Is there such a thing as packaging something "too well?"

[jonathankirkland]

So, being that I am both a buyer and seller on ebay, I often consider the other side of the coin whenever I think about something or have an issue etc.

Recently, I've been running into buying a lot of things that were packaged very well... in fact, almost too well. It's hard to complain honestly, when someone takes care and wraps something in bubble wrap and tapes it up to be secure. However...

I find myself getting a knife or scissors and gnawing it open and sometimes I find myself being aggravated by that. Again, I know I shouldn't be, I should be happy my item arrived and was well taken care of for it's journey to me from the seller.

Don't get me wrong, I would never complain to a seller about this or leave bad feedback or anything. But it got me thinking...

When I sell stuff I tend to package it up similarly with great care and perhaps "over" protection. But only just recently did I begin to think.. could I be ticking off some people out there? Again, at least from my view point, it's hard to imagine complaining about something being packed TOO well, but could it be a problem??

Have any of you ever had an unhappy buyer because you packaged something TOO well/carefully?

[oneblindcat]

Don't sweat it. I go through the same thing when I receive a package. Only in my case, I'm sitting in my car at the Post Office.

I just added a 1.5" knife to my keychain.  (No, I don't fly commercial!)

I think it's a plus that so many sellers are over packing.

Except for the one that sent an expensive piece of electronics in an unpadded envelope...

What I hate is when I open a box in my car and the item is packed in cross-cut shredded paper. Stuff goes everywhere.

For the love of the Great Spaghetti Monster, if you're using tiny bits of paper for packing, put it in a plastic bag!

[2013grotz]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

Have any of you ever had an unhappy buyer because you packaged something TOO well/carefully?

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No.  Usually, if anything's said about my packaging it's a positive that I overdo it sometimes.

[lepke1979]

I've heard of people getting in a hissy fit on other sites. Particularly if they like to pretend they're environmentally conscious. But I feel like these same people would try to find any reason to nitpick.

But more often than not, I've gotten compliments that I protect it like I care that it makes it safely where it needs to go. Unlike the packers at Amazon that sometimes I swear they throw it in the box from across the room.

[whattheactualfox]

I've been selling books and other misc items and the reason I am more safe then sorry is because items can get knocked around and damaged in transit, I would rather be safe them sorry, especially risking an INAD.

[crazystuff4sale]

When I wrap my items with bubble wrap I fold the end of tape over so there is a tab to pull it open. I don't like it when things are wrapped too tight and I can't get them open. Some of my items get bubble wrapped then slid neatly into a ziploc bag with no tape needed to hold the bubble wrap on.

[duffy4444]

  Hey, jonathankirkland,

   If you think that's a problem, try opening some over-packaged items from Costco or HD, or one of the other big box stores.

   I have often taken up to 15 minutes trying to get out blister-packed items under heavy-duty welded plastic that is supposed to be theft-proof. Well, it certainly is, but I also end up cutting up my fingers trying to get the item out after using scissors, knives, razor blades, even heavy-duty snips and shears on the plastic, and ending up using frustrated brute force. Then the item finally pops out and invariably ends up on the floor - hopefully not broken.

   Over-packaging is one thing that can sometimes make me bypass purchasing an item if I want to keep my fingers from being bloodied or avoid getting into a bad mood.

   I say this in jest... somewhat... LOL

   However, on my Ebay and Amazon sales, I prefer to use bubble mailers, sometimes doubled, and packaged inside  an ECT-32 cardboard box. That way, I don't tick off my customers by over-wrapping stuff so that they have to damage the item in order to get it out of its packaging. It's finding a happy medium, especially on international sales and when I have concerns about the gorillas throwing my boxes about at the USPS shipping hubs. Been pretty fortunate so far, but there have been a few times when a well-protected item I shipped genuinely arrived broken. I had to ask myself how on earth could that happen - then my answer always is either USPS or FedEx or UPS. It's a roll of the dice and an unfortunate cost of doing business.

Cheers, Duffy

[eburtonlab]

I admit I do sometimes get mildly annoyed with sellers that use bubble wrap and packing tape like ancient Egyptians preparing to entomb a pharaoh for a thousand years.

However, having seen the result of woefully insufficient packing -- such as a 4 inch diameter glass vacuum dewar (a topless thermos in a very thin sheet metal cylinder) stuffed into a 3 inch wide USPS flat rate box -- I will endure the curse of the mummy every single time without complaint.

[blingfling123]

Yes, there is.

Not from a damage perspective but from the ease of getting the item out. I have received many a package that was wrapped with so much tape it practically took a samurai sword to get into it and in one case, just unwrapping it broke the fragile lace figurine. 

I much prefer over packing vs getting a cookie jar with 3 pieces of newspaper. But the 3 miles of tape is an issue. 

I mitigate this by using painters tape on the bubble wrap.  It is easy to remove but still holds it all together and a bonus is it is different colored so easy to see where it starts and finishes.  I have gotten many compliments from sellers having switched to this saying it was so much easier to get to the item. 

This is especially important when you are shipping small figurines or Christmas ornaments. Just using pressure to find the end of the tape can end in disaster. 

[na_833338]

I try to package my stuff the way that I would want someone to pack if they were shipping to me.

I have had some things shipped to me there were quite a challenge to try to get open.  Kind of like using a Chinese puzzle that has Russian nesting dolls inside to protect a small item at the center of it all.  I buy books and magazines for my collections at times, and I can think of two or three packages that arrived where the only thing I could think of was "how will I be able to get this open?"

Literally setting the package down and looking at it trying to find a possible way into it without tearing up what I know is inside.  I can remember having to pick up a package and rotating it several times while looking for what might be a weak spot in the Defense.  Then doing it a couple more times.  I've had at least 2 packages that took me better than half an hour to figure out how to get the prize inside out. 

I marvel at how much time it must have taken the seller to encase my item under so many layers of protection.  Very funny!  I always give them 5 stars on the shipping.

[simba6]

Better to over pack than have shipping damage.  If a buyer ever says you over packed just say the shipping service states how it has to be packed for the insurance to be in force.  Most shippers will pounce on light packing as a great rule to decline a claim.

[forward-motion]

I had a buyer buy a headlight from me. I use a lot of bubble wrap to prevent damage. They buyer complained that I wrapped in bubble wrap like it was a piece of trash. It was to a Porsche 911, so I'm not sure if they expected something more fancy than bubble wrap. But it did arrive undamaged.  

[lamber9347]

@jonathankirkland Yeah, I get it. I used to receive items to my home, which I would repackage and ship to a friend who lived in the UK. Int'l shipping being so expensive, my friend would purchase the items then use my home address. I would then accumulate several items and create one large box to ship them to him. 

These were all delicate porcelain figurines. Many times I would struggle like mad just to get the item unwrapped, because I wanted to confirm no breakage. Some sellers would wrap the bubble wrap so tightly around the figures that it was extremely difficult to cut the tape. There were more then a few times where the bubble wrap was so tightly wrapped that an arm or an extended finger would snap off, while still inside the wrapped bubble wrap. I would photograph them like this, still wrapped and against the sunlight to show the figure was damaged while still wrapped up. 

So yes, it was a teachable moment for myself as a seller when I wrap delicate items. I try to wrap them so they won't break, but keeping in mind the buyer still has to open the item. I also make sure that any extended pieces are also wrapped with popcorn in order so that they don't snap off while wrapping the bubble wrap around them. Lessons to be learned from others mistakes....

[buyselljack2016]

For the love of the Great Spaghetti Monster,

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stop opening packages in your car 😁  borrow the scissors at the "retail counter" , and open it before you even leave the Post Office.

[wastingtime101]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

It's hard to complain honestly, when someone takes care and wraps something in bubble wrap and tapes it up to be secure. However...

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There's a difference between packing really well and over-taping something.

I pack very well, but I'm strategic with my tape - the type used, how much, and where it's placed. When I started selling products that required bubble wrap, I carefully considered not only packing it to survive shipping, delays and rough handling, but I also considered the buyer's receipt of said package and the effort involved in unpacking. With all that in mind I developed my packing strategy. I get a lot of praise for my shipping so I guess it's working for me.

I complain when I get mummified packages, but I only complain to myself. They're a pain in the ass to open. Sometimes things wrapped in bubble then wrapped 360° in packing tape are difficult to open without damaging the contents. What's the point of packing something to survive shipping if it's going to be difficult surviving the unpacking process?