And people wonder where the buyers have gone...

[yuzuha]

Last week my friend, who is a huge Disney fan, purchased a set of Limited Edition theme park trading pins here on eBay.

She received them today... wrapped in toilet paper and shoved into a manila (not even padded) envelope.  Is it any wonder that buyers are leaving eBay?  That sort of thing is shameful and sellers who do that should be given the boot.  Don't wrap your purchases in TOILET PAPER, for crying out loud!  At least use paper towels or napkins or SOMETHING!  Take some pride in what you're doing and remember that there is another person on the other end who is going to be receiving whatever it is that you've shipped.  Put in a little effort!

[castlemagicmemories]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@equid0x wrote:
I'm always confused as to why the buyers can't simply return the item in the same packaging in which they were sent the item?

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Because buyers don't expect to have to return and the packing may have been destroyed in opening it, or it simply arrived in such shape as to be impractical or NOT wise to send the item back in it.  You may be very fortunate that the buyer chose to return in a different box.  Sometimes an item is packed in such a way that the buyer is fortunate to remove the item any way they can, and it's really not a good idea to re-use it.

Ran out of edit time.

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[the_fancy_fox]

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@city*satins wrote:

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

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Personally I try very hard to avoid Chinese made goods. I don’t like how they treat the earth, treat their people, treat animals, steal technology, and under cut American made products. Basically they are laughing in America’s face all the way to the bank.   Want to really make a difference?  Ban Chinese products from your life. Meantime, i’ll Keep my straws.

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Don't worry, with all the rollbacks of environmental protections, we're catching up.

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Maybe but compared to what the Chinese do the US is a saint. I just think that the approach of taxing or punishing US citizens to solve a global issue won’t work.  Too many grubby hands taking a cut of the take. Setting an example for other countries won’t work, if they don’t care.

I live in CA and they tax everything and anything in the name of the environment when much of that money goes to prop up the underfunded pensions or gets put in the general fund for more programs to intice yet more homeless or illegals to come here.

They just tried to tax text messages to help give the homeless more phones. Thankfully the feds squashed that but I have no doubt they will try again in another way.

I believe in incentives not punishment to change behavior. Be it a new way to produce clean energy or find a process to make those bags from corn starch that dissolve after a short time in the environment. Make it worth an inventors time and investment and it will happen. 

And i agree, most recycling is a scam.  

[drusalina]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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I am one of those people. You might as well go ahead and put me on your blocked buyers list now.

I report misuse of USPS Priority Mail shipping supplies for non Priority Mail shipping services each and every time. It only takes 2 minutes. Why?Because it is theft! THE USPS IS NOT YOUR FREE PACKAGING MATERIALS SUPPLIER!

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Again, Twisting my words.  I am not missusing the priority boxes.  I only ship with Priority Mail Label when using a Priority Box.  I don't missuse them at all.  I don't use them for packing material either. 

I try to write a positive post, and give some people some help on what works for me, and I get NEGATIVE responses.  Why, do people always feed on the negative. on this board.  Sheesh!  

[drusalina]

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@city*satins wrote:

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@drusalina wrote:

I've also received yarn that had been sprayed with canned floral or febreeze spray.  It stunk.  I've also received yarn that smelled so moldy and musty, that I am still airing it out after 3 years.  If it smells wash it if you can.  If you can't wash it, don't try to cover it up with sprays or fabric softener sheets.   If it has a musty odor, put it in the listing and let the buyer decide if they want to deal with it.  Or if it smells bad and it can't be washed, just don't sell it.  

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Try this for musty odor. Put the yarn in a ziplock bag or bags and put the bag(s) in your deep freeze and leave them there for 3 or 4 days.  I've found this effective for a lot of things from old magazines and books to vintage clothing.  Should work with yarn.

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Thank you,  I will try that!

[turquoisetulips]

What about the voice of experience and the packaging I have received over the last couple of years from a mutitude of different sellers?  Doesn't that count for anything? Emerald 

Yes of course  ,, but I personally have never had a package arrive  from any seller on e bay  that was wrapped so badly the item was damaged and unusable ,, not even once . If you'll look at my feedback as a buyer  you'll see  thats a great deal of transactions ,, thousands in fact .  Maybe I'm just different  but I don't care what my purchases are wrapped in as long as  its clean and my  items are intact . I know you expressed concern about germs on the toilet paper  ,, but  it may not have come from their bathroom  at all . Furthermore  concerning germs  we don't know if the sellers we are purchasing from are sick with a contagious virus  or not . Germs can come from anywhere  no matter  what type of packing material is used . The best thing to do is wash the hands after unwrapping anything . Tulips 

[fern*wood]

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

They just tried to tax text messages to help give the homeless more phones. Thankfully the feds squashed that but I have no doubt they will try again in another way.

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Oh those pesky homeless people... 

[castlemagicmemories]

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@equid0x wrote:

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@turquoisetulips wrote:

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@hillbillymedia wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

I bet some sellers cushion their fragile items in lowly five and ten dollar bills.  We are going to lose buyers if we don't all get on board by using at least twenties or fifties.

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Tissue paper, toilet paper, shredded paper, newspaper, wrapping paper and pretty bows.....everyone can find something to beef over. I hate getting something in packed with packing peanuts.....some folks think they are the cats meow.

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Packing peanuts are the worst ! They get everywhere . Tulips 

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I'm not sure anymore what we're supposed to pack with because after you've read a thread like this, it seems like someone will have a problem with the packaging no matter what you've packed with. 

BTW, I use packing peanuts. Simple, effective, scalable, reusable. As for the mess? I would like to think most of us here own a vacuum cleaner.

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Yes, you are right~I'm sure many do own a vacuum cleaner.  However, that doesn't mean they want to drag it out to chase down errant packing peanuts when they might not have had to otherwise.  Making a mess just because you have a vacuum cleaner is counterproductive, IMO, and @turquoisetulips made a true observation here.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@equid0x wrote:

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@moondogblues wrote:
I wish that everyone would rethink plastic. Peanuts, grocery bags, even diapers. Did anyone see the special on how full our oceans are with plastic castoffs? And how it never really breaks down. Yes, it gets smaller and smaller and fish and other things eat it, and now they are finding those tiny particles in US! This can't be good. I've been making a concerted effort to not buy anything in plastic that I can't use for a long time. Maybe forever, or till the kids clean out the estate. Just my thought...

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Some packing peanuts are made from corn starch and will dissolve when they make contact with water. 

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But many aren't.

[turquoisetulips]

Personally I try very hard to avoid Chinese made goods. I don’t like how they treat the earth, treat their people, treat animals, steal technology, and under cut American made products. Basically they are laughing in America’s face all the way to the bank.   Want to really make a difference?  Ban Chinese products from your life. Meantime, i’ll Keep my straws. southernsweettea 

You're right about all of that . I'm a big animal lover with a very special affection for dogs . I've seen the horrible videos of  Chinese people  purposely  torturing and killing dogs for their meat.   Some are burned into my mind forever  . I don't how they are able to do the things they do and not feel any sympathy or compassion  for the living beings they torture . It's inhuman. Granted not all people in China approve  of this   in fact they got two million signatures to stop it . However more needs to be done .  Tulips 

[city*satins]

Maybe but compared to what the Chinese do the US is a saint

That's kind of like saying that compared to Lucifer, Beelzebub was a saint.

[sheilad2090]

I Also Sell on Poskmark and they like their packages Cute neat and with a thank your note I resently started wrapping my Ebay packages the same way and I have gotton alot of repeat customers from it and Positive feedback too it really doen't cost much to do.

[sharingtheland]

In the overall Scheme Of Things That Can Go Wrong With Packaging, peanuts are pretty low on my list.  

If someone wants to give me/my Shipping Department a negative for using peanuts after the $200 china widget arrived quickly, safely and with nary a chip, I can't do anything about that.

[drusalina]

Just got my order from Amazon.  I ordered 3 new Farberware frying pans, a set, on Dec 19th.  They came today in a smashed box.  The tape on one end was ripped open.  The frying pans were rattling around in the box.  The plastic band that was around the 3 pans to hold them together was broken and the cardboard rounds that were between the pans that were suppose to protect each individual pan was strewn around the box.  They were half in and half out of a ripped plastic bag. No paper, no packing material, nothing.  One of the pans has a bunch of dings in it, like it had been hit again and again.    Just because they are metal pans, doesn't mean I wanted them damaged, before I got to use them.   Will see what I want to do...

[rixstuff]

I use pretty little boxes and bubble mailers - I have delusions of being the next Harry Winston. But me and the other four guys sharing our house once laughed ourselves sick when we got a video game in a TAMPON box! I have also gotten things in cereal boxes, AMAZON boxes, shoe boxes and one time even a tupperware container duct taped closed with a label stuck on.  Whatever, as long as the item gets here undamaged and in a reasonable amount of time.

[adkhighker]

"Maybe but compared to what the Chinese do the US is a saint."

"Setting an example for other countries won’t work, if they don’t care."

Yeah, so instead of setting a good example for other countries, let's use the Chinese as the ultimate excuse for us to sit back and do nothing about the environment. 

"I live in CA and they tax everything and anything in the name of the environment when much of that money goes to prop up the underfunded pensions or gets put in the general fund for more programs to intice yet more homeless or illegals to come here."

That's conjecture, not fact, thank goodness.

"most recycling is a scam"

No it is not a scam. It might not be 100% effective, but it is no scam, and it helps to preserve the environment of this planet.

"I just think that the approach of taxing or punishing US citizens to solve a global issue won’t work.  Too many grubby hands taking a cut of the take."

Bottom line, the reason why some people spin yarns about recycling being a scam, or telling tall tales about how the programs in CA only serve to raise pensions or they're only to attract more immigrants to this country, immigrants who are only trying to make it to the best country in the world for a better life, well, it isn't really about any of that, is it. What it's really about is your wallet and the very small dent that some of those wonderful programs might make in it in the form of a few measley tax dollars.