Poor Packing Versus Vintage Celluloid

[dcpritch]

Today I received two parcels. One was from Goulet Pens - three ink boxes, each individually placed in a zip-loc baggie, tightly wrapped together in blue cellophane, surrounded by a massive cocoon of large bubble wrap, placed into a medium size with heavy paper wadding to fill any extra space, taped shut and received two days after I ordered. Three bottles of ink made it across the country without mishap.

 

Contrast that with the very small padded envelope I received today from an anonymous eBay seller. It carried an unwrapped 90 year old Good Service ringtop made of a beautiful green celluloid, now broken in half. The pen lasted about 90 years through who knows what, now carelessly ruined forever. Who would even think to just throw a brittle vintage pen into an envelope and expect it to last?

 

Such a shame. I was hoping to fix this up and give it to a friend.

 

I'm sad and perturbed at the same time.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Do remember to give him a 0 for packing. And write he don't know how to pack...it might help some one from buying from him.

Label him destroyer of national treasures.

Show no mercy.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[phlosar]

What I waste! I have had that happen over the years with ebay purchases. The pen gets reduced to a few possibly usable parts. The best you can do is get your $ and instruct them on proper packing for future sales (the range of acceptable packaging is pretty broad). I love getting a Goulet package -- you can use it as a pillow at work before briging it home and unwrapping everything.

[dcpritch]

To be fair, the seller immediately refunded my payment, but that does not diminish her complicity in this Crime Against Pens.

 

The pics above don't really show how bad it is - the pen literally came apart in my hands when I took off the cap. The barrel is in five different pieces.

[Pentulant]

What a shame.

Like you said - it made such a long time and then this.

[ShallowJam]

How should a pen be shipped? I've received orders from ebay and goulet alike, and had everything from a padded mailer to a box with loads of bubble wrap.

 

I'm not trying to blame you, but I've always been under the impression that you get what you pay for. A box costs a lot more than an envelope to ship, and I would think if you paid about $5 for shipping, then it is probably not a box.

 

I am curious though, how should a single pen be mailed on the cheap but safely?

[pen2paper]

No!

[JonSzanto]

Man, we have been down this road many times on FPN, and don't know how deep to go again. That said...

 

DC, sorry for the loss to the pen. I'll give minor props to a seller who refunds your money, but also realize that it doesn't bring back the pen.

 

*Every* time I win a pen auction and pay for it, I be sure to include a message to seller to place pack carefully, worded in such a way as to show that I value this vintage object that has lasted this long, and hope they will too. I offer to suggest packing methods if they aren't sure.

 

One of the safest is pretty easy and cheap: a short section of PVC pipe, cut longer than the pen. The pen can be wrapped in tissue or other, placed inside the small length of pipe, and then the pipe wrapped in a box. Very little would be able to damage a pen wrapped this way. Other methods would be stiff cardboard forming a 3-sided, triangular tube, and then just massive amounts of padding (bubble, styro peanuts, other) that would keep the pen safe all save for being run over by a tank.

 

Like I said, there have been long threads about this; I remember in particular a really, really old HR pen that was just *shattered*. Some people get very defensive from the sellers standpoint, but I do believe it is their obligation to ship it in a manner that at least reasonably guarantees safe transfer.

 

DC, I hope something good happens to you to balance out this particular event.

[JonSzanto]

Ok, I wanted to highlight one thread, to avoid a total re-hash about packing, damage, etc. This kind of stuff should NEVER happen, but it does. Read the thread below for some ideas about packing a pen for shipment, etc. Warning: the photos of the damage to the pen are graphic!

 

This Is Why You Don't Ship Pens In Bubble Envelopes

[Paul Raposo]

That really stinks, DC, sorry to see that. Ninety years of history shattered forever

[dcpritch]

Thanks you guys for the well wishes. I know you can feel my pain.

 

... how should a single pen be mailed on the cheap but safely?

 

Jim, take a look at the link provided by JonSzanto. There has been much discussion on FPN, usually begun by an incident such as this, about good/better/best ways of shipping. There are innumerable methods, but the one I prefer is a pen wrapped in tissue or bubble wrap, then slid inside a PVC tube (or specialized shipping container such as the ones sold by Gary and Myrna Lehrer at GoPens.com), then placed inside a mailing box. I usually put some bubble wrap around the tube as well, to keep it from shaking around inside the box.

 

I have mailed less expensive pens individually wrapped in bubble wrap and then placed inside a box such as a USPS Flat Rate box, and have never had a problem with that method. Even so, I've seen pics of damage done to strong boxes, so take a look at the various recommendations and ship accordingly.

[dcpritch]

Oh, here's a picture of the pen that fell apart in my hand when I removed the cap:

 

[Vintagepens]

I'm not trying to blame you, but I've always been under the impression that you get what you pay for. A box costs a lot more than an envelope to ship, and I would think if you paid about $5 for shipping, then it is probably not a box.

 

Within the USA, the cost to mail a box is pretty much the same as to mail a padded envelope. It's different for international shipment, where the cost of a box is twice that of an envelope, at least for light packages. If you buy in bulk, the boxes themselves also cost around the same as the padded envelopes, sometimes a bit less.

 

$5 will nicely cover the cost of a box, packing material, and First Class postage with Signature Confirmation within the USA.

[LedZepGirl]

Ugh, that sucks. Even if you do mail a pen in a piece of pipe it can still be crushed if the post decides to play football with it.

 

Have you ever done any pen repairs before? If so, you could use this as an opportunity to try solvent welding and see what happens.

[JonSzanto]

Ugh, that sucks. Even if you do mail a pen in a piece of pipe it can still be crushed if the post decides to play football with it.

If a construction crane falls on me while I'm cycle-commuting, my helmet - and I - may not survive. Nonetheless, that doesn't speak to the vast number of daily situations that my bike helmet will keep me from harm.

 

The awareness of "worst case scenarios" doesn't preclude stacking the deck in your favor.

[dcpritch]

... you could use this as an opportunity to try solvent welding and see what happens.

 

I was actually thinking about that, especially because the breaks are clean and there aren't any tiny parts floating around. Can you point me in a direction to get some basic info?

[LedZepGirl]

Ugh, that sucks. Even if you do mail a pen in a piece of pipe it can still be crushed if the post decides to play football with it.

If a construction crane falls on me while I'm cycle-commuting, my helmet - and I - may not survive. Nonetheless, that doesn't speak to the vast number of daily situations that my bike helmet will keep me from harm.

 

The awareness of "worst case scenarios" doesn't preclude stacking the deck in your favor.

 

I said this because I had it happen. Mailed a pen in a pipe and it was smashed when it arrived at the buyer's house. The post must've run it over with something.

[LedZepGirl]

... you could use this as an opportunity to try solvent welding and see what happens.

 

I was actually thinking about that, especially because the breaks are clean and there aren't any tiny parts floating around. Can you point me in a direction to get some basic info?

 

I'd check out the Repair thread and see what they have to offer. Also the American Art Plastics site has a section on celluloid repairs and what solvents work for what.

[JonSzanto]

I said this because I had it happen. Mailed a pen in a pipe and it was smashed when it arrived at the buyer's house. The post must've run it over with something.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb204/EnvoyC/resource/headwall.jpg

[J-F-O]

Such a sad event. On the bright side it's not a perfect blue and Patrician and you get to practice pen repair. I'm always surprised to see how sellers package their pens. I've received $100 pens in a bubble envelope with nothing more than a piece of stiff cardboard around the pen. The tube solution is really a good one IMHO.