Here's how NOT to send a brand new Zaxxon

[Albert]

This just blows my mind. Why would the seller think that's an okay way to ship something?!

Many people probably don't think the box is very important. After all, how many people do you think simply discarded the boxes for their Atari 2600 once they set it up? I'm guessing the majority of them were thrown away immediately. Of course, someone selling a 30 year old system on eBay with the box would hopefully understand that the box does make the item more unique and valuable, and that the buyer would like the condition of the box preserved during shipping. Sadly, as has been demonstrated countless times on AtariAge, the seller is either ignorant on the importance of the box, or simply does not give a shit about the box because they want to save as much money as possible on the shipping. This is why you really have to work out an agreement with the seller in advance as to how they will package and ship items like this.

 

..Al

[Ballblaɀer]

This doesn't really come close to the unnecessary squashing of a brand new box, but it made me recall just how dumbfounded and irritated I was at how I was recently shipped a single cart. It was packed in a bubble envelope (fine), with cardboard wrapped halfway around the cartridge (uh, sure, why not)...

 

 

WITH ONE NICE THICK PIECE OF MAILING TAPE STUCK DIRECTLY OVER THE LABEL ARTWORK.

[+Random Terrain]

Some sellers probably think that people who care about boxes are "melodramatic OCD hoarder nutjobs" and need to repeat to themselves "It's just a box, I should really just relax." Normal people are too busy working 9 to 5, trying to get laid, or taking care of their precious little horrid accidents to care about insignificant minutia.

[Keatah]

Bullshit. You're not saving anybody (including yourself ultimately) any money by unnecessarily ruining product.

 

Guess I just need to hand out a politely condescending e-mail/letter assuming everyone is retarded today by explaining how exactly I want something to be shipped today.

 

Bullshit no! It is cost-savings - and some laziness thrown in for good measure. Simple ignorance about the value of a no-crease box is possible too. It might cost someone $2.00 to get a new roll of tape. It may take an extra 20-minutes to stop off at the local grocery store and ask for some cardboard boxes. Maybe even extra gas to get to there. And time. Let's not forget a bag of packing peanuts. To someone poor, this is could represent 2 or 3 days worth of food.

 

The second part, about specifying how something should be packed for shipping, is a necessary annoyance and evil that is part and parcel of any transaction. And I'm not hesitant to make use of return policies due to insufficient or improper packaging.

[+save2600]

 

Bullshit no! It is cost-savings - and some laziness thrown in for good measure. Simple ignorance about the value of a no-crease box is possible too. It might cost someone $2.00 to get a new roll of tape. It may take an extra 20-minutes to stop off at the local grocery store and ask for some cardboard boxes. Maybe even extra gas to get to there. And time. Let's not forget a bag of packing peanuts. To someone poor, this is could represent 2 or 3 days worth of food.

 

I hear year, but yeah - this is a longtime seller of goods I'm telling you. Any "cost savings" being lazy and inconsiderate fly out the window when you're needlessly replacing products for people due to your carelessness. Unless of course, you've written off all your inventory, but that's another chapter altogether.

[+frankodragon]

This package job wouldn't be from that CrapiestSellerEver bozo, would it?

[+save2600]

This package job wouldn't be from that CrapiestSellerEver bozo, would it?

No, no. Not eBay at all. This is from a guy that happens to have a few cases here and there of certain Atari, Intv and Colecovision games, some peripherals too. Mainly sells NOS misc. goods: electronics, stereo gear, office, kitchen, etc. Has a website, but doesn't take PayPal or even credit cards over the phone. You must send your payment in with a letter. Guy is super old school and has been around forever, which is why I was surprised that I needed to prequalify his shipping practices.

 

I actually paid $5 for shipping, so was surprised he paid extra to cram it into one of those small priority boxes. Expected him to send it regular ground in a regular box large enough to fit the game.

 

I may just spring for another copy and include in my letter, instructions on how to properly send a collectible game and pass the squished box example onto someone less discriminating. I dunno... waiting to hear back from him, but am not hopeful he'll care to resolve and at this price, six of one - half a dozen the other if I simply flip the squished copy.

[chuckwalla]

You're lucky. How about not using a shipping box at all?

 

 

 

I bought a C64 system many years ago and they did the same thing. Half the box was covered in mailing stickers and an overall mess.

[Keatah]

I once bought a Disk II that came wrapped in a grocery store paper bag. I had to un-bend the housing to get at the parts inside - which was my intent - to use it for spare parts.. Screws, fittings, wires, spacers..

[Two-in-the-Belfry]

Many people probably don't think the box is very important. After all, how many people do you think simply discarded the boxes for their Atari 2600 once they set it up? I'm guessing the majority of them were thrown away immediately. Of course, someone selling a 30 year old system on eBay with the box would hopefully understand that the box does make the item more unique and valuable, and that the buyer would like the condition of the box preserved during shipping. Sadly, as has been demonstrated countless times on AtariAge, the seller is either ignorant on the importance of the box, or simply does not give a shit about the box because they want to save as much money as possible on the shipping. This is why you really have to work out an agreement with the seller in advance as to how they will package and ship items like this.

 

..Al

 

I'd wager that they just don't care. Like you said, most people probably threw their boxes away, hence why sellers on eBay often advertise that they still have the box. Common sense should dictate that if a buyer is purchasing a 2600 with the box for more money when there are plenty of loose Ataris available for less, the buyer wants the box to be protected during shipping so it isn't a crushed disaster when they get it. I'd never considered messaging a seller about how something is shipped before, but I probably will now if I'm ordering something I want to arrive in good condition.

[Unbeliever]

Ah yes, I know of this practice. So much so I was properly chastised here on AtariAge when I was going to sell my Intellivision unit and games, showing a picture of the box that it was in. This was a mistake, as everyone here thought I was going to ship it in that particular box. I wasn't planning on that, but I understand where the concern came from. lol It was a good lesson for me that if I ship anything to anyone here, to make sure it is properly packaged for transit and not half-assed. I would never live it down if I did that to someone on here and most likely go into hiding for a few decades.

[Blazing Lazers]

More unnecessary damage due to clueless handling/packaging/shipping practices.

 

Unbelievable. Was purchased from (probably) the very last guy that has these things new. Coleco box measures 5-1/2" wide, so why not send it in a box that measures smaller?!? And to make matters even more ridiculous, fills the empty space with that messy shredded paper crap!!!

 

IMG_1152.jpg IMG_1147.jpg IMG_1150.jpg IMG_1153.jpg IMG_1143.jpg IMG_1151.jpg IMG_1154.jpg IMG_1155.jpg

Which seller is responsible for this? It will be good to know for future reference.

[Papa]

I noticed that a handful of sellers I've dealt with recently have been sending pictures of the package before it ships. I think this should turn into a regular practice. I know that at least a handful of packages sent to me over the years were opened and/or repackaged. Recently I had a beautiful and quite valuable electric guitar get 'the treatment' during shipping. The box was obviously dropped but there was also signs of repackaging and possibly vandalism. Once I won the pack-in disk for the Turbo Duo (Bonks, Bonks 2, Gates of Thunder) on EBay. The seller wrapped it in paper and mailed it cheap. It arrived SNAPPED!!

 

[telengard]

You're lucky. How about not using a shipping box at all?

 

 

 

Ugh, I've had that happen too. I now ask for a separate box every time I order something that has a box I care about.

[Atari_Bill]

Just experienced this first hand as well. I won a nice CIB Atari Spy Hunter recently and got it in the mail yesterday. Sent in a bubble lope. Fortunately it didn't seem to have much if any damage, but seriously? Who sends a $100+ game in an envelope? Just don't understand it.

[R.O.T.S]

143

Clearly the cheapest packaging option is not the best for such precious goods.

Edited February 29, 2016 by R.O.T.S

[AtariKid81]

You're lucky. How about not using a shipping box at all?

 

 

Man, this really takes the cake!!

 

About a year ago, I bought a "new-old-stock" Atari 5200, where the Buyer did pretty much the same thing. I at least got a layer of thin plastic covering my box! Didn't help any - the box got beat to shit.

I contacted the Seller and let her know that I was none too happy. She replied, "Sorry about that(referring to the damage)but I've never had a problem shipping this way".

 

Adding insult to injury, I paid a hefty amount to ship - the Seller could've easily afforded a box and bubble wrap. I think I paid $35.00 or more.

 

What really gets me, is the fact that this stuff(New-in-box Atari items)) is getting hard to come by - most of it is over 30 years old. But people don't care - all they care about is saving pennies.

[high voltage]

On the other hand, I've received this today, big box, lots of bubble, little game box

 

[Keatah]

Some sellers probably think that people who care about boxes are "melodramatic OCD hoarder nutjobs" and need to repeat to themselves "It's just a box, I should really just relax." Normal people are too busy working 9 to 5, trying to get laid, or taking care of their precious little horrid accidents to care about insignificant minutia.

 

Horrid accidents and getting laid.. I love it!

[Flojomojo]

I hear year, but yeah - this is a longtime seller of goods I'm telling you. Any "cost savings" being lazy and inconsiderate fly out the window when you're needlessly replacing products for people due to your carelessness. Unless of course, you've written off all your inventory, but that's another chapter altogether.

Did the seller offer to make things right? They should have. I'm not a box person and even I'd be pissed.

[+save2600]

Did the seller offer to make things right? They should have. I'm not a box person and even I'd be pissed.

Nope, after expressing my dismay over the way it was shipped with no response, ended up ordering another copy and included an explanation of just how I'd like the replacement shipped. I also added an extra $2 so they could package it properly. They complied, I sold the crushed example and it's all good now. Well, it is what it is anyway.

[Flojomojo]

Dang. If I were the seller, I'd throw in a little something extra for your trouble, especially since you ordered from him again.

 

If I were you, I'd want a pound of flesh.

[Puddinlite]

I work as a mail carrier. You wouldn't believe the number of shoddy packaging jobs I've seen (and yet people still blame me and not the guy that sends it?). The biggest advice I can ever give someone is make sure there's no edges or tape sticking up from the box/envelope. That's all it takes to get stuck in a sorting machine and destroyed.

[Zonie]

I had a Mint CIB Amiga 500. When I relocated several years back, the moving company guys taped all the edges up with brown tape and wrote "CP" in thick black marker across the front and sides. (CP means "Carrier Packed"). Needless to say, when I relocated back, I packed all of my game stuff myself, which they labeled "PBO" (Packed by Owner). That stuff had no damage.

 

 

Ughh... Movers. Only reason I used them is because the company hiring me paid for it all.

 

 

Well, I swapped that Amiga for an Atari 800 with full memory expansion cards, an 810 Disk Drive and a pile of disks... No Box, and it needed a thorough cleaning, but it all works and is what I really wanted.

 

Packing that Vader box by just labeling it is actually accepted practice. Those boxes are made to be shipped, as many times you will see stuff like that in retail stores with the UPS labels on them. You just have to ask and pay for proper overpacking.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Zonie

[Jinks]

Ya know what is worse. Classic game shops that put price tags over otherwise mint loose carts. They pull the colour off the artwork when you remove the stickers.

That is a new kind of stupid folks...