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Favorite/Least favorite packaging methods - share your horror stories

Mar 26, 2012

    1. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      Foam cutout with bubble wrap around hands, feet, elbows, and knees. I like that it keeps the dolls secure and allows minimal movement.

      Which do you trust least?

      Bubble mummy in between two pillows.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      I keep the boxes my dolls come in, so the same packaging the company sent to me is what I send to them! I'm another overkill shipper. After the doll is in it's box I wrap the box in bubble wrap. I put that in a plastic bag. I put a grocery bag at the bottom of the flat rate box, add a layer of peanuts/crumpled up magazine pages, and set the doll box on that. Then I fill the rest of the space with peanuts, bubble wrap, plastic bags, crumpled magazine pages, whatever I can find that will stop the box from moving and rattling. Another grocery sack over it all and then I close the flat rate mailer. I'm fairly paranoid about them being knocked about and the possibility of the box encountering water, so I try to make sure NOTHING gets through to the doll box let alone the doll.

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box? Like 'Why would you ever do that?!'
      Thankfully no! My favorite second hand doll purchase was shipped to me unstrung. He was soooooooo well bubble wrapped! I've got a whole roll of it at least I'm sure, haha! :D

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging? I'm not just talking banged up outer boxes or inner boxes, but serious damage to the part you paid money for.
      Again, no. Here's hoping that lucky streak continues!
       
    2. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      Any of the aforementioned creative methods that do not compromise the safety of my dolls!

      Which do you trust least?
      Any with the least amount of padding!

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      I keep the dolls' original boxes and ship them in them. (For example!) If it's a Soom Doll, I put it back in its zipper pillow and pad out the box with grocery bags because there's usually extra space if I do not have the fantasy parts with it. I like to pad out the Soom box in the shipper box with grocery bags, bubble wrap, other nice shipping padding. I'll do a test shake, and if there's movement inside, we add more padding!

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box? Like 'Why would you ever do that?!'
      I'm sure there has been, but I really cannot recall them, so they haven't been that bad.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging? I'm not just talking banged up outer boxes or inner boxes, but serious damage to the part you paid money for.
      I've been lucky and have had no damaged goods come to me.
       
    3. Wow; I never knew people sometimes did this, or any of your other points. You'd be amazed at how many different kinds of boxes the post office sells. And boxes aren't too expensive, either.
       
    4. The two times I've gotten the "I couldn't find a box!" it's been people off-site mailing resin doll parts to me in bubble mailers ;-_-. I'll admit my other hobby has me receiving and sending items through the mail an I was quite surprised at the things people considered acceptable vessels for mailing.

      Until recently I was unaware the post office would allow you to mail something in a washed out Cool Whip container with the lid taped on, but apparently you can O.o
       
    5. Thank you, now I know what to ship everything in from now on.... lol.


      Which method of packing do you trust most?
      I've never encountered any company packaging that was unsatisfactory, so anything to that standard is fine with me.

      Which do you trust least?
      I think there's a lot of scary secondhand shipping stories, but I think anything that rattles =/= safe.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      If I have the original packaging, that. Otherwise, I'm on the more padding= better wagon. I tend to use bubble wrap and foam- like the thin, smooth foam you get around electronics. Also, I save the little packaging airbags that sometimes turn up in packages I get... basically, I hoard packing materials and think, this would be great to ship a doll in, yeah! I re-purpose them generously.

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box? Like 'Why would you ever do that?!'
      I got a bubble mailer with Sphaler horns from Spain, somehow undamaged. The one that made me freak out, though, was an SD body, shipped strung from Europe. It was jammed in a flimsy box ( I think it was for copy paper?) and has a few balled up sheets of newspaper in there with it, for traveling company, I suppose, because it certainly wasn't wrapped around the doll. When I got the box, it was dented, torn, and the S-hook and neck were STICKING OUT OF THE BOX. Just like, "hey, guys, I'm home!" :o I ended up getting my shipping refunded by the seller, and since miraculously there was no real damage, just dirt, I left it at that.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging?
      I had a Dollzone body lose a finger. It was shipped in the doll box (flimsy) with only pillows and a single layer of bubble wrap. I glued it, but I just hate that.:evil:

      ADVICE: Marking a package as 'Fragile' never hurts... anything I've ever gotten that was beat up never had any advisory on it. In the US, the clerk at the PO even asks you, "Is it liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous?" So, you can't just say you forgot. They'll stamp it for you and everything.
       
    6. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      I've gotten both the foam coffin and the bubble wrapped mummy, and had no issues with either one. The only thing I don't like about the foam version is, because I store my dolls in their boxes, I can't store my EID in her foam with certain outfits on. But the foam is great for shipping.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      I would use the same method the doll was shipped to me in, unless they want the doll sent unstrung, in which case I would wrap each part in bubble wrap/face mask and ship it in a box with a lot of padding.

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?
      When I was first getting into BJDs I ordered some Souldoll eyes in a GO. The host of the order sent them in a plain yellow envelope, and since the boxes were cardboard, they got a bit banged up and compressed. The eyes were sandwiched in between layers of foam though, and arrived fine. Still, they were my first pairs of eyes, and I was a little disappointed about having less than perfect boxes.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging?
      No, I've been pretty lucky and most items have been well packaged. The few that haven't somehow managed to survive the trip.
       
    7. I've had dolls arrive in both pillows and the foam cut outs. The cut outs are great for shipping but not so much for casual storage unless you want to undress and de-wig your doll whenever you put them away. I've since replaced the foam in 3 doll boxes with custom pillows I made. Two of the pillows can also double as doll comforters.

      I have, for the most part, been very luck in purchasing dolls or parts second hand. 99% of them have been packaged very well. One of the tinies I bought second-hand... the packing box was pretty thin and something punctured the box. The doll was fine as he was in his original box, but the extra pair of hands he was supposed to come with were gone. I never intended to use them, but I was still disappointed they were gone.

      When I pack dolls to be sent out for face-ups/blushing, I go a little overboard. I wad up toilet paper/kleenex and put that into their hands before bubble wrapping their hands. Heads are bubble wrapped and then the whole doll is bubble wrapped. Then they're tied securely into their pillows, put in their original box and then put into a shipping box. Sometimes, if I feel that there still isn't enough padding, I'll wrap the pillow mummy in a travel blanket I've knitted for the doll.

      If I'm sending just the head, I buy a small box from the post office, bubble wrap the head, put a face protector on it and then scrunch up newspaper to tightly fill the bottom/sides of the box and put the head in the center before adding more scrunched up newspaper to the top. Before sealing the box, I shake the closed box really hard to make sure there's no movement. If I hear even the slightest rattle of something, I add more newspaper.
       
    8. I sometimes think that when some PO workers see "fragile" they try and see how far they can kick it :\
      The beginning of Ace Ventura comes to mind...
      I once got a doll from Dollmore (who does put giant fragile stickers on the box) that was so torn up I reached in a hole and pulled the doll box (SD sized) out of it without needing to open the shipping box. I have no idea what happened to that poor doll on the way over here, but I'm still surprised I recieved everything I was supposed to, and that it was in no way damaged (they used enough bubblewrap for three dolls on the doll herself, so I guess she was totally unaware that she was being tossed around like a football).

      The worst packaging I've ever seen hands down was 5star. No doll box at all, just my three dolls wrapped in bubblewrap and tossed in their shipping box. I can't believe they arrived safely. AOD was also a big fail as the girl body I ordered from them was just tossed in her box with no wrapping at all! She was all curled up in one side of the box. I am also shocked that that survived the trip. I think I've been seriously lucky, the only damaged dolls I've gotten were flaws in the dolls themselves, and had nothing to do with the packaging.

      I much prefer bubblewrap "mummies" safe inside their box between cushions, or in those foam cutouts. At least from companies. I can't honestly say I've ever bought a doll second hand that wasn't packaged well (if I did it must not have been bad enough to stand out). Usually it's each part individually wrapped in bubblewrap with extra padding to fill the box if needed. That's how I ship. I usually save all the wrappings from dolls I buy to recycle on dolls I sell XD so there could be anything in the box from walmart bags, newspapers or those air cushions! I don't usually save the peanuts...they're such a mess >.<
       
    9. I love the foam cutouts. NOTHING MOVES in there. Elfdoll, Iplehouse and others use it and it's the best, I think, especially since hands and any other red flag areas are usually mummified as well. I've had some less-festive company packing arrive here but nothing has ever been damaged.

      Second-hand stuff, though... USUALLY I purchase from people whose names I've seen for four-five years so I know they have a track record of goodness. Once, though, a doll body came to me with a pillow, tossed into a used box. Now, the thing with a pillow is that you need to actually secure it TO the doll in some fashion... "but it was a pillow with ties!" Yes, but you actually have to TIE the ties, don't ya know. And there was nothing in the box besides the pillow and the body, which arrived in the oddest position, neither of the two things in the box having anything to do with each other aside from their enclosure.

      Thank goodness it was an older body, from when the resin was made practically to construction-grade standards. She was just fine, albeit filthy. But I couldn't get over the lack of care.

      When I send stuff out I wrap it up in bubblewrap and usually one of the bazillions of pillows we've accumulated - and/or some of the tonnage of styrofoam peanuts we get when we order stuff from Junky Spot (we love Emory, the Peanut King).

      In spite of that, AND marking any box I send out FRAGILE in every available spot, I still had one little guy arrive to his new owner having had an eartip damaged and scuffed up a bit due to rough handling by the postal service. (And if that hadn't broken my heart enough the new owner threw such a hissy over having to wipe down the doll that you'd have thought I'd purposefully scribbled on him with Sharpie and mutilated him with a razor before I sent him!). Just goes to show that you can never be TOO careful, because sometimes even best efforts can fail.
       
    10. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      I like the bubble wrapped mummy, but not many doll companies do that. They'll wrap hands and feet, maybe, and put a face protector on the head, and put it between two pillows. That's just not enough to ship with! I like the foam cutouts, but as has been mentioned, you can't store the doll in the box unless you undress it. And I had a Unidoll High School girl who came in a Unidoll box for a BIG Unidoll, like Ark or Jace!! She was flopping around in there! Luckily no damage, though.

      Which do you trust least?
      Just pillows. Not enough.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      The bubble wrapped mummy, with more bubble wrap or packing peanuts or paper to immobilize the doll. Or individually bubble wrapped pieces.

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?
      Yes! I asked for a doll to be shipped unassembled, and she arrived in a much too large, very beat-up box with only a few sheets of a magazine crumpled up for packing material. The pieces were packed in ziptop bags, but since the box was only half full, everything was bouncing around in there. No damage, though.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging? I'm not just talking banged up outer boxes or inner boxes, but serious damage to the part you paid money for.
      I had one doll shipped whole, that wasn't immobilized in the box. Only parts of her were bubble wrapped. She arrived with her head off! And the face protector had come off and her faceup was scratched. Luckily the seller was also the artist, and she repaired the faceup for free.

      Linda S.
      galatia9
       
    11. I received a bubble-wrap mummy with two pillows, and he STILL managed to get a chip in his leg, so even good packing can sometimes fail for whatever reason. Luckily I had ordered him from the company and after sending a picture of the chipped leg, they sent me a new one!

      Recently I shipped a head across the country. I wrapped it in bubble-wrap, put take around the bubble-wrap, and put in it a box. Then I put that box in another box and made up the extra room with scrap fabric. It seemed to work really well, and the head wasn't going to be moving at ALL.
       
    12. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      I prefer foam cut-outs. Everything stays secure, and it is easy to remove the doll and put it back in. Bubble wrap is fine, but it is not as convenient to me.

      Which do you trust least?
      I dislike it when the doll or part is in a box that is far too large for it. Not only does it probably make the shipping higher than it needs to be, but it also risks damaging the doll if it is not well packed- and it wasn't a couple of times. I don't trust paper alone as padding, which I have seen. Paper crumbles up and moves too easily. I have a love hate relationship with newspaper. On the one hand, I enjoy trying to read local news from Korea. On the other hand, I do not think it is safe packaging, and it gets ink on the doll and my hands.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      I use bubble wrap, peanuts, and packaging paper (NOT alone, as the only thing between the doll and the box sides) either wrapping up the pieces individually or doing it mummy-style, based on what the buyer wants. I would use foam, but I not know where to conveniently get doll cut-out foam for a low price. hehe

      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?
      My third doll was an Fdoll Nina, and she came wrapped in bubble wrap and pillows. She was actually perfectly safe, but before her, I only received a DoT in a large, sturdy box and a Dollshe in his stiff Dollshe bag. it freaked me out for a second...
      I also once got a head second hand that I could hear rattling around inside the oversized box. I did not feel comfortable about that until I got the head out, unwrapped, and fully inspected.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging?

      Fortunately, no.
       
    13. I never had much trouble with packages from company as of now. Even when it was weirdly packaged it was still well done and no problems~

      As of right now I also had no trouble second hand either. Maybe once or twice in the more then 10 packages I got where the packaging could have been better and maybe once where it was horrible but still arrived safely ^^
      I do not remember exactly as I do not need to remember if the parts came safely :3

      One way I know something is well packaged when I ship it, even when I use the most unusual packaging filler, is when I shake the box. If nothing shifts, my job is done. If something moves I make sure to pack it more and try again~
      I do not think I ever had any problems with packages I sent and I do hope nothing will ever happen.
       
    14. Which method of packing do you trust most?
      *foam cutouts

      Which do you trust least?
      *Just pillows
      and I'm not especially fond of *shipping peanuts.
      For a variety of reasons,
      my emotional reaction to loose peanuts is UGH! I once bought really interesting SD size "fake-leather" chairs that arrived with just peanuts for wrapping. The peanuts were stuck on the chairs and left melt marks?? I wasn't sure if the chairs melted to the peanuts or if it is possible to go the other way around. This wasn't a doll, but made me wonder if any similar damage might be possible in the hot months with dolls and shipping peanuts. The big problem here was that they were the only packaging used. So...JUST peanuts I don't like.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?
      I came here to read and consider. I am preparing to make some choices about what I could turn loose of and rehome/sell.
      I have sold a few things, but I want to make sure I'm a top-notch packer for anyone who might choose to adopt a doll from me. I've had plenty of opportunity to notice what other people used
      to send to me, but one can't know what they might not know, you know? ...;)
      I think one good method is to properly use:
      *more than one kind of packing material together*
      ...if I don't have original company foam made specifically for a doll or dolly item.


      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?
      I recently bought a 60cm Obitsu girl that was loosely wrapped in NEWS PAPER only. She had the black ink on her face, and staining elsewhere. In her case breakage wasn't as big a concern as with resin, but that was the worst possible way to wrap this kind of doll. And it was a TOO small amount of paper to size of box so that she had been shifting around, rubbing against it. Just looked like a hasty mess. [This was not a DOA seller by the way].

      These are the only damages to a doll or other item that I've experienced as a result of flaws in the packaging. I have seen plenty of banged up outer boxes that didn't hurt the contents because of good, careful wrapping by the sellers I've worked with.

       
    15. Which method of packing do you trust most? Fairylands "foam coffin"
      Which do you trust least? Resinsouls "lets bend the dolls knees and stick it in a leather...thing"
      Which do you use, if you ship things to people? box with much padding
      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box? Not in person thankfully!
      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging? Nope!
       
    16. Which method of packing do you trust most?

      Bubblewrap mummy and pillows or foam cutout with face shield.


      Which do you trust least?


      Wrapped in nothing at all, poor quality box.

      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?

      I'm pretty paranoid about how I send dolls away. My #1 concern is that the doll arrives in perfect condition. I always use brand new bubble wrap, both large and small. I start by wrapping a soft tissue around the top of the head and under the chin and then I place a face shield over the tissue, then I carefully wrap every limb, the fingers, and secure the head with small bubble wrap, then I secure the legs to each other and the arms to the torso, wrap the whole doll in a couple layers of small bubble wrap, then I place the doll between its pillows, lay large bubble wrap in the doll box, place the doll/pillows bundle in the box, seal the box, place a layer of large bubble wrap in the shipping box, place the doll box in the shipping box, place the extras in baggies and place them on the shipping box, secure the large wrap to itself around the doll box, and thoroughly seal the shipping box and send it away.

      If I'm sending an unstrung doll, I still wrap everything individually and then wrap the individually wrapped pieces together, then place them in a box with a couple layers of large bubble wrap.


      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?


      Yes. I've received a couple nightmares.

      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging?

      In one the doll body was wrapped in one or two layers of old bubblewrap. It was crumpled at the bottom of a mangled box, a finger was broken off and the knee joint was cracked pretty bad. In another, a large doll body (70cm) was placed in pillows unsecured, the doll body was at the bottom of the box again thanks to gravity. A finger was broken, the chest was badly cracked on one side, the inside of the middle torso piece was broken and the chunks of resin were missing completely. I don't appreciate receiving items in such deplorable conditions, but it happens. Fortunately I repair dolls myself when I can.
       
    17. Which method of packing do you trust most? I'd prefer it to be bubble wrapped and put on top of a cushion with the styrofoam stuff to squish it all down and prevent movement
      Which do you trust least? where they are just wrapped altogether in bubble wrap mummy form and stuffed in a box where they bounce around at whim
      Which do you use, if you ship things to people? i've never shipped anything yet
      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box? Like 'Why would you ever do that?!' I got a doll from ringdoll a while back and it was placed on a air filled plastic sausage lined thingy with styrofoam on top, i'd prefer the cushions in case the doll popped one of those plastic things
      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging? I'm not just talking banged up outer boxes or inner boxes, but serious damage to the part you paid money for.no, not really, lucky me!
      --If so, what did you do about it?
       


    18. Which method of packing do you trust most?


      I like the Dollshe/Fairyland foam cutout method, but the bubblewrap mummy works well if the box is full of padding as well.




      Which do you trust least?


      the two pillows or the "padded sleeping bag" versions, the padded sleeping bag is nice for at home storage, but I find a doll needs more than just loosely bubble wrapped hands, and a padded bag, especially big dolls. The pillows are okay if they are tied around the doll well, but just one or two ties are not enough to hold a doll in place, especially for long international journeys.




      Which do you use, if you ship things to people?


      I tend to do the bubblewrap mummy, then fill the box with either bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or tightly packed shopping bags, but only if they are all the same colour (I'm a little OCD about things like that)


      Has a packaging method ever nearly given you a heart attack when you saw it after opening the box?

      OMG yes! once I received a doll unstrung in a paper bag with no padding, and it was SD! the bag had even ripped and the s hooks had fallen out, amazingly though the fingers were not broken, just quite a few dings and scrapes and a couple of chips.
      Another time I bought my grail doll and he arrived packed in cardboard egg trays covered in bird poop, I'm not even kidding bird poo! It looked as though someone who used to run a chicken farm was using old egg trays out of their barn to pack dolls in :eek:
      The doll and his shoes were also filthy and covered in fly poop and his clothes stank, so I'm guessing that particular seller had different ideas about what clean means than most of us.


      Has a doll or other item ever arrived damaged due to flaws in the packaging?

      Luckily not too seriously just a few scratches, though the seller of the poopy doll above tried to tell me his broken finger had happened in the post, I can't imagine the doll glued his own finger back on in transit though, so that certainly wasn't postal damage.
       
    19. I've had dolls come in a couple different ways. My Leekeworld girl came as a bubble wrap mummy INSIDE two pillows. Very safe. My Kid Delf was inside a pillow taco that was then vacuum sealed and put in padded box. My MNF came in the foam coffin style, so she was safe and sound. My second hand Miyu was shipped unstrung, with every piece absolutely encased in bubble wrap then in a box with paper shreds packed so tightly there was not a single chance of movement, which was perfect. But I'm pretty ticked off with Impldoll. They sent my body in a box that was for a MUCH bigger doll, laying on a bed of foam with a sheet of foam over her, not secured in any way, not bubble wrap, no protection for the fingers, nothing. She was in a totally crazy position and I feel lucky that nothing was broken. I have a doll on the way, so I have my fingers crossed that she's safe and sound when I get her!
       
    20. Lately most of my new arrivals have been coming in foam cutout boxes, which I'm a fan of. Particularly for my Arubi, who has delicate antlers that were at no risk at all of breaking.

      I did have a secondhand SD once arrive stuffed in a box I would have deemed too small for a MSD, but he made it intact. The new dolls I've gotten, though, have all been well packed so far.