worthless packing for shipping
Summary: The discussion is centered around frustration with poor packaging practices by online sellers. roy2468 expresses dissatisfaction with sellers using inadequate shipping materials, leading to damaged items. Many agree, citing reasons like ignorance, laziness, or lack of care from sellers. lakefor94 suggests that professional sellers should know better, while part-timers might struggle. Others mention challenges like high shipping costs and complexities of online selling platforms, including feedback manipulation and the side hustle economy. The conversation highlights the need for better practices and transparency in online shipping.
why do many, many, many, many, many sellers continue to use worthless shipping containers with no protective cushioning material so that items are damaged during the always rough handling of all packages that all shippers do?
deserdog
·2 weeks agoComes down to one thing: No work ethic. No pride in what you do.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoyes, i agree
kibble-net
·2 weeks agoJust like DoorDash and AirBnB, almost anyone who wants to use this platform will be allowed to - regardless of their qualifications or shipping experience.
It's up to you, the buyer, to properly vet your sellers by reading their feedback profile, and gauging their level of expertise and reliability based on what you see.
This is the side hustle economy we live in. Everyone needs extra income to survive. Unfortunately not everyone is well versed in what they are doing here, as ebay does not provide shipping lessons at signup.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi have read many feedbacks of sellers...saw what bought and feedbacks say packed good..and i get crap packing...i then wonder did they just do it to me or do the buyers just not know what is good.
fabrics24
·2 weeks agoGenerally I chalk it up to either the seller not knowing any better, or not caring.
The former can be taught, thankfully.
bolensparts-360
·2 weeks agoAs a power seller for 13 years I can proudly say I never had a bad response or feedback from shipping we always pack them as they will be dropped off a 50 story building we even tape the glued seam on the cardboard boxes as I cant tell you how many times I order stuff and thats busted out. Most of the time its sellers just have no clue how to pack especially if they dont do it professionally other times its pure laziness , other times its because a buyer chooses the cheapest shipping option and they are working with weight oz limits to make the rate cheap.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoyes that is the way to pack ....i use to offer to pay more for thst kind, only to be told so many times ,, no, to much extra work, what they were doing was good enough...and i figured greedy buyers caused problems..i never return.( i read many feedbacks about buyers getting no good results on returns) i just take the loss, leave feedback, move on..i have to do exactly what ebay requires of me or nothing gets shipped..i just want the same in return...for me, ebay seems to be biased for sellers...i guess because that is where they get their money
bolensparts-360
·2 weeks agoIts a buyers market on ebay seller has zero recourse cant tell you how many times I have been frauded by buyers manipulating the returns and "not as described" cases. Had several buy a brand new part from me and claim I sent them a defective one and for the return they kept the new part and sent me their old junk part ebay could care less its amazon no questions asked returns these days . Not sure if its even worth it anymore they practically make more money than I do in fees they collect on each sale.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agowith the terrible shipping packaging that amazon uses, that probably plays into amazons ripoff game....i buy low priced stuff from them some...i get surprised a lot on ebay..i buy on ebay and amazon shows up with the item from them, not the ebay srller...amazon one time brought an empty package one time like that...
roy2468
OP2 weeks agowalmart.com was so terrible, that i do not buy from them online anymore(only in store)..even some ebay sellers bought from them and had it shipped to me,....took me by surprise and the ebay sellers also paid the price along with me for walmarts deliberate failure with fb they did not want.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi just buy..no desire to sell...looks like ebay burns both of us. and i was sure that bad transactions on both sides has caused wrongful retaliation from both sides....and plain ole greed doesn't help...i call online buying, the online buying cacino.
albertabrightalberta
·2 weeks ago · Edited@roy2468
Little story:
One of the reasons I have a best offer option in my listings is because it gives me the opportunity to vet buyers who ask questions and/or make offers. And FWIW, I can't even count the number of bullets I've dodged!
I sell handbags and accessories and take care and pride in packing well. Although there are some flat bags, wristlets and wallets that can be safely shipped in bubble mailers, most bags are stuffed and shipped in boxes to avoid unnecessary bending, wrinkling and damage that may be difficult if not impossible to remove.
I had a wannabe buyer who balked at the shipping price (which was around $10-12) and requested that I use a large bubble mailer.
In looking at her feedback left for others, she'd left several negs for sellers who "shipped in envelopes" or "folded bags to fit, resulting in wrinkles." I had little doubt she requested such packaging from those sellers then dinged them when they complied.
For other sellers, she left negs or neutrals because they charged too much to ship "in a box when it could have fit into a large envelope."
With this buyer, a seller couldn't win!
I replied that I never ship structured bags in envelopes and wished her well in finding what she was looking for.
Then I blocked her.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agothose kind of buyers cause me problems too...makes sellers suspicious of me when i am only trying to get items not broken during shipping.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoalso i do not like the bubblemailes and more dislike for the thin plastic bag envelopes
fullers_uk
·2 weeks agoSome of the problem is because they get stuff delivered by hammerzone and its bare in a box or paper bag, they see that and think that’s how its done so they do it but the delivery systems we have to use are very different to in house hammerzone deliveries.
iamalwaysright
·2 weeks agoBecause the folded t shirts that I sell don’t need any cushioning material inside.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoyes i sgree there are many items such as your t shirts that are ok shipped in a filmsy bubble mailer or thin plastic bag envelope ....
roy2468
OP2 weeks agobut not ALL things
roccotacodad54
·2 weeks agoOn thing I have noticed that I seen to get more poorly packed items in the last year than I did before.
That maybe coincidence but I have noticed more as of late.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agome too
christworks
·3 weeks ago@roy2468 I'm going to turn it around on you: Why do buyers complain about expensive shipping when a seller goes the extra mile to ensure they get their breakable item, that was shipped across the country, intact.
Buyers cannot have it both ways. Materials cost money. If I have to use two boxes, bubble wrap, kraft paper, and of course tape, for your breakable item, it will be reflected in the shipping cost.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi am sure that happens...i tried many times tellimg sellers many times i would pay more tp get items packed liked that..almost all would tell me too much trouble, what they wete doing was good enough..and i sure dont llike it now when i pay higher now and then get an item all alone in one of thode thin plastic bag envelopes
christworks
·2 weeks agoI'm sorry your experience has been that way. You are doing the right thing by asking how they pack before you buy.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi wonder whats up...just in the last three weeks i have been looking a lot and buying a litte,, 12 volt vintage car battery chargers..many are small and not very heavy...several will have low price for item and very large price for shipping and others that are heavy have large price and have low price shipping.. ..
christworks
·2 weeks ago@roy2468 It could be a variety of things going on, from some sellers wrongly thinking they do not pay eBay fees on the amount charged to buyers for shipping, to the recent changes USPS has made. Depending on the destination, it is cheaper to ship a package weighing 3LB-5LB than a package 600 miles away than to ship a 12oz package 6 miles away.
Also, batteries are Hazmat items and USPS is now charging $50 if the box is not properly marked with what's in it. Some sellers may be charging a little more for those items due to the risks involved.
As always, nobody is forced to buy anything they feel is unfairly priced.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi see...there were no batteries involved...just battery chargers....just more of politicians ripping off the unwealthy people to give that money to the wealthy people
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoright about the not forcing...i just dont want sellers charging me a big price on shipping pretending to do good just to turn aroumd and send cheap as possible and pocket the surplus..
roy2468
OP2 weeks agogot me wondering now...since i dont know about the fees yall pay..(but i have read in community posts between sellers talking about ebay ripping them off on fees)..i wonder if a seller could charge less for item and more for shipping because they mite pay smaller fees, instead of the larger item price and lower costs ? and vice versa
roy2468
OP2 weeks agobut also do good shipping job
christworks
·2 weeks ago · Edited@roy2468 Fees vary depending on the category the item is listed in. Then, if a seller promotes, there are costs for that. Regardless of the exact percentage, it is taken on the total the buyer pays, including the taxes. Some sellers, myself included, add the fees and supply costs to the shipping cost.
Regardless of how a seller does it, there isn't a right or wrong way. As a buyer, I recommend you look at the total out the door cost of an item. That is what tells you the true market value.
If $25 is the out the door cost, then
$25 item price + $0 for shipping (aka free shipping) = $25
$20 item price + $5 for shipping = $25
$10 item price + $15 for shipping = $25
It is $25 no matter how a seller presents it. None of those tell you how well a seller will pack. If it is something breakable and you want to make sure, you can always message a seller before buying and ask, "If I order this item, will you double box it for me?" It is best you do that before you buy, and buyers are not supposed to make requests after they've agreed to the purchase terms.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi use to ask before, but so many got mad at me for it, that i just add in the note that they please pack good...should i go back to other? since you told me about that rural surcharge stuff, i went searching about it..it sucks, but i can understand some of it because of the 2 years i worked in parcel shipping..gas and wages cost...but suspect there is some dark side involved in it also...is it true that when i browse listings, that the shipping costs i see are actually for my address and that someone else looking at same listing could see a different cost??
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoif so on that last part, i feel dumb and also relieved
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi see i missed something,, some of those small light chargers have large price and very large shipping price.
fm2000
·3 weeks agoThey follow the same poor packaging practices the major retailers do (i.e. just throw it a box with a few wads of loose paper and if it breaks just refund and eat the loss.)
Check a seller's feedback before buying to get an idea of how well they pack their items. Buyers will occasionally mention it if a seller packs well... and will often mention it if they pack poorly.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoyes i know..i have complained to them also about that.. and i have done the other also and found out the hard way that so many buyers have no idea what good packing in good shippping containers is..
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoevery time i post a review on amazon about their crap packaging choices,, they pull it off and scold me.
dogofwar777
·3 weeks agoI think it's just laziness. If you have the brain to list an item on ebay and can drive to the PO, then you have a brain to pack items correctly.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi agree.
simba6
·3 weeks agoThose monsters, they never seem to learn. Some sellers don't know how to pack and just stuff items into boxes. If items arrive damaged you click return this item. Select arrived damaged for the reason. You will get a full refund and the seller will soon learn to pack better.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi agree. i read lots of feedbacks where lots of buyers are having problems with there returns..
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoThat is simple. Those sellers just don't know any better.
roy2468
OP3 weeks agoprobably true sometimes, but from the years of dealing with them i just cant buy that..i have been making accounts and deleting them for 25 years on ebay and other places and after all the dealing back and forth with them, i just believe they do not care..just want to cheat. i even remember back when it was common for them to not ship anything, just say they did and blame it on shipoers.
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoMost anyone doing this for a living knows how to pack. The part timers, some can pack, some can't. The fly-by-nighters, not so much.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoi dont know...i have bought from sellers with multi thousands of sales and still get the same crap packing in crap shipping containers. i just look at buying online is like gambling at a cacino..
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks ago@lakefor94 is correct. Some sellers cannot be educated. And they get no protection from having to refund damaged shipments by blaming the carrier.
And none of the carriers are likely to pay an insurance claim on an improperly packed shipment.
Dumb and proud of it.
broto_64
·2 weeks agoLots of people on this planet just like them, they are in how do we say, good company?
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoor just don't care.
roy2468
OP2 weeks agoprobably a lot of just dont care