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Pin Shipping Pet Peeves - What are yours?

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Pin Shipping Pet Peeves - What are yours?
broncobilly83

broncobilly83

Scrooge McDuck's #1 Nickel
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Lately, it seems more and more people are mailing pins in ways that just seem to get to me. While I have never gotten pins mailed to me in just a regular white envelope (I have heard those stories); I am amazed as to some of the packing and packaging I get pins in, and I just have to vent

1) I completely understand about re-using bubble envelopes if possible (I get 25 for $5 at Sam's) to save on resources and cost, but I got a package recently that was so wrapped with packing tape to keep it closed, I wondered why they did not just use a new envelope. I was afraid to open it with scissors as I was unsure where in the envelope was empty space.

2) Some people do not keep cards for their pins, and I understand as well, but IMHO if you mail your pin, put it on something, i.e. a spare card, a piece of cardboard, those Mickey cards from Home Depot, a piece of foam, something. To me mailing it just in a bubble envelope without it supported by something can lead to dinged edges or bent pins. Cost wise, a small piece of cardboard or spare pin card does not add to the weight of the package, as anything up to 3 ozs. for CONUS mail is $1.56

3) That being said, wrap your pin in something. I had one arrive with a paper towel taped around it. At least that was something. It is not just to protect the pin, but to prevent scratches in transit. I always make sure my pins are in some type of individual baggie or bubble wrap inside a bubble envelope, especially if there is more than one pin in an envelope. I am amazed at the pins I get that are mailed without any wrap, especially when packed with other pins.
 
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I'm new to pin trading, and have yet receive a poorly packaged pin, but I would be annoyed if the pin was not wrapped properly or just thrown in a regular envelope.

I'm hopefully going to be mailing out a couple pins soon and if I do, I'll be sticking them in an individual zip lock bag (or plastic) and wrapping them up in bubble wrap (which will be re-used from mail sent to me, but in good shape.) I bought myself a pack of 10 bubble-lined envelopes for £2 from Staples.

I bought a Hidden Mickey pin from eBay and as they don't come on cards, the person mailed it on a piece of jewelry backing card.

So, I'd just say my peeve is poorly packaged pins!
 
I received a pin in just an envelope today. Not a white one but still... Kinda annoying but it survived the trip. I guess what saved it was that it was still in it original packaging. Had it been a loose pin it probably would have been damaged.

What really pisses me off is the GIANT boxes DS.com uses to ship like 5 pins and they use NO padding to keep them from rattling around during transit. I'm shocked that no pins have been damaged.... yet.
 
I've been lucky enough not to have received a poorly packaged pin yet thankfully :) I received my first pins from the queen of protective pin packaging tiggermickey! I can understand how annoying it would be to receive a poorly packaged pin in the mail :/ you expect people to treat you the same as you'd treat them if you were the one sending it.
 
I was thinking that there should be a "Packaging Do's and Dont's" thread somewhere around here. Maybe I will make one, or maybe tiggermickey should haha. I have been searching a lot around the forum, since I am new, to make sure that threads that I would like to start are not made already. I have not seen one yet though.

As for my pet peeve (not one about shipping because I have not gotten any of my trades yet), I think it would be pin traders at Disney parks who come with binders full of pins and see that you only brought a few, so they suspect that you have nothing and know nothing about pins. I have had this happen to me before and I just find it rude. You should never suspect those kinds of things just because someone does not want to tote around their whole collection of pins while they are at a park. I would rather just bring a few and still be able to ride things and see attractions in the park without loosing pins or possibly having them damaged. I do realize that some people do go to the parks JUST to trade pins on certain days, but that does not excuse them for being rude to people. /rant :D

If I were to pick one about shipping though, I would also just like it to be packaged well. I am sure everyone feels the same way about that. I just sent off two pins yesterday though, and only thought afterwards to maybe write my sn on a paper inside. Just to remind them where it came from and such. I will have to remember to do that next time.
 
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I have been mailed quite a few pins on backer card in a bubble envelope - loose, no piece of paper to tell me it was a purchase/trade or anything! BTW, I thought up to 3 oz is $1.71 (parcel)
 
I once got a pin with moving parts to it just tossed into an envelope that was too big for it. Not a bubble envelope. Just a regular envelope with no padding, no extra wrapping...nothing. The pin was ok, but I was a litlte upset over it.

Otherwise, nothing else stands out in my mind. I get packages where I think "this could have been packed better" but nothing compares to the plain envelope. I prefer it when a pin comes inside of a bubble envelope, wrapped in some extra bubble wrap, and on a card (it doesn't have to be the original card, an index card or something similar will do). I don't like it so much when a pin is packaged in several layers of napkin or kleenex, but it doesn't bother me that much.
 
My pet peeve is the packing tape queens! The pin and backer card are wrapped in bubble wrap which is fine. But, then packing tape is wrapped around and around the bubble wrap. I risk cutting myself or damaging the backer card or the pin itself, when trying to remove the pin from its cacoon
 
SparklyStars said:
I once got a pin with moving parts to it just tossed into an envelope that was too big for it. Not a bubble envelope. Just a regular envelope with no padding, no extra wrapping...nothing. The pin was ok, but I was a litlte upset over it.
Click to expand...

I once bought a pin with moving parts (it was one of my Monsters, Inc. hinged doors). Like yours, mine had been just tossed into a regular envelope with no card, padding or wrapping of any kind.

Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as you were. When the pin arrived, the door was completely off its hinge, and the pin post was bent completely to one side (lying flat, up against the back of the pin). I was able to (carefully) bend the post back, so that it would point straight out again... but so far, have not been able to convince a jeweler to even try to fix the hinge. And I've never seen the pin for sale anywhere before or since.
 
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Well I pack my pins with tape..so Pamela be careful..I even put a warning on the envelope and on the tape pins as well
"Careful opening"Pins enclosed...I rather have them packed well instead of them thrown in the LBE or a regular white business size envelope with NO packing
thats my PET PEEVE!if you are going to trade "PACK THE PINS WELL!"otherwise you will hear it from me..in a nice way of course!Tory,I tried to create a video
demo on how to send pins for"Newbies"info and got shy and stopped!I might have to wing it and try again!LOL!!

Judy
 
Haha! I will be careful, Judy! :) I will try to use my nails to grab the edge of the tape and pull it off. I am always scared of scratching pins with scissors.

Everyone does it a little differently. When I send pins, I wrap them in bubble wrap, thick enough that they won't move around and unwrap inside the bubble envelope. That way, I don't have to tape the bubble wrap closed.
 
I agree with btowndude, the only thing that frustrates me is when people use wide clear tape and mummify the bubble wrapped pin, because i can't find the end and the tape wont budge off the bubble wrap and out comes the scissors-----cringe. Now i have these protected pins that made it through the post office, trucks, planes, and i will end up ruining it by knicking it with the darn scissors....
 
i've gotten two pins so far from TiggerMickey, and both times i've opened them i've been just amazed by the amount of tape. but my pins were safe! so i can't complain.
As for DS.com. pppphhhhh. When i started buying from them years ago, they sent these great little boxes with the pins in! I actually was using the boxes to store my pins for while till i got a bag. I just got two orders from them. the first was ok, all the pins were in those plastic bags with that weird plastic wrap stuff. The second.. nope. One was in the plastic bag, the other two had been left to fly around the box and wack into things. Which is really not cool when you spend $15.00 on a pin.
 
Agreed on the plain pin in envelope with no wrapping, I use sheet foam its like bubble wrap and it works well..
My biggest complaint is the Post office, 2 out of the last 15 packages lost , even with Delivery confirmation on one of the lost ones.
2 of the 13 that made it had damages to them.

and the PO people ask why people use Private carriers.
 
Anytime I've sent a pin, it's at least had one layer of bubblewrap before the bubble envelope, but after reading some of the stories on here, and after seeing how much tape and bubble wrap were on the pins I recently received from tiggermickey, I'll be adding at least another layer of bubble wrap! I have had pins that have been put just in an envelope (both bubble and regular) and they've survived, but I do dislike that people do that.

The Disney Store in the UK used to pack their pins pretty badly, but recently they've gotten better. They even have little bubble wrap envelopes for each pin, except for a little while they would squeeze more than one pin in each :( And the amount of backer cards that have been bent or folded, which really annoys me, since it leaves a great big crease in the card, but that's just me being picky :P

Thinking of which, I need to buy more bubble envelopes...
 
My pet peeve is parties not sending their trading info. It's alway a nice reminder as to what their PP ID is/was; makes it easier to remember who you're posting the reference for. :) I always send a calling/thank-you card with my PP ID and email, along with what the agreed trade was for.

To date, most of our traders are great about packaging the pins properly. I've received a couple from our beloved queen-of-wrap; nothing that a pair of scissors (paper cutters and exacto knives work great too!) applied carefully to the very edge to the package hasn't taken care of. :D
 
IT happened again...just got a trade in and the pins thrown in the vinyl envelope
pins clanging together..this is driving me NUTTS!!
 
tiggermickey said:
IT happened again...just got a trade in and the pins thrown in the vinyl envelope
pins clanging together..this is driving me NUTTS!!
Click to expand...
Since Tiggermickey and I had discussed earlier in this same thread, the fact that we traded this weekend, I just want to make it clear that this was not the package that I sent to her.

Judy, I'm sorry this happened to you. I bet the person will feel bad when they receive the package you sent, and see how well the pins were protected. Maybe as a result, they will do a better packaging job in their next trade. :)
 
Hi Pamela
YES it was definetly not yours..yours came awesomely wrapped well
He got his pins last Wednesday!he sent these on 12/2/11...

Anyone trading with Pamela..rest assured her pins are ALWAYS MINT!!and pkged well

Judy
 
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