Now I'm packing my items TOO well

[rocket2retro]

Just when I thought I'd heard it all, I receive this message today, from a buyer who'd just received their items-

'How much was shipping? My parcel which was way way over packed...'

Followed by this (positive) feedback

'Ok seller. Too Over packed in my 500 items + opinion'

No doubt it will probably come with low DSRs.

This seller has left negs for underpacking & quite a few positives that mention 'over-packing'.

You can't win!

The postage cost was stated in the listing & as the parcel was sent within the same state there would have been minimal difference in the postage had i 'underpacked' it (whatever that means).

The items were breakable so you would think a buyer would be happy that they arrived intact.

Not this whinging sour-puss. 

A new addition to my 'special' list.

[4green2000]

put them on your BBL straight away then tell them "im so sorry for packing your breakable items too well, fool".

[allfixelectrical]

Actually, Aust Post can and do cube anything of irregular shape these days for parcels 1kg or over for domestic delivery. The only exemption is prepaid packages and satchels.

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/size-and-weight-guidelines.html

Often individual post offices and LPO's may not bother with irregular shapes but they are certainly within their rights to do so under AP rules.

In fact if using eParcels, then they are scanned by a machine to determine cubing and all parcels regardless of weight are subject to cubing, even under 500gms.

http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/APO0208_How_to_Cube_Guide_A4_V10.pdf

[funkyflamingo*]

All I can say is, you can't please everyone!

Your items are irreplaceable, and it takes time and effort to make sure they are well packaged, plus your items are vintage, and they have lasted this long, it would be devastating to have an item damaged in transit.

I too would be adding them to the special list.  Just a real pain in the backside!

[sparrow2207]

I have received items from sellers with a lot of packaging and that wasn't a problem.  The problem is some sellers use a whole role of sticky tape on their packaging which is a nightmare to cut through if the item underneath is clothing or some other item that could be cut by sissors.

I once received a parcel of wool that took over 1 hour to delicately cut out of what looked like 2 rolls of that brown packing tape wrapped round wool in freezer bags - so yes there such a thing a too much packaging. I sent a short note to seller advising possible issues with this over packing and they thanked me as they had not thought about how the buyer may have issues unpacking her items.

[imastawka]

I hate sticky/packaging tape  when it's used on  bubble wrap,

where the bubbles are on the outside!!

Don't people know the bubbles are supposed to be on the inside?

[5kazam]

TBH, I wouldn't fret too much about something being over-packed - particularly when fragile/one off type things.  You can't please all the people all the time.

I've told people in the past, whether it be eBay or my FB page, I may spend an extra $1/$2 of their money on postage, but at least it will get there in the one piece it left here.  Haven't had a complaint, but have had many compliments about my unique packaging.

And I agree with Stawka, the bubbles are on the inside - for a purpose called cushioning - and the packing tape is a lot easier to get off from the flat side.

[esayaf]

I dream of receiving something over packed. I'm sick to death of all the sellers, especially from the U.K. that think brown paper is some sort of magical packing medium that will suffice. A lot of Australian sellers think those plastic bags are magical too and when you tell them it arrived damaged they all use the same useless excuse of trying to save money for you on post when the amount of post they have charged would have easily covered a box with some padding

[*tippy*toes*]

I've had a few broken things over the years sent to me. Like the brown paper, some sellers think fragile breakables are protected being wrapped in a single sheet of newspaper and shoved in a satchel. When the antique plate I bought arrived in a million pieces, the seller couldn't work out what happened. I said I knew exactly what happened, it was wrapped in a single sheet of newspaper and sent in a satchel. She was not happy when I asked for a refund. I was angry because the plate was very rare and I had been searching for that particular one for years.

When I started selling fragile breakables, I made a pact with myself that I would pack in a way where nothing was able to break during transit. The only time something would break was if it was run over by a forklift or truck. That's exactly what I did. So far, from thousands of items, I've never had something arrive broken. I've had quite a few compliments on my packaging and even comments saying they wished all sellers packed that well.

A couple of years ago I got a message from a buyer asking if she could pay extra for postage so I would pack her item well. I replied that I always pack well and there was no need for her to pay extra. She'd had trouble with things arriving broken. She was absolutely over the moon when it arrived.

I have been known to go overboard with tape, but packing in boxes, they are safe to open with scissors or box cutters. I have been tempted to start writing on boxes that they are safe to open with a box cutter but I figured they'd be able to work it out. I put a lot of tape on in case the boxes get wet for some reason, it helps hold them together (I've had boxes arrive that have been wet and falling apart).