Shipping: Padded/Bubble Mailer vs. Manilla Envelope

[Runefaust]

Irritates me to no end when a game isn't packaged properly...

Even with a bubble padded envelope the jewel cases have a high chance of getting damaged in the shipping process. My standard version of Catherine arrived with a crack in the case an' a couple Genesis games I ordered came with fragments broken off the edges of the shell cases.

I used to work as a package handler at DHL so I know from experience just how much trauma some of these packages go through...

[Zing]

I would never find anything less than a padded envelope to be acceptable. Luckily, I haven't experienced this often.

I once bought Super Metroid with manual from someone. He shipped the manual and game separately, to save shipping costs since it would allow him to send it letter mail. This is what was wrapped around the cart:


He took plain brown paper and taped it around the cart. He also did the same for the manual. Luckily, nothing was damaged.

[irixith]

In my mind, shipping a video game requires a padded/bubble mailer or sturdy box with some type of packing material to fill the empty space.

I agree 110%.

If I could show you some of the horrendous packing jobs I've received lately, it would blow your mind. It's always packages from the US too! When you send international, you must properly pad things, it's got a lot farther to go and spend more time in the system than US to US packages do. I've received a couple of items broken recently (from poor packaging), and one where part of the item was missing because the box they shipped it in was so weak it split apart in transit, with no tape covering the seams.

Always pad, no matter the item. Respect the item and the buyer!

[BoringSupreez]

In my mind, shipping a video game requires a padded/bubble mailer or sturdy box with some type of packing material to fill the empty space.

I agree 110%.

If I could show you some of the horrendous packing jobs I've received lately, it would blow your mind. It's always packages from the US too! When you send international, you must properly pad things, it's got a lot farther to go and spend more time in the system than US to US packages do. I've received a couple of items broken recently (from poor packaging), and one where part of the item was missing because the box they shipped it in was so weak it split apart in transit, with no tape covering the seams.

Worst packaging I ever received was international from Canada, actually. I was buying MGS: TTS from some guy in Ontario, paid an arm and a leg for shipping. Took 3 weeks to get here, and it came in the top part of a Warhammer 40,000 box (the tabletop version), folded in half and taped shut. LAME.

[irixith]

Brutal!

Of all the places to cheap out, packaging is not one of them.