You know that sick feeling you get when the postman arrives with a loud thud!

My rule is that whenever I sell/ship something, I pack it the way I would want something I received to be packed. I do NOT cut corners with the time, effort, or materials I use to ship items, and generally ed up losing money be doing so (I always charge actual shipping via UPS or USPS (only), and that does not come close to covering the cost of packaging materials. Just my way of doing things.

Same here Allen.

I go overboard with bubble wrap, paper, double box or extra cardboard etc.  It's good business, and a way to retain or get additional sales by word of mouth or good reviews. The way I see it. I don't want the hassle of having someone wanting their money back because of my poor packing.

In this case it's my first dealing with this person, and I don't know if I should politely tell them they need to pack better to avoid issues, or just not say anything.  I was very lucky not to have any damage, but I'm sure not everyone is going to make out that lucky with things he ships.

Never ship a locomotive with the post office. The post office is great with lightweight items, but not so much with heavy ones.

Years ago, I bought the Lionel Milwaukee road 4-8-4. The best price was from the friends of 261. But... they shipped via the post office to save a few bucks. The box looked like it had been tumbled in a drier at a laundromat. The loco was OK, but the Styrofoam insert sacrificed its life during the journey. I can never ship the loco in that Styrofoam insert again.

Ship heavy stuff UPS. It costs a little more, but they are more geared to heavy packages.

I got a 2623 Pullman sent to me once in a very scary box. I was expecting bakelite shards but it some how survived. The scary part was the guy bought and sold trains for a living. I could forgive it more if it was someone selling one off but not this was a usual train seller.

Fun thread....I’ll play...MTH Hudson that was shipped to me....no wrapping whatsoever...just tossed in the box....at least the PO tried to cover up the deed...😳

Pat

Ouch!    That's painful to look at!😖

USPS has helped me too.  All Nation pacific drop kicked from CO to NC.  Luckily being sheet brass I was able to straighten and fix.  USPS is still helping me, package with three custom painted locos MIA and a week overdue with no tracking info.  I'm shipping UPS or FEDEX  for the foreseeable future.

@NHVRYGray posted:

USPS has helped me too.  All Nation pacific drop kicked from CO to NC.  Luckily being sheet brass I was able to straighten and fix.  USPS is still helping me, package with three custom painted locos MIA and a week overdue with no tracking info.  I'm shipping UPS or FEDEX  for the foreseeable future.

🤢🤮

My motto is if you can’t drop it out of a plane it isn’t ready to ship! 📦 I go overboard on my packing too but better to much than not enough. 

That’s a shame. I’d blame the person you bought it from before blaming Post office. Total idiot the way it was packaged. 

@Train Nut posted:

Same here Allen.

In this case it's my first dealing with this person, and I don't know if I should politely tell them they need to pack better to avoid issues, or just not say anything.  I was very lucky not to have any damage, but I'm sure not everyone is going to make out that lucky with things he ships.

You should send him photos of what you received.  Also, typically items that are insured come with minimum packing standards which, if not met, result in the claim being denied in the event of damage.  Not sure about USPS standards, but UPS uses them and they are substantial regarding protective materials inside the shipping carton.

@Allan Miller, since I became an Amazon Prime member with free shipping, I have tons of fresh boxes in a wide range of sizes; bubble mailing envelopes in various sizes; etc. so my packing materials are "free."  Shop Amazon more, Allan.

@romiller49 posted:

That’s a shame. I’d blame the person you bought it from before blaming Post office. Total idiot the way it was packaged. 

In my case yes it was more bad packaging even though nothing was damaged, itvery well could have been because of the poor job they did Packaging.. 

I only used the post office reference in my title because it started with the postman dropping it down on the steps. Is it really that hard to place it down?  

I've been living at the current address for 3 years. Still looking for our new home. But in those three years I made really good friends with the previous Postman. He took care of our packages like they were his.  Unfortunately he retired a few months ago.

I think most of us here could share stories of shipping nightmares.

I got a diesel engine that had the front truck broke right off. The seller forgot one block of styrofoam that held the engine in place. Without it, the engine could slide back and forth. Of course, the delivery people stood the engine box on it's end.

 I bought an A-B-A set of EMDs. The seller wrapped them together in bubble wrap. The trouble was they did not put anything in between the engines!

I think it's good to have the same people deliver to your house. You can talk with them so they know not to mishandle your packages. They assume they aren't hurting anything. They have to stay on schedule. It's sad if it makes it across the whole country and then gets broken on your door step!

I get several hundred shipments a year for upgrades and repairs.  I could regale you with stories of what I've seen and the survival and death of various packing methods.  I've seen issues from minor damage to total destruction.  It's always difficult to contact a customer and tell him that shipping has rendered his once valuable locomotive to junk!

One Cardinal Rule of packing is: Anything that can move in the packaging can beat itself to death!

As this thread's previous pictures will attest, much of the damage is on the ends of heavy items, so that's where you should put much of your emphasis.  When I send stuff in factory shipping boxes, I frequently add padding to prevent the item from moving AT ALL inside the Styrofoam.  Even a very small amount of movement can turn into a big problem!  For shipping boxes that the manufacturer has thoughtfully provided holes for "extras" can be an issue.  Many times, especially for heavier items, I fill those holes with high density foam to prevent a heavy item from breaking through the packaging and having room to roam.

Final check:  I shake the package in all dimensions, if I feel anything moving, I'm not done packing!

With all of this, there still have been a couple of instances of shipping damage for outgoing items.  I guess if you try hard enough, you can damage an item in any kind of packaging.

For those that advocate UPS or FedEx over USPS, my personal experience is all of the shipping services have a pretty equal record.  I don't think you're going to improve your record by changing shipping companies.

My worst shipping experience came from someone who had no clue how to ship anything. I purchases a large lot of die cast figurines. The dude just tossed all of them in a giant bag and sent them. The noise they made when I pulled the bag out of the mailbox was heart wrenching.

Not surprisingly paint flecks rained out of the bag like confetti.

I use to work for UPS...the quantity of packages we had to move in a night and what those boxes go through would make you cringe. The journey a package takes is actually quite extensive, and I mostly worked in the "hub", although I did do some package car driving as well. A tremendous facility it was involving mechanical engineering application that was mind blowing.

I've had damaged boxes from all the carriers over the years, and am not so quick to blame one carrier more than others. Packing with extra cushioning is key, and double-box the inner carton with an outer. Thinking like a mechanical engineer here You need to dampen the oscillations of an item moving within its container, and provide outer cushioning for the outer carton damage. More work and more expense, but less headaches.

What gets my goat is when someone doesn't pack "logically" or even with common sense. I received the item below from a train dealer. The inner train accessory box is protruding above the outer shipping carton, and the item was of course delivered broken. No amount of tape or cardboard can compensate for bad packaging. This DOES NOT meet USPS packing guidelines, which I've posted again, below. When I sent him the pictures of the damage he wanted me to pay for return shipping and even had the nerve to want to file a claim...I told him I didn't want anything to do with his shenanigans. This was the 2nd broken item received from that dealer. No more business from me after that. 

I seem to recall years ago USPS had a 2" rule of cushioning between the item and outer carton, but I couldn't find reference to that.

I fondly remember one seller on eBay claiming the loco he shipped would be packed in enough bubble wrap to float the Titanic.

Notwithstanding the lousy packing job, nice looking set of UP Alcos. Hope they run well. Classics.

Everyone who packs and ships should do an apprenticeship in RECEIVING and unpacking packages so they can see the effects of poor packing.