On the wrapping of books

I've just received several eBay purchases from different sellers...first
editions of a mystery author I love (Emma Lathen) who -- fortunately for me,
I guess -- doesn't seem to be too popular or pricey. But the way these books
were wrapped got me to thinking.

Some of the books were individually wrapped, neat as Christmas packages, in
plain paper. One seller taped the wrapped book to a larger piece of
cardboard (I'm assuming to prevent corner bumps) and put it in a bubble
envelope. Another seller packed her multiple individually-wrapped books in a
box and stuffed it with newspaper to prevent shifting. The final seller
wrapped the book in bubble wrap (but nothing else) and sent it in a bubble
envelope.

I started buying and selling on eBay before ever getting a book from a
"real" bookseller, so I came up with my own way of packing, which for
hardcovers involves putting the book in a ziplock bag (to prevent water
damage, in case the box gets left out in the rain or something) and then
slipping it into a corrugated box with enough bubble wrap packing to keep it
from shifting. It seemed (intuitively) that this would be plenty of
protection for the book, but perhaps I just haven't had enough experience.

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not waterproof,
and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

Alice

"fwdixon" wrote in
:

"my-wings" wrote
As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of
wrapping
for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional
protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not
waterproof, and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

I like to stick a mailing label right on the dustjacket along with the
appropriate postage and drop it in the nearest mailbox.
Saves all that trouble packing and those boring trips to the Post
Office! --

That's right, but don't forget to tape the jacket firmly to the book so
they don't get separated. Remember, to collectors of modern firsts
especially, the book is a large part of the value of the jacket.

--
Alfred Armstrong
Now! With added Dot.Communism: http://www.oddbooks.com/
"The eye has been described by scientists as a small-sized volcano"
- Webster Edgerly

"my-wings" wrote in message ...
I've just received several eBay purchases from different sellers...first
editions of a mystery author I love (Emma Lathen) who -- fortunately for me,
I guess -- doesn't seem to be too popular or pricey. But the way these books
were wrapped got me to thinking.

most of this snipped

It seems that you'ver been pretty lucky. Most of your shippers had
some idea how to wrap a book so that it would arrive safely. I've
stopped buying through half.com, since most of the sellers there are
the rankest amateurs. One just dropped the book into a paper envelope,
and mailed it that way.

Just this week, I got an order from Amazon where the packer had placed
the books, unwrapped in any way, into a corrugated box, with the
spines against the edge of the carton (where they'd be most subject to
any damage), then filled the box in with crumpled newspaper. Happily,
there were no problems.

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not waterproof,
and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

I think if the book is first wrapped in plain paper, it would tend to
save the dust jacket from getting scuffed, particularly if there's
several items in the box.

Jim

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping
for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional
protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not
waterproof,
and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

The plain paper obviously doesn't protect the book, but I have found it
useful to differentiate between books that were bumped in the post (paper
wrapper is dented too) and a book that was sent out bumped by the seller.
Keeps my checklist of a seller's description vs reality up to date.

Cheers
Simon

On 4 Aug 2003 08:06:00 -0700, (Jim) declared:

Just this week, I got an order from Amazon where the packer had placed
the books, unwrapped in any way, into a corrugated box, with the
spines against the edge of the carton (where they'd be most subject to
any damage), then filled the box in with crumpled newspaper. Happily,
there were no problems.


ahh, the "science fiction book club" method. only amazon actually did
better, they used newspaper. anytime i order more than 2 books from
the sfbc i wonder how many will turn up damaged in some way. their
record for me is 9 out of 10, that happened about 2 years ago when the
damaged books all had broken spines from bad packing.


robert

"I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again
We went searching through thrift store jungles
Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's corset and pen"

As a buyer my ideal package would be a mylared wrapped DJ, followed by brown
paper, bubble wrap encased in corrugated cardboard and then a double
wrapping of brown paper. I have had this around 5 times out of 100, mainly
from well established booksellers and generally on cheaper books!

As a seller I find this impractical and instead use: 2 Layers of Bubble wrap
followed by two layers of brown paper, using card or a box follwed by
another two layers if the book is more than £50.

Cheers,

Tom L-M

"my-wings" wrote in message ...

I had a short stint as an internet bookseller and I never had any
complaints of shipping damage. My procedure was to: 1) Wrap & seal
(cellophane tape) each book in plain paper; 2) Enclose the wrapped
book in bubble pack again sealing it with tape; 3) surrounding the
books with sufficient bubble pack so they were secure in the shipping
container. With a single book I found a heavy manila envelope was
sufficient as a shipping contain. With two or more boks always a
cardboard box. Good luck on your "selling" enterprise.

I've just received several eBay purchases from different sellers...first
editions of a mystery author I love (Emma Lathen) who -- fortunately for me,
I guess -- doesn't seem to be too popular or pricey. But the way these books
were wrapped got me to thinking.

Some of the books were individually wrapped, neat as Christmas packages, in
plain paper. One seller taped the wrapped book to a larger piece of
cardboard (I'm assuming to prevent corner bumps) and put it in a bubble
envelope. Another seller packed her multiple individually-wrapped books in a
box and stuffed it with newspaper to prevent shifting. The final seller
wrapped the book in bubble wrap (but nothing else) and sent it in a bubble
envelope.

I started buying and selling on eBay before ever getting a book from a
"real" bookseller, so I came up with my own way of packing, which for
hardcovers involves putting the book in a ziplock bag (to prevent water
damage, in case the box gets left out in the rain or something) and then
slipping it into a corrugated box with enough bubble wrap packing to keep it
from shifting. It seemed (intuitively) that this would be plenty of
protection for the book, but perhaps I just haven't had enough experience.

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not waterproof,
and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

Alice

"Alfred Armstrong" wrote
That's right, but don't forget to tape the jacket firmly to the book so
they don't get separated.

I usually staple the DJ to the cover with several dozen industrial size
staples.
If I run out of staples, I use epoxy glue.
Seems to do the job!

--
Bob Finnan
The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page
http://www.Hardy-Boys.net
New & Out Of Print Books, Books-On-Tape, Videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs For Sale
http://users.arczip.com/fwdixon/hbsale.htm
To reply: replace spamless with fwdixon
.................................................. ....................

"Htn963" wrote in message
...
"my-wings" wrote:

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping
for
shipping, and why?

I've just started selling books (and some computer games) online and
have
only sold about 100 items, but FWIW, here's what I've been doing:

I individually handwrap my orders snugly all- around in bubble sheet
with
tapings at the middle and ends (like I would wrap christmas presents) and
ship
them off in heavy-duty manilla envelopes. (For especially large,
valuable, or
heavy items, a corrugated box is used in place of the envelopes, with
additional bubble wrapping.) I've found this method quick, economical,
and
provides good protection from all the bumpings that the item might
encounter on
the postal trail; it also looks and feels aesthetically pleasing
(methinks).

NO, NO, NO manila envelopes with bubble wrap inside. Are you
aware how easily that manila envelope can be torn, since it's
basically a squishy package?

My books are all send with a receipt inside a plastic bag, taped
shut to help protect against moisture. Books are then wrapped
in soft cardboard or bubble wrap, and then mailed inside a
sturdy cardboard wrap.

I could care less if my packaging is "aethetically pleasing" --
but I've **never** had a book get damaged in shipment.

Kris

As either a seller or a buyer, what is your preferred method of wrapping for
shipping, and why? I'm specifically interested in what additional protection
the individual paper wrapping might offer. It's certainly not waterproof,
and it doesn't seem thick enough to be much protection.

You know, nothing protects a book from damage in the mail more than being cast
in good Portland cement, preferably in a big 50 pound block. That'll keep the
corners from getting bumped!


"Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations as between neighbor
citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang, as when
single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang."

--Benjamin Franklin