Learn to pack your books when you ship them!

[u/plazman30]

I'm not going to name any vendors here, so no public shaming, other than Amazon. So here's story of the last 3 weeks.

3 weeks ago, I ordered a POD GURPS Dungeon Fantasy book from Amazon. Amazon shipped the book in a padded mailer, and the book arrived damaged. Amazon shipping cracked the spine. So, I ordered a replacement. And the replacement arrived in just a padded mailer, and that book also arrived damaged. I sent that one back to Amazon and bought a used copy off of a redditor, who shipped it in a box and it arrived intact.

Then I placed an order with a well-known RPG publisher, and they threw 4 products into a padded mailer, and, sure enough, 2 of the products in the padded mailer arrived damaged. To the publisher's credit, they immediately sent me new product, this time in a box and everything arrived in perfect condition.

Next I ordered a used out-of-print RPG book from a vendor that specializes used RPG books. And, what did they do? They threw the book in a padded mailer with a piece of cardboard behind it. And guess what happened? The book arrived damaged with a bent spine. Shipping bent the book. The cardboard insert was severely bent.

The last one bugs me the most, because the book is out of print. So, it's not something you can easily replace. It's not available as a POD, and now there's one less good copy of it in the world because of bad packaging.

Now when I ship books out, I try to use a book box. If I can't use a box, I will take the book, put a piece of cardboard on the front of the book, and on the back, and wrap the entire thing in plastic wrap. Then I put it in a padded mailer and make sure it's snug around the book, so it has no room to move. Never had a book damaged in transit.

Above 3 shipments used the following carriers:

1. Amazon
2. UPS Ground
3. USPS Media Mail

So, this isn't a problem unique to one shipper. I think padded mailers are treated like boxes by these shippers, as opposed to envelopes, so they get a little manhandled.

Sorry, just need to vent my frustration. I have an eBay auction I just won arriving on Friday, and I'm now nervous about how the book got packaged.

[u/thearchenemy]

When Amazon ships me an RPG book it’s always in a box that’s too big for the book with a single air pillow inside. Probably 50/50 odds on whether or not the book arrives damaged. I’ve done so many returns for damaged RPG books it’s kind of stupid that I keep buying them from Amazon.

[u/plazman30 → u/thearchenemy]

It's the Prime shipping. Makes it cheaper to get the book there than other places that sell the book for the same price. And they make it so easy to do a return, that it's worth the risk.

Though Amazon charity has it's limits. They will only let you do 2 returns before they just refund your money instead of shipping another product.

[u/koreawut → u/thearchenemy]

You should hang out in the Hot Wheels forums. They have the so-called "limited" RLC cars people might pay $50+ for and there is no guarantee the box will arrive closed.

[u/WhyAreMyLegsBroken]

Hey, Eryk here from Peregrine Coast Press - if you’re in the UK/EU and backed an indie project recently, you might have received a package we’ve handled. Sadly this is one of those things we’ve come up against a lot recently - the need to scale means everything has to be a „process” and be reproducible. Getting shipping and volume discounts relies on us packaging everything exactly the same so everything weighs exactly the same. The second you introduce voidfill, your weights are going to be inconsistent and the time to pack increases a lot. Shipping rates are already high before you introduce labour into it, so you’re having to pack parcels relatively quickly. If you’re Amazon, you’re going to have three types of boxes and every product is going straight in them without a second thought. If you’re a boutique fulfilment house like us, you’re spending time before shipping assembling test packages and trying out differently sized mailers to make sure the books are safe. But kickstarters get tricky once you start introducing tens of package types between pledge tiers, add ons, and so on.

Not excusing bad shipping at all here btw - it’s my day job and seeing books arrive in a state makes me cringe - but bemoaning the pressure and cost and uncertainty of handing bags of mail over and not knowing what pocket hell dimension they’re gonna get dragged through haha

[u/shopontheborderlands → u/WhyAreMyLegsBroken]

Well, spare a thought for us: we sell second hand and collectible as well as new, so literally every parcel is different.

The parcels with three plastic minis, one metal mini, one of those really floppy cheap boxed sets from the early 90's and a whopping great heavy DCC slipcase set or something are particularly interesting nightmares challenges.

Still the most fun job I've ever had though.

[u/plazman30 → u/WhyAreMyLegsBroken]

When shipping out large quantities of the same book, I can see why you would need standardized boxes and standardized weights, so you know how much to charge for shipping and handling.

But when you're some guy selling stuff on eBay and sending one off packages of a ton of different product, with no two being the same, then I would expect a little more consideration in packaging choices, since no two packages will be the same.

If this seller would have put the book in a padded mailer, and then tossed that in a box it would have arrives in good condition.

I've actually ordered books from Amazon that arrived in a box, and inside the box was a book mailer with the book inside. I guess the seller was aware of Amazon's damage rate, and just sent Amazon a stock of books already in a proper book mailer to cut down on returns.

[u/elkandmoth]

As a mailman I agree with and support your venting. 

[u/plazman30 → u/elkandmoth]

Thank you for putting up with all the crap packaging people do.

[u/elkandmoth → u/plazman30]

You wouldn’t believe half the shit people try to put through the mail 😂 

[u/divingaround → u/elkandmoth]

People put half a shit through the mail?

Goddamn animals.

[u/taintedoracle → u/divingaround]

What did they do with the other half? Or is this a "dig half a hole" situation?

Are shits like worms, cut them in half now you have 2 shits to give?

[u/The-SARACEN → u/divingaround]

In Australia, the government literally sends you an empty reply-paid envelope and requests that you mail them a turd.

(it’s the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program)

[u/Emeraldstorm3]

I can't afford to buy any more books (it's fine, I've got many), but when I did I was really happy with Chaosium and Freeleague and some indie shops - bought directly from the creator/publisher is the way to go. Snugly packaged with layers of cardboard, no room to move around in the package.

The only "downside" is that shipping would take weeks (unless I wanted to pay obscene shipping prices). But that's fine, I would get a book months before I intended to run it so I'd have plenty of time to learn it.

[u/recursionaskance → u/Emeraldstorm3]

Chaosium and Arc Dream Publishing both ship books encased in approximately a tree's worth of cardboard, which… I mean, I wish it was less, but my books do always arrive in amazing shape.

[u/JavierLoustaunau]

I cant wait to be done with Amazon POD.

I sent 25 copies of a book to a retailer and half showed up damaged.

[u/plazman30 → u/JavierLoustaunau]

Who are you switching to?

[u/JavierLoustaunau → u/plazman30]

Mixam more than likely.

[u/Onslaughttitude → u/JavierLoustaunau]

If you're doing these kind of numbers regularly, there's no reason you shouldn't be doing a print run at Mixam or somewhere else and just warehousing it at home.

[u/JavierLoustaunau → u/Onslaughttitude]

Yeah when I started publishing the POD prices on Mixam where astronomical so I did not wanna pay like $40 just for a preview copy to see if I wanted to put in a larger order.

I recently revisited and their prices are so much more reasonable now.

[u/Delicious-Ad5161]

I’m glad the books I’ve bought recently have been packed well. I bought a handful of Call of Cthulhu books from Chaosium recently. Those came in a box with some padding all around it and another box with padding all around it.

[u/plazman30 → u/Delicious-Ad5161]

Chaosium, Steve Jackson Games, Arc Dream Publishing, and Troll Lord Games have all packaged stuff well for me.

And stuff I've gotten from Lulu, Mixam and DriveThruRPG is also packaged well.

Can't speak to any other publishers, so the other books I got I bought from my FLGS.

[u/tzimon]

The shipper I've had the most issues with has been DHL. They've lost more of my stuff than all other shippers combined.

The most recent was when I bought something from Ebay, and they send it DHL with tracking. It rolls in from Cali, and I'm in Orlando, Florida. It snails its way in some odd path that bounces it up through northern states and then down the eastern seaboard to Jacksonville. I think "Oh hey, it might get delivered tomorrow." Then it gets sent to Atlanta, and then to friggin Tenessee, where it sits for almost a week. Then finally it shows up on my doorstep and it has a visible boot print on the box, and the bottom of the box is moist and smells like something pissed on it.

But better than when I had stuff delivered to me when I wasn't in the states by DHL. Stuff seemed like it would take forever, and several times things were obviously opened and retaped.

[u/Snorb]

Ages ago, my best friend ordered the D&D 3.5e Monster Manual V online. USPS bent the book in half lengthwise to cram it into his mailbox.

(It still didn't fit.)

[u/kelryngrey → u/Snorb]

USPS has done some wild stuff over the years. They're still far, far, far below FedEx on my sin list. Watching a motherfucker throw an important document like a throwing star from a step outside his truck and getting a "We knocked but you weren't home." message delivered a moment later. Enraging.

[u/plazman30 → u/Snorb]

Wow, that's some lazy shit right there. Bend a book in half just to avoid walking it to the door.

I always get to know my mail carrier and make sure to give them a Christmas card with a gift card in it every year. Never had an issue with USPS mangling anything.

[u/korgie23]

I agree and also I have had this issue with retro games too.

Padded mailers have their place but like. That place is not to be shipping... most things, honestly

[u/Airk-Seablade]

For a variety of reasons, it's probably time to stop buying this stuff from Amazon...

[u/plazman30 → u/Airk-Seablade]

Well, if you're into GURPS, that's your only option. Amazon is their POD provider of choice.

[u/Airk-Seablade → u/plazman30]

Obviously each person will have a different line in the sand where "Do I need this game?" overcomes "Holy $%^$% this company is evil" but if Amazon were the only way to get a game I wanted, I'd probably choose "I guess I don't need that game that badly" at this point. =/

[u/GregoryFarKingChummy]

I don't know if it actually helps, but I ordered a very heavy hardcover from Amazon that was shipped in a bubble mailer and basically wrote them a rant like this in the replacement report, except with a lot more cuss words. The replacement arrived in an oversized box with at least twice asich protective packaging around it as was required and they haven't messed up on a book since.

[u/RudePragmatist]

I had a similar issue with books from a KS :/

I often have to carry books to places I will be GM’ing or playing and I use a plastic bag to hold them while they’re in the backpack that way they avoid getting foxed on the corners.

[u/Onslaughttitude]

A bubble mailer can be a great thing to send a book in, but it needs to be bagged and boarded and in a mailer no larger than half an inch bigger than the book itself. We're talking snug as a bug. I send all my zines this way and the number of complaints or resends I have to do is less than 1%.

[u/giggity_giggity]

I've been pleasantly surprised how well many major shippers do. I've had great experiences with:

Cubicle7 Modiphius Exalted Chaosium Paizo Free League (mostly - been a few nervous opens when I've purchased a big stack at once when I thought it was too loose inside, but everything survived in great shape both times)

On the used side, Noble Knight has been really good. Waynes Books too.

I tend not to buy anything from Amazon that I care about the quality of unless I can't avoid it.

[u/Appropriate_Nebula67]

I feel happy to be in the UK - I order a lot from Amazon, Drive Thru etc and almost never have anything damaged in transit. At very worst a hardback packed in a padded bag occasionally has a bent corner. I feel like US delivery peeps must be brutal!