Buy a $1,000 book, get a five year old polybag.

[RockMyAmadeus]

honestly, i wouldn't expect a mylar/mylite, not everyone has those. yeah, a non-yucky looking polybag would be nice, but I've had some that got that weird wrinkliness to them like 6 months after I bagged the books, so it's hard to tell how old they are. I don't expect a fancy backing board, though with a book like that I would probably double or triple board the book with the regular coated boards I get from my shop or have sitting around.

 

as for a box, yeah, probably with a book like that though I have sent out $400-500 books in the flat rate envelope with REALLY sturdy 4-5 piece of cardboard, though in hindsight I probably should have used a box. i've never had a book damaged in a well-packed flat rate PM envelope though.

That you know of...,

 

I assume someone would say something if that had happened. I can box a book up all nice and such and if someone wants to toss it hard it might get damaged too.

 

Don't assume just since no one says something, it hasn't happened. I'm guessing the average damage rate on flat rate priority envelope shipped books is at least 25% - that's my win rate with sellers who do that to me. I rarely say anything unless I'm out-of-pocket quite a bit. I just don't order from them again.

 

I did recently bring this issue up with a boardie who had additional books I wanted - I wanted reassurance he would package correctly - he wouldn't commit, so I didn't order. His exact words were:

 

I am sorry for the previous packaging issues. I cannot guarantee that these books will arrive safe and sound. My intention is to package them well however I cannot be responsible for how they are tossed around once they leave.

 

Again, sorry for the whatever occurred in the past.

 

 

Really...in all sincerity...how hard is it to pack so the effing books arrive undamaged???

 

I've shipped GLASS across the CONTINENT, and still had zero damage. I've shipped thousands and thousands and thousands of comics all over the world, and to my knowledge, not a single one of them was damaged. Not one!

 

And it ain't because I'm Einstein.

 

It's not rocket surgery, people. It's really...really...really....TRULY...not.

 

I think every single seller should be REQUIRED to take a class on packaging fragile collectibles before being allowed to sell. STOP blaming USPS/UPS/FedEx and just learn how to pack properly to withstand NORMAL handling.

 

It CAN be done. And for the VERY rare times it cannot, that's what insurance is for.

 

Buncha crackheads.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Quite often collections come in the store that are thirty + years old and aren't in bags at all.

Sometimes they include books that are worth a thousand or more. This thread has made me see the light.

From now on I won't be buying any books that aren't in perfect new mylars.

 

Even if they are slabbed.

 

Can you show us an example of a crummy book that came into your store without a brand new bag on it?

 

 

Ghastly.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

He didn't want the same crappy bag. He wanted a new 0.50 Mylar. So there.

Would this thread exist if it was sent in a crappy old 0.50 Mylar?

 

Yes it would, but I would have focused more on sending a book like this in an envelope.

I once got a Showcase 4 in the mail in one of those clasped brown envelopes with no bag or backing board. Just stupid.

But somehow the darn thing arrived safe and sound.

 

Reading this post was like getting a sock to the gut.

 

[lizards2]

honestly, i wouldn't expect a mylar/mylite, not everyone has those. yeah, a non-yucky looking polybag would be nice, but I've had some that got that weird wrinkliness to them like 6 months after I bagged the books, so it's hard to tell how old they are. I don't expect a fancy backing board, though with a book like that I would probably double or triple board the book with the regular coated boards I get from my shop or have sitting around.

 

as for a box, yeah, probably with a book like that though I have sent out $400-500 books in the flat rate envelope with REALLY sturdy 4-5 piece of cardboard, though in hindsight I probably should have used a box. i've never had a book damaged in a well-packed flat rate PM envelope though.

That you know of...,

 

I assume someone would say something if that had happened. I can box a book up all nice and such and if someone wants to toss it hard it might get damaged too.

 

Don't assume just since no one says something, it hasn't happened. I'm guessing the average damage rate on flat rate priority envelope shipped books is at least 25% - that's my win rate with sellers who do that to me. I rarely say anything unless I'm out-of-pocket quite a bit. I just don't order from them again.

 

I did recently bring this issue up with a boardie who had additional books I wanted - I wanted reassurance he would package correctly - he wouldn't commit, so I didn't order. His exact words were:

 

I am sorry for the previous packaging issues. I cannot guarantee that these books will arrive safe and sound. My intention is to package them well however I cannot be responsible for how they are tossed around once they leave.

 

Again, sorry for the whatever occurred in the past.

 

 

there is no way i have a 25% damage rate and i have no way had a 25% damage rate on any books shipped to me in an envelope that are packed PROPERLY..that is between 3-6 pieces of sturdy carboard. do you have gorillas working at your local PO?

 

the most damaged books I ever got were shipped in a PM box because the shipper was clueless as to how books should be packed once inside the box, but i don't blame the box!

 

anyway, where do people get all these boxes for 1 comic at a time? i ordered a bunch of uline boxes a long time ago and am still working through them, but i don't expect everyone else to have done so.

 

 

It's not the local p.o., it is all the p.o.s and processing machinery in between. In fact, don't blame the frickin' p.o. at all - it is the poor packaging. If you don't mark you priority envelopes 'fragile' they are fed through the machines and chewed up there. It doesn't matter how much cardboard you pack in it, the machines are stronger.

 

I love this argument - I'm always told I'm frickin' wrong about all the damaged books I get. Priority flat-rate envelopes are losers, and it is playing Russian roulette to ship in this manner. The packages are frequently dunned and bent, or folded in half. If you're shipping craaap, then ship in an envelope - it doesn't matter. If you're shipping good stuff, properly pack it in a box.

 

I'm not saying you can't mis-package with a box - that is a given.

 

You can ship one book in a priority box for under one pound and it is the same price as a priority envelope - box #O-1097 - you can get them shipped free to your house from www.usps.com

 

You can also box ship one to two books first class for $3-4. You'll have to find your own boxes for that.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

it pretty much doesn't matter how the book comes to me, i am scrapping the bag & board right away.

 

get'r in one of my very own mylite2/halfback w/ a lil archival paper.

[adamstrange]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

[TheWatcher]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

 

Adamstrange posting in Comics General?!

[FFB]

I have 20 year old bags that look just like the ones I bought this year

 

 

Do you keep $1,000 books in them?

 

Oh my no

 

Polybags and unbuffered boards don't become acidic for 5 to 10 years, although that time period can go up or down depending upon the environment they're stored in. For shipping, it doesn't matter at all. I sense some kind of weird indignation that polybags are an affront to the respectability of a vintage comic, which is fairly melodramatic. If what you're peeved about is that a seller who is netting a grand off of a comic is cheaping out on you by not sending you a mylite, then the two considerations are that most people don't even use mylites at all as well as mylars allow too much sliding room as others are pointing out. However, he could have put the polybag inside a mylar so you'd be ready to go with storage when the book got to you, so yea, the seller was cheaping out a little, which if he sells lots of books is something he should think about changing.

 

Some unbuffered boards are acidic on one side when you buy them. (The kind that are sprayed with an alkaline spray and have a dull side and shiny side.) I demonstrated this with a pH test a few years ago and posted the results on the boards.

 

But yes, I don't care about shipping in a bad bad Leroy bag and board. I do care about sending a $1000 book in a Priority Mail envelope though. Amateur hour indeed.

[ImageMask]

I have 20 year old bags that look just like the ones I bought this year

 

 

Do you keep $1,000 books in them?

 

Oh my no

 

Polybags and unbuffered boards don't become acidic for 5 to 10 years, although that time period can go up or down depending upon the environment they're stored in. For shipping, it doesn't matter at all. I sense some kind of weird indignation that polybags are an affront to the respectability of a vintage comic, which is fairly melodramatic. If what you're peeved about is that a seller who is netting a grand off of a comic is cheaping out on you by not sending you a mylite, then the two considerations are that most people don't even use mylites at all as well as mylars allow too much sliding room as others are pointing out. However, he could have put the polybag inside a mylar so you'd be ready to go with storage when the book got to you, so yea, the seller was cheaping out a little, which if he sells lots of books is something he should think about changing.

 

Some unbuffered boards are acidic on one side when you buy them. (The kind that are sprayed with an alkaline spray and have a dull side and shiny side.) I demonstrated this with a pH test a few years ago and posted the results on the boards.

 

But yes, I don't care about shipping in a bad and board. I do care about sending a $1000 book in a Priority Mail envelope though. Amateur hour indeed.

 

It was a $600+ book. Not 1k. What is shipping in

a bad and board

 

 

 

[FFB]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

[ImageMask]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

 

Post it's chemical structure......................ez google for you.

[innocuous]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

I did not know this, but I've been tossing them in the recycle bin for years. Thanks.

[fantastic_four]

Any time you allow someone into your shop, you should be sure their goods are bagged. Perhaps double bagged even.

 

Wow, you allow people into your shop? I visit other people's shops, but I don't let people into mine.

[musicmeta]

honestly, i wouldn't expect a mylar/mylite, not everyone has those. yeah, a non-yucky looking polybag would be nice, but I've had some that got that weird wrinkliness to them like 6 months after I bagged the books, so it's hard to tell how old they are. I don't expect a fancy backing board, though with a book like that I would probably double or triple board the book with the regular coated boards I get from my shop or have sitting around.

 

as for a box, yeah, probably with a book like that though I have sent out $400-500 books in the flat rate envelope with REALLY sturdy 4-5 piece of cardboard, though in hindsight I probably should have used a box. i've never had a book damaged in a well-packed flat rate PM envelope though.

That you know of...,

 

I assume someone would say something if that had happened. I can box a book up all nice and such and if someone wants to toss it hard it might get damaged too.

 

Don't assume just since no one says something, it hasn't happened. I'm guessing the average damage rate on flat rate priority envelope shipped books is at least 25% - that's my win rate with sellers who do that to me. I rarely say anything unless I'm out-of-pocket quite a bit. I just don't order from them again.

 

I did recently bring this issue up with a boardie who had additional books I wanted - I wanted reassurance he would package correctly - he wouldn't commit, so I didn't order. His exact words were:

 

I am sorry for the previous packaging issues. I cannot guarantee that these books will arrive safe and sound. My intention is to package them well however I cannot be responsible for how they are tossed around once they leave.

 

Again, sorry for the whatever occurred in the past.

 

 

Really...in all sincerity...how hard is it to pack so the effing books arrive undamaged???

 

I've shipped GLASS across the CONTINENT, and still had zero damage. I've shipped thousands and thousands and thousands of comics all over the world, and to my knowledge, not a single one of them was damaged. Not one!

 

And it ain't because I'm Einstein.

 

It's not rocket surgery, people. It's really...really...really....TRULY...not.

 

I think every single seller should be REQUIRED to take a class on packaging fragile collectibles before being allowed to sell. STOP blaming USPS/UPS/FedEx and just learn how to pack properly to withstand NORMAL handling.

 

It CAN be done. And for the VERY rare times it cannot, that's what insurance is for.

 

Buncha crackheads.

 

For less expensive books, in nearly all selling transactions, I put the books in a new poly bag with a backing board, put the stack of books in a larger bag(ie. Magazine, Treasury or even a newspaper bag), put tape around it to seal it off, put 2 pieces of cardboard on the top and bottom, put this in a box to fit snug and a lot times, depending on value, put this in another box like a priority mail box to ship the books. I've never had any compliants about my packing and shipping methods.

Most of my expensive books(expense to me anyway) are already graded.

[FFB]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

 

Post it's chemical structure......................ez google for you.

 

Remind me again - do I like you or not? I can't figure out whether I am supposed to have been antagonized by your snarky comment.

[namisgr]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

 

Post it's chemical structure......................ez google for you.

 

Remind me again - do I like you or not? I can't figure out whether I am supposed to have been antagonized by your snarky comment.

 

Don't worry, it's not a valid comment anyway - PETE is a polymer of variable chain length, so there is no single chemical structure to it.

[ImageMask]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

 

Post it's chemical structure......................ez google for you.

 

Remind me again - do I like you or not? I can't figure out whether I am supposed to have been antagonized by your snarky comment.

 

 

The comment was in jest. Hence the The stance of your reply indicates a FAIL.

 

Had I been trying to antagonize you I would have pointed out while Mylar is recyclable it is not biodegradable. So Mr.Bed’s comment is accurate.

 

As to whether you like me not, rhetorical question?

 

[ImageMask]

I'm starting to worry about how many Mylar bags are going into landfill.

The things don't degrade

Imagine future generations excavating landfill and trying to decipher the code from one of Harley Yee's old used mylars.

 

Mylar is recyclable. It is the same kind of plastic used in plastic soda bottles and thousands of other commonly encountered applications. Mylar is a trademark name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is SPI resin code 1. (The SPI resin code is the number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle.) Mylar is the easiest plastic to recycle under the current plastic recycling system and is the most commonly recycled plastic.

 

So toss those old mylars in the recycling bin, folks, not in the trash can. (thumbs u

 

Post it's chemical structure......................ez google for you.

 

Remind me again - do I like you or not? I can't figure out whether I am supposed to have been antagonized by your snarky comment.

 

Don't worry, it's not a valid comment anyway - PETE is a polymer of variable chain length, so there is no single chemical structure to it.

 

This would the PETE structure.

 

 

The n indicating the number of chains. But the structure is specific.

 

[Peter Loves Gwen]

Interesting stuff, Roy hit most of the right points.

 

I work for the USPS, and I'm a mail carrier. I can tell you how any mail is likely to be damaged.

All mail now is attempted to be read by machine. If an item can be read by a machine, poof, no human has to ever read it again until it reaches the destination PO. If an article cannot be read by a machine, most of it(some odd PO's are not fully upgraded into the system) is then directed to a place where a barcode is applied to the article. Once again, when a machine can read it, nobody has to look at it for most of it's trip.

Packaging an item poorly causes probably 98% of all damage. Mail is no longer handled by hand and hand placed in slots/bags/containers any more. The exceptions are Registered mail and Express mail. Everything else is mixed at the start, and sorted apart at the final destination.

 

Rant of mine, morons in the PO take in articles and improperly separate them into the wrong groups. They intentionally place letters or flats that are not large enough to be parcels, into the parcel stream. Those will travel as they are first separated, thus slowing down the carrier at the end who has to resort them into the right groups. Example, if you buy pictures online, they are shipped to you in a plain kind of envelope about 5x7" in size. Guess how those come to me... as parcels. They are tossed literally into the parcels, and other parcels tossed on top of them. I wonder what idiots decided that was safer for pictures.

 

Anyway, letters are sorted by machines, basically all of them. Flats are not yet, but most are, and soon all will be sorted by machines. Those flat sorting machines are not good for fragile items. The flats go down a chute and are diverted to side chutes into a tub which they fall into, not neatly. They land in any direction, about half upside down. We call them helicopter flats, they take much longer to pull out and sort. If you place a comic book in a plain type of envelope with no protection, expect a few new dings.

 

Anything that they cannot get to run in the flat sorting machines, those will be tossed into the parcels. Parcels do okay(I believe) until they reach the delivery PO. There they are all sorted to routes, by hand, through the air, into individual hampers. All parcels which can be tossed into hampers, are thus tossed up to 15-20 feet depending on how many hampers(routes) there are.

 

Now, if you can comprehend that, imagine what happens when any parcel is tossed onto another parcel. Parcels can weigh up to 70 pounds. You know what some boxes look like that we ship comics in. Imagine what happens when another box weighing 20+ pounds lands on the side of the typical box like that? Can your packaging methods withstand an impact from a tossed 20lbs. parcel onto its side? Parcels are tossed that way if the clerk can physically do it. The heavy stuff is suppose to be carried around to the hampers, or over to the carrier.

 

The point I'm trying to say is, do not assume that parcels are set down lightly upon each other. Please do not assume that each parcel is hand carried and set on or into the next sorting device. UPS and Fedex etc. use a lot of conveyor belts. They can do that because all they do is parcels. At the USPS they have to deal with any shape or size of mail article, thus they use a lot of cages of steel or aluminum, huge boxes, bags, hampers, tubs or trays. There are a minimum of conveyor belts, the UPS/Fedex uses those for sorting. In the USPS it's all about sorting into types and machine reading them, raw sorting into big cages/boxes etc(likely tossed), and then fine sorting by hand(tossed) at the destination PO. Fine sorting doesn't mean like handling fragile comics, I'm talking about sorting to the route, and then to the address.

 

USPS parcels are all tossed, if they are light enough to be tossed. Package anything like you expect a 50 pound object to land on it with its corner. Regards,

[namisgr]

 

This would the PETE structure.

 

 

The n indicating the number of chains. But the structure is specific.

 

Sorry dude, but that's the formula for PETE. With the n being undefined, the formula isn't any specific structure.