@bbsupport & @EmilyBB
My Presley kits arrived today and I am very happy with the kits. Not sure about the presentation boxes. They are nice boxes and I like how they are numbered like the certificates. However, both my boxes arrived dented in on one end. It appears my overall shipping carton was dented in on that end in transit. The shipping box was not ripped open in any way, just dented in. There was some bubble wrap inside the package on top of the kits/boxes but not enough to cushion them from being dented in or moving around. I think in packaging these boxes/kits they are going to need to be cushioned a lot more to protect against accidents. Not sure how buyers will feel about receiving a reborn baby in a dented box.
My box was perfect but I worry that when I ship my doll it will not fair very well. I have had boxes almost crushed and torn delivered to my customers. I plan to put it in a box with bubble wrap around it and mark it fragile. You never know what to expect.
I am also going to put my presentation box inside a box with bubble wrap. It will cost more to ship because of the larger sized box but the buyers will have to be understanding,
Mary
Wouldn’t do any good Beth. Been there done that before about packages not getting signed on delivery that were supposed to be. They just keep referring you around to other people and you end up back where you started. NO HELP. i
That might help you to vent but the person or persons who act carelessly with our parcels won’t hear a thing about it. They will just keep on doing what they do,
Mary
Even though the boxes had FRAGILE labels plastered all over the place the post office and it’s employees really don’t care.
It almost makes me sick to see them take my baby boxes and casually toss them into a giant bin. 6 or 7 feet up and over and down 5 or 6 feet to land among a pile of other boxes. (that is why I pack my baby boxes full of air bubbles)
My shipping box had 3 Presley boxes inside it with a ton of brown packing paper. One of the bottom corners was completely dented in. Luckily it was the side full of packing paper and not a doll box. FRAGILE really doesn’t mean anything to them.
Collectors will care; they will want pristine box. To say that they will not care is just as saying they will not care if I do not supply the certificate. And if I do do not have one, or have damaged, they will either not buy mine, of will expect to pay less.
My boxes with kits and supplies often arrive a mess, and I am very worried about how these boxes will look when they arrive. I am planning to post them out in larger box, with at least 2" space all around filled with some shock absorbing material like scrunched of newspapers, bubble wrap or some of the polystyrene “peanuts”.
Because I do not want it coming looking like this:
Well I personally think BB should do something about my dented boxes because they were not packaged well enough to keep them from being damaged. They had a sheet of bubble wrap over the top of them and nothing on the bottom or either end to protect them. I do not care if they consider the boxes free or not, the boxes were marketed as part of the package deal and price when this all first came up. I really had expected the kits to arrive in a bag as usual and the boxes to be in some sort of flat state that you had to put together. Maybe that would have been a safer way for them to travel…I don’t know if true or not but it is an idea. Anyways, I am not happy about this.
I posted this to a different forum today and was ask to post my concern here on the BB forum… Since this thread is already started I will add my comments here.
It’s a lovely box… but
Any collector that wants the realborn box, is going to want it in pristine condition. Crushed corners and marks on the box Big NO NO. Meaning it will need to be shipped inside another box. Double boxing resulting in more weight higher shipping.
It not only needs to be placed in another box but a box that will keep corners intact. I’ve very seldom seen a box USPS or UPS couldn’t crush= crushed realborn boxes.
I buy good strong boxes from uline to ship my babies in, none of which will accommodate the realborn box without using a larger box that has room for the realborn box plus room for packing all around the realborn box…resulting in more shipping cost for larger oversized box.
Several people I’ve talked to are asking, if it’s possible to buy without the box… Again it’s a lovely box I just believe it will be a huge problem getting it to the buyer without damage…
I am hoping that someone that is sending the kit to someone else, will ask the post office what it will cost to put about 8 extra pounds in the double box. I guess when I put mine up for sale (reborned) that I will give the buyer the option of saving some money on postage if they want me to burn the box instead!
I had already come to this conclusion myself. I think the best thing I can do when I sell mine is show the buyer the photo of the dented box, explain the postage will be more to double box it, and that there are NO guarantees the box won’t get further damaged. THEN let the buyer decide what she/he wants to do about how it is shipped. This whole box thing is a bad idea IMO. From the start I never cared much about getting a box but now that THE BOX has been advertised as being a part of this kit/baby it opens a whole other can of worms for us sellers RE the buyer’s expectations of what they are to receive and the shipping said box and baby.
Perhaps when we sell out realborns we should add that if the buyer wants the box it will cost more to ship and there are no guarantees that it will get there in perfect condition. No partial refunds for damaged box or other considerations,
Mary
I have already asked these questions several weeks ago when these kits were being introduced. I also asked if the boxes could be an optional extra, and was told no. The thing is people will consider them part of the deal.
I do not believe that putting on FRAGILE sticker is much use; if anything postal workers may try to see how much that box can take. There is no way any postal service will cover any damage if the item is not considered to be “adequately” protected.
I am happy to get box as big as necessary to post my realborn baby, I pay between $4 and $6 for my boxes (depending what is in stock), and if I have to get bigger, tougher box and people have to pay extra few $, so be it. I will not risk bad FB because of few $. As long as the boxes arrive in good condition.
My package was delivered and left outside my door in the rain. One end of the package was soaked and when I opened it up, the presentation box at that end was soaked and water stained so I threw it away. I was planning to keep one Presley for myself and don’t want the box for me anyway so that one will be mine. I am tempted to throw the others away as well. Storing them is a PITA. I don’t have space for them and I plan on ordering more realborns. No having enough space may stop me from being able to get them. It would be better if the boxes were sent unassembled.
Even though my boxes from BB were double boxed, one box had crushed corners when I received them. I know some buyers will not care about the realborn box and discard it… but I also I know of some buyers that receive reborns like to keep them in the shipping box making the realborn box even more desirable. Collectors are funny and very picky about things.
I like BB, like to ship fast. In order to ship fast, my babies are package and ready to go the moment I list them on eBay. So don’t plan on repackaging or working to find a box that will protect the realborn box after the auction ends. My auction will not include the realborn box.
After receiving the damaged box this is how I decided I would handle it on my auctions.
When I list my realborns on eBay I will include a statement that "The baby will not be shipping in the realborn box, but will ship in a stronger plan brown shipping box. I’m doing this in order to keep shipping costs down and to allow for extra padding around doll."
Even though I don’t want to have to explain this to the customer, I don’t want the customer to expect the realborn box… My guess is some buyers will want the realborn box, but I doubt they will be thrilled about the extra shipping charges it will cost to have it arrive safely
I learned more than I ever wanted to know about dolls in original collector boxes, selling Barbies in their collector boxes. I have to admit the original outer shipping box from Mattel was very, very thick cardboard and did stand up to both USPS and UPS. Mattel learned early on the buyers wanted that box to be in PERFECT condition on arrival. Lots of other sellers Tonner, Integrity, etc. all followed suit with strong outer shipping boxes. The customer hated their doll boxes damaged.
Julie I don’t know if you took one of your boxes apart… I did, and it’s still very huge and finding a place to store the flatten box was as bad as storing the assembled box… It’s very sad it’s a wonderful box, but so many downsides to storing and shipping it.
You hit the Nails right on the head! I found the same is true with Lee Middletons even to this day on the used marked. Middletons do have a nice thick outer cardboard box but it costs more to ship them too.
I’m not trying to be nasty or ugly and I’m only posting from past experience selling… I would hate to think what my customer would tell me, if I told them…
"THIS BOX IS INCLUDED FREE, AND WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL ARRIVE IN PRISTINE CONDITION. " Some buyers would be perfectly fine,
but others would be expecting a refund or a discount. I’m not saying that I’m expecting a refund from BB, I’m not.
Again I love the realborn box, it's wonderful, I just hope my costumers understand when I don't include the realborn box in my sale.
The thing is, if it’s important enough for the buyer to want the realborn box, they are going to want the realborn box in perfect condition.
As it is now I change the exact cost to ship my reborns and people still complain the cost being too high…
Doubled and over sized boxing would add to the problem.
I just hope BB will reconsider and sell the kits with or without the box.
This way my customers will know the realborn box was optional and doesn’t have to be included in my sale. @bbsupport@EmilyBB
I think I might just throw away my presentation box. I don’t want to add to the shipping cost of the completed baby for my buyers. I ship my babies in the large flat rate box so my customer only has to pay $15 for the shipping. Plus, it sounds like the presentation boxes are coming damaged. I get mine today, so I’ll see, but more then likely I will throw them away.
