I've been buying online for years now from all of the big LEGO dealers (you know the companies I'm talking about) and never seemed to have problems with damaged boxes. Seems as of late no matter where I order from the Lego boxes are poorly packed and then crushed by the shipper. Doesn't seem like there is any care in packaging anymore. They throw them into a shipping box that is too big and don't use proper packing materials and then the shipping company tosses them around and by the time they arrive the Lego boxes are crushed. Anyone else having similar problems?

I have been experiencing that too but mostly from buying from individuals not stores.

Yes me as well. I don't have a LEGO store near me. So I buy most of my larger and exclusive sets from LEGO shop @ home (online). It seems quite a few of them arrive in a damaged shipping box, which results in the LEGO set being damaged. It's very frustrating! I've made it known to LEGO and have returned some sets. But the problem persists. It seems they can't do anything about it. I just cross my fingers and hope it doesn't arrive damaged.

I've had issues from almost every major seller of LEGO sets in reference to shipping...or in exact terms..."packaging." The packaging by these large retailers is awful, even LEGO. They expect people to accept damaged boxes and seem to be willing to eat returns from careless packaging. I guess it costs less to package poorly and have some damaged boxes that are returned than to package properly and have fewer returns.

I have been experiencing the same issues. What really irritates me is when they just wrap the LEGO box in paper and ship it. I have had a number of these recently, and every one has damage.

I have been experiencing the same issues. What really irritates me is when they just wrap the LEGO box in paper and ship it. I have had a number of these recently, and every one has damage.

I agree. What is surprising is that they are experienced sellers packaging in this manner.

It's sad to see. I made three purchases of high value sets in the last two weeks from three different retailers and all were poorly packaged and severely damaged. Ed, you're right. It must be cheaper for them to deal with all the returns.

I agree that it is cheaper for them. What saddens me is when the sets are no longer being produced, and it makes it hard for me to replace them. I don't want my money back, I want an undamaged set. Picky I know, but that is just me. :-)

i have a felling that very soon i will give up on ebay, sellers send the sets wrapped in paper after i kindly asked and all over again reminded them to place it in a different box. And after receiving a crappy box - they dont want to return my money back - and i have to call Paypal and it takes 10 days to get my money back - so sick of this process. I had better experience with bricklink

i have a felling that very soon i will give up on ebay, sellers send the sets wrapped in paper after i kindly asked and all over again reminded them to place it in a different box. And after receiving a crappy box - they dont want to return my money back - and i have to call Paypal and it takes 10 days to get my money back - so sick of this process. I had better experience with bricklink

Bricklink has no money back policy of consequence, while Ebay gives you 100% money back. If you have to get your money back from a seller on Bricklink, good luck. Paypal doesn't care because it is not Ebay. Bricklink is higher priced and I have had bad experiences there also. Also, they have no Ebay bucks. Packaging issues are industry wide. Buy from reputable sellers and your issues will be few.

I must be in the minority then regarding Lego.Shop So far all my boxes from them have arrived undamaged. (now watch, I cursed myself as I wait for the Haunted House to arrive....)

I just received my nine large sets (#9450 & #9516) from Meijer.com that I ordered this weekend during the 20% sale and Oh my word! Ever single set looked like it been used for a seat cushion before they sent them to me. They were just horrible!! Buying sets right off the shelves is the only way I have been able to pick up mint boxes, and even then, I have to look through 3-4 boxes to find a mint one. Trying to find a mint box is like searching for gold. I hope all this running around and buying perfect boxes will turn into some nice profit in the future. I also just received my haunted house from LEGO Shop at Home and it came in pretty good shape. There was only a few small white markings on the front of box. The box is pretty large and kind of fragile in my opinion.

Just my opinion that if you want your box in pristine condition that getting it anywhere online is not the way to go. Bottom line.....nobody cares in what condition it gets to you in. If they did they would take the time to correctly package it. Had to to send jabbas palace back to Amazon five (5) times and finally I just said Eff it........I just have to deal with a less than pristine box! Its a losing battle man. There just aren't enough people like us that want our boxes in near mint condition.

I am still a big fan of eBay and for sellers that care about their online business. Ed and I have ordered quite a bit over the years, and over the years ( i actually just got an email congratulating me on my 12th anniversary on eBay) that our shipping was bad. And on most of those transaction with shipping issues, the seller either refunded partial or full amount and sometimes even sent a bonus item for our troubles. I have also been with Ed when he opened a box from LEGO and the box had the life beat out of it. Sometimes it could be UPS, USPS, FedEx,etc that through the boxes around. So you never know who to blame. What Sangel just went through where all the boxes are beat up, that is just bad on all accounts. I just feel bad there. Hopefully the company is honorable and does something to fix the issue.

For the most part, I've only had a couple of problems with shipping & damaged boxes. Unfortunately, those couple of problems ranged from 'bad' to just plain "what the F***?!". I remember one time ordering from an official store, requested UPS, got charged, the package took about a month (or two) and came through standard USPS shipping! And to add insult to injury, there was no packing at all!!! No packing beads, bubble wrap, ANYTHING!! The items were just tossed into a flimsy box and covered in lousy scotch tape!!! Oh well, atleast I haven't had to revisit that nightmare again.... Lately, I've been doing the Walmart site-to-store option for certain sets that I can't get at the store when I go there normally and that's worked out okay so far. A few of the items did have some scratches and bruises on them though. (I'm sure they were ones that sat on the shelves of other Walmart's for a while.) Overall, the only real way to make sure you get a new set in a mint-condition box is to physically buy one from the store. Cause I've seen brand new ones just put on the shelf with blade cuts across the front, damages in corners, scuff marks like it was dragged, so on & so on... Also, I've noticed the condition of the boxes (when ordering online) get worse further into a sets run. As far as BrickLink goes, I've only had a spot of trouble with one seller and it was the mail's fault, not the seller's. Everything I ordered came through and was in the condition each said they were. ALWAYS look at a seller's feedback. Even if they have only three negative comments compared to 1,000 positive ones, read those negative ones and see what their complaint was. And check the profile of those buyers as well. It may sound rude, but there are some people that just like to be pricks and find fault with anything, even with an actual picture of the item and very detailed description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_tXl51-QBk&feature=related

I just sent this to Kmart Customer Service.  It may not do any good, but it would bother me if I didn't say anything.  Maybe they will hear from some other folks.

 

"I recently completed 2 online purchases for large LEGO items.  I have experienced recent shipping issues where your shipping department will ship large LEGO "collectible" sets in sealed plastic shipping bags.  They are no longer being shipped consistently in appropriate sized boxes with packing.  When items packaged in cardboard boxes are shipped in sealed shipping bags, they tend to arrive crushed and severely damaged.  I have read many complaints on the Internet forums, especially the forums where LEGO buyers discuss current retail purchasing habits and issues.  Please take note of this change in shipping practice from your MyGofer or KMart distribution centers.  This is really an unacceptable change in the eyes of your buyers and many have said they will never buy from you again because of this change in policy.  Thank you for your time."

Holy s**tsnacks and asscrackers, this is an old thread! Now where is that Necroposter award....