Marvel Omnibus/Oversized Hardcover Discussion Part V

[regomar]

has CGN always used only crumpled paper? hardly seems "bomb-proof" like they advertise.

FYI if you are happy with crumpled paper only, my Secret Warriors omnibus came from bn.com packaged this way. with the 40% off regular price stacked with a 15% off coupon, bn.com prices are pretty good. even better when you pay with discounted gift cards (18% off at plasticjungle.com)

I'm not sure I understand what you're expecting. I shipped expensive goods for an online business for almost 5 years and I can tell you for a FACT that a decent packing job using at least an inch and a half of well-crumpled paper on each side of the item is more secure than bubblewrap or air pockets. Only thing that beats well-stuffed paper is packing peanuts which are expensive and harmful to the environment unless you buy the expensive and less cushy eco brand and even then, sometimes peanuts shift (which well packed crumpled paper will NOT generally do) and leave the item near the edge of the box and subject to dents. I once had an ebay customer say that my packaging was packed to 'Withstand a nuclear holocaust' which, while somewhat hyperbolic, was a nice description considering I had shipped him his items in a box filled with... crumpled paper.

Also, when I make a large order, CGN tend to double box my items as well, which I'd call bomb-proof, personally.

[Eris]

Mail services aren't known for being careful, they do more then just drop packages.

Like... what? Stab them? I cant think of what else could happen. I've had a box that got slightly crushed once, but that's the worst I can think of.

Well, it might not be books, but in terms of mail abuse this is one of the more memorable ones ;)

But throwing things doesn't seem to be an isolated incident.
I also recall a video of employees playing catch with packages (but for some reason I can only find reference to that happening in Shanghai atm), and a story about Russian postal workers replacing package contents.

In my experience, newspaper serves to protect books very well, just because it buffers the movement and tends to stop the books colliding with anything with any force. For less heavy books, Amazon's weird plastic air pockets are fine too, but for heavier books they tend to pop and be rather pointless.
Bubble wrap works pretty well on most occasions, but sometimes people wrap the books too tightly and then the corners still suffer (and Bookdepository's lousy jiffybags with minimal bubble wrap inside them fare the same - there simply isn't enough protection there to stop most damage if the sorting staff are having a bad day). The dodgy wrap around clingfilm on cardboard Amazon sometimes uses for smaller books is rubbish though, as even if they avoid dents, books tend to arrive slightly bent, or with spines knocked out of alignment due to being pulled sideways :|

[Captain Planet]

Like... what? Stab them? I cant think of what else could happen. I've had a box that got slightly crushed once, but that's the worst I can think of.

Hopw does Amazon package your books? Something more than the nothing or single popped air bag most of us get?

Exactly. Package damage from stabbings has increased 200% in the last 3 years. Its an epidemic.

[regomar]

WHYYYYYYYY?!?!?! What kind of MONSTERS would do such a thing?!

[Omnibus]

Exactly. Package damage from stabbings has increased 200% in the last 3 years. Its an epidemic.

Hmmmm the description of the perpetrator matches Merrick

[Bruce_M]

Well, it might not be books, but in terms of mail abuse this is one of the more memorable ones ;)

But throwing things doesn't seem to be an isolated incident.
I also recall a video of employees playing catch with packages (but for some reason I can only find reference to that happening in Shanghai atm), and a story about Russian postal workers replacing package contents.

In my experience, newspaper serves to protect books very well, just because it buffers the movement and tends to stop the books colliding with anything with any force. For less heavy books, Amazon's weird plastic air pockets are fine too, but for heavier books they tend to pop and be rather pointless.
Bubble wrap works pretty well on most occasions, but sometimes people wrap the books too tightly and then the corners still suffer (and Bookdepository's lousy jiffybags with minimal bubble wrap inside them fare the same - there simply isn't enough protection there to stop most damage if the sorting staff are having a bad day). The dodgy wrap around clingfilm on cardboard Amazon sometimes uses for smaller books is rubbish though, as even if they avoid dents, books tend to arrive slightly bent, or with spines knocked out of alignment due to being pulled sideways :|

That man deserved to die. Just die. Why would someone do something like that? I'm sorry I'm going off-topic and I know it sound harsh and a bit sociopathic in a Punisher kinda way, but that kind of person is just beyond correction, you are getting paid to deliver a delicate product to someone that bought it honestly and you just throw it like it is garbage??? The world would be just better off with this man out of existence.

[regomar]

That man deserved to die. Just die. Why would someone do something like that? I'm sorry I'm going off-topic and I know it sound harsh and a bit sociopathic in a Punisher kinda way, but that kind of person is just beyond correction, you are getting paid to deliver a delicate product to someone that bought it honestly and you just throw it like it is garbage??? The world would be just better off with this man out of existence.

We've actually had this conversation before here, so I'll be brief and say that most couriers are instructed to do this kind of thing in order to meet their tight deadlines so management can make as much money as possible (I dont think either Fed Ex or UPS even ring my doorbell anymore, they just drop and run). In the event of a gated house, couriers tend to be taught to simply toss the item over because it takes 2-3 times as long as a normal delivery to buzz the gate, hope someone actually comes, wait for them to walk up or buzz open the gate, walk half a mile over the huge gated lawn, etc.... Blame the management that forces these peons to work as quickly as possible for unrealistic timeframes instead of actually hiring enough workers to do the job. Ultimately, yeah, he's the one that threw the thing, but if they dont cut corners like this at almost every stop they get fired. But of course as usual, the little guy will get all the shit for it and the management that told him to do it so they can have their latest gold plated jetski will get a pass.

you are getting paid to deliver a delicate product to someone that bought it honestly and you just throw it like it is garbage???

No, he's getting paid to deliver those things as fast as humanly possible by any means necessary. That's what he's trained to do and taught to do by his superiors.

[Rimmer]

...so they can have their latest gold plated jetski...

That's like the ultimate symbol of excess. Probably wouldn't float though, so you'd just have to have it permanently fixed to the back of your yacht.
Oh the humanity.

[Bruce_M]

We've actually had this conversation before here, so I'll be brief and say that most couriers are instructed to do this kind of thing in order to meet their tight deadlines so management can make as much money as possible (I dont think either Fed Ex or UPS even ring my doorbell anymore, they just drop and run). In the event of a gated house, couriers tend to be taught to simply toss the item over because it takes 2-3 times as long as a normal delivery to buzz the gate, hope someone actually comes, wait for them to walk up or buzz open the gate, walk half a mile over the huge gated lawn, etc.... Blame the management that forces these peons to work as quickly as possible for unrealistic timeframes instead of actually hiring enough workers to do the job. Ultimately, yeah, he's the one that threw the thing, but if they dont cut corners like this at almost every stop they get fired. But of course as usual, the little guy will get all the shit for it and the management that told him to do it so they can have their latest gold plated jetski will get a pass.

Wow! Sorry, didn't know the couriers were like that in North America or Europe! I live in quite a lousy country when it comes to services and business policies, but at least DHL has always delivered me my products in hand (always comics from Amazon, of most varies formats), and also other local couriers that delivered tech products.

[csista]

Exactly. Package damage from stabbings has increased 200% in the last 3 years. Its an epidemic.

Ugh. I managed to be both the victim and the perpetrator in package stabbing incident. When my Uncanny-Xmen Omni Vol 1 (that I paid $175 for) arrived, the seller went so overboard in packing it safely that I had to use scissors to get the book out, and I accidentally sliced the cover.

[DrGregatron]

Ugh. I managed to be both the victim and the perpetrator in package stabbing incident. When my Uncanny-Xmen Omni Vol 1 (that I paid $175 for) arrived, the seller went so overboard in packing it safely that I had to use scissors to get the book out, and I accidentally sliced the cover.

Did it then get soaking wet? From all the tears I mean.

[regomar]

Wow! Sorry, didn't know the couriers were like that in North America or Europe! I live in quite a lousy country when it comes to services and business policies, but at least DHL has always delivered me my products in hand (always comics from Amazon, of most varies formats), and also other local couriers that delivered tech products.

Well, I can only speak for the US and Canada, but the parts I live in (New England and Ontario respectively) no courier even waits for people to answer the door. USPS, Canada Post, UPS, DHL, and Fed Ex all just drop and run at both of my homes. My ex-gf used to work at Fed Ex, so that's where I get my info on their policies, I didn't make it up.

[DBrewer75]

Ugh. I managed to be both the victim and the perpetrator in package stabbing incident. When my Uncanny-Xmen Omni Vol 1 (that I paid $175 for) arrived, the seller went so overboard in packing it safely that I had to use scissors to get the book out, and I accidentally sliced the cover.

EEEEK that sucks

[DBrewer75]

Back to CGN's packaging... every omnibus I have gotten from them has came surrounded with crumpled paper and I have not had one damaged book yet. I hate that they just put books together in a plastic bag and then in the box but I guess it's easier to keep everything sorted that way.

[Mobe1969]

I hope not on a Bruce Jones omnibus. They just started putting those out in MPC. They also haven't solicited any new MPC's for a few months. Not sure if that's the norm or if the line is hurting.

I wish they would just finish the damn OHC run of it. I have the two volumes.