could be holding it for you also....    best of luck...  pp

Thanks for reminding me that I should have posted an update.

Package made it no problem.

[landphieran]

Interesting situation happened today that i didn't know about. 

A buyer contacted me looking to have a package (13 pound Porsche) shipped today (Friday) and delivered tomorrow (Saturday). I assumed Fedex Priority Overnight would ship by Saturday. Apparently, Fedex charges extra to ship on Saturdays for Priority Express which isn't even selectable on eBay, however ground shipping by default ships on Saturday. Obviously Fedex ground takes a while so that wasn't an option.

I called Ebay support to see if they could enable Saturday shipping on my fedex package and they had no idea what i was talking about/didn't have power to change do that. Great...

I created shipping orders on both Fedex and USPS online accounts to see if they would deliver on Saturday. Both did, (only one option is viable through eBay).

Ended up paying 75$ through ebay for Priority Express (which by the way, states 1-2 days but gives no indication to which it is).  Got the delivery confirmed at my local USPS store. Would have paid 145 through my Fedex account.

TLDR - Calculated Shipping costs/delivery times for overnight packages on Fridays are not great.

Edited June 17, 2016 by landphieran
clarification

[TigerEyez]

I wanted to see if anybody had an interesting shipping and/or packaging hacks. For instance, I received a BL order for a used Earth Defense Dragon and I asked the buyer if he preferred a bigger box with a higher shipping cost where the instructions could lay flat and not get creased or a smaller box with the instructions folded. He chose flat instructions.  The best box I had for shipping was a USPS medium flat rate box and I was worried about the bag with set sliding around on top of the instructions, so I constructed protection using a small flat rate box and some tape. I figure this should protect the instructions.

What shipping/packaging hacks do you use?

 

[AirborneAFOL]

Been using (free) small flat envelopes as instruction/sticker sleeves for years. You can grab them handfuls at a time at any post office. The flat rate envelopes fit most mid-sized instruction books really well.

[dcdfan]

LOL. It's as if people just like to have their own threads...

[TigerEyez]

5 hours ago, dcdfan said:

LOL. It's as if people just like to have their own threads...

It's as if someone looked through three pages of the shipping topics and didn't find anything that seemed like a pertinent post in which to discuss this topic. And it's as if moderators existed for just this very reason. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by TigerEyez

[Sprocket77]

What do you guys do if you have an awkward sized set and can't find a box for it, other than using something ridiculously large? I was half thinking of going crazy bubble wrapping the set then put two boxes together outside of it and lots of packing tape. Won't be pretty, but should be effective.

 

[brickelements]

When face with this dilemma I typically custom build a box.  I have had to do when selling a group of sets like the latest castle series.  I do this when selling a single 10664 Creative Tower.

Find a box with the right height and one of the dimensions and custom build the rest.  In the U.S. we are charged shipping on dimensions and weight.  So smaller is better as long as the set has a little room to breathe.

 

just my 2 cents.

[ISO8T0]

27 minutes ago, Sprocket77 said:

What do you guys do if you have an awkward sized set and can't find a box for it, other than using something ridiculously large? I was half thinking of going crazy bubble wrapping the set then put two boxes together outside of it and lots of packing tape. Won't be pretty, but should be effective.

 

Try to be a little more descriptive next time with A: The set you are packing up and B: the size boxes you have access to.

There are a few techniques you can do in terms of "cutting down" boxes to get close to your set's size.

[Sprocket77]

15 minutes ago, pstebbing said:

Try to be a little more descriptive next time with A: The set you are packing up and B: the size boxes you have access to.

There are a few techniques you can do in terms of "cutting down" boxes to get close to your set's size.

It's 60008 Museum Break In. It's not a massive set, and is quite light, it's just a good bit longer than the set needs to be, dimensions are 54cm x 28cm x 6cm. Nearest box I have upwards of the set is 70cm x 50cm x 16cm. Standard box I use for a lot of sets is 51cm longer.

[ISO8T0]

13 minutes ago, Sprocket77 said:

It's 60008 Museum Break In. It's not a massive set, and is quite light, it's just a good bit longer than the set needs to be, dimensions are 54cm x 28cm x 6cm. Nearest box I have upwards of the set is 70cm x 50cm x 16cm. Standard box I use for a lot of sets is 51cm longer.

Your 70x50x16 (cm) box isn't too big in terms of air space around the edges if you utilize air pillows. I would be more concerned about the height of the box.

I would cut your box in half length wise. This would make your box height 8cm. After cutting the box length wise tape up the top and bottoms. Package your set in the bottom and add cushioning around the perimeter and perhaps some bubble wrap on top of the set. Then slip the top over the bottom. Bc the box top and bottom are the same size you'll need to pinch one of the corners on the bottom box to allow the top to slide over.

Hope this helps

pm me with questions.

[gregpj]

The key to cutting a box in half and ensuring it doesn't lose it's strength is to cross-cut against the flutes if you can. Generally this means that the "height" of the box is reduced (as @pstebbing suggested) rather than the width or the length. However, you won't lose too much strength the if you're cutting the box in half the other way (length or width). If you are doing that for an extremely large or heavy set and you're worried, then just put an extra piece of cardboard along the cut sides for some extra strength and don't be stingy on the tape.

 

[donbee]

I just received an order on BL from a first time buyer in Kuwait.

I looked at the shipping, and USPS only offers first class, which means that once it leaves US, I'll have no way of tracking it.

Assuming they pay with PayPal, how much risk am I taking on? I've never used Fedex or UPS, do you think those are options?