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Hi Bartertown! I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to ship miniatures. I've been a long time buyer here but never taken the plunge to sell my minis until now. So any information advice on how to ship and what supplies to use in order to avoid damage minis during shipping would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Howdy! There is a thread somewhere that was made for exactly this. Long story short, don't cheap out on shipping materials. I usually wrap every model in bubble wrap and tape so it is secure. I then place them in a sturdy box padded with bubble wrap and/or peanuts. Make sure that the box doesn't rattle at all after you have packed it and taped it shut. I always imagine this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2sObM9p9mQ) happening to every package I send. So far this has worked very well for me with only minimal damage happening. Ill go look for that thread now.

Thanks for the reply! I'll be sure to use bubble wrap and peanuts.

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I individually wrap each figure in some form of paper. Newspaper or paper towel works just fine. Put a layer of packing material in the bottom of the box, foam peanuts if you have them, crinkled up newspaper works fine too. lay the wrapped figures on the packing material neatly, but so they are nice and tight. fill in all spaces with more packing material so nothing moves.

in general terms, you want to isolate built figures from other figures, and make sure everything in the box is locked in tight.

As kturock can attest, crumpled up paper does not make good packing material. It compresses easily, leaving room in the box for your stuff to move around.

Eric

A huge roll of bubble wrap is $17.00 at Wal-Mart. Appropriate boxes (6x6x6 and 11x8x6) are about $0.50/ea. I highly recommend getting these things.

I depending on the models. If I'm shipping a new in box models, I putting in a shipping box with something to stop the box from moving. Loose pieces are put in small little baggies (I keep all the ones I get from various purchases). Depending on the model will depend how much I wrap it, minimum is bubble wrap, however if it is a larger model or metal I try to wrap the individual parts and then wrap the whole thing.

Thanks for the heads up on the bubble wrap, Ill check my local Wal Mart for them.

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Sinjin wrote:I individually wrap each figure in some form of paper. Newspaper or paper towel works just fine.

No they don't. Neither of them will absorb or deflect any impact damage. They will compress and transfer the damage to whatever they are wrapped around. The fact that you haven't had any of your paper wrapped minis shatter is just good luck.

As several people have noted, bubble wrap is dirt cheap in bulk and there is no real reason not to use it

You can make packing peanuts by buying cheap styrofoam coolers.
Just break them into tiny pieces. To have less mess, put them into garbage bags and seal them closed.

You can make custom shaped padding by using Great Stuff. It's a foam in a can available at most home repair stores.

1 of the biggest tool & parts retailers uses an inflatable stryofoam packet. You pull it open and toss it into the box. The plastic bag fills with foam and hardens. It custom fits to the item and box.
You can do the same with a can of great stuff, and a ziplock bag. Put the straw from the can of great stuff into the bag. Seal the bag as much as you can, even using tape or staples to hold it closed. Put into the box and fold the box closed. Seal it masking tape. Spray the great stuff into the bag until full. Peak through the corner the straw is sticking into. It dries and hardens in seconds. The bag keeps it from sticking to the item and box. It's only 1 use, but it's great for delicate items.

You can make the 'air bags' by filling ziplock up with air and using the to fill space.

You can also crumple the plastic grocery/mart store bags to fill space. Crumple them all the way to a ball. They'll work for stuff you just need to fill space, but not really pad; like items NIB or even NOS if not to delicate.

Also, don't scrimp on the box. Model and shoe boxes are crap. Use corragated cardboard boxes.

Some great advice, as usual.
I only take exception to one piece of it.

kturock wrote:You can make the 'air bags' by filling ziplock up with air and using the to fill space.

...I have received SO MANY boxes with empty ziplocs, it's crazy. All the knocking around can eventually cause the zipper seal to pop, leaving the space it USED to be occupying empty.

Eric

kturock wrote:You can do the same with a can of great stuff, and a ziplock bag. Put the straw from the can of great stuff into the bag. Seal the bag as much as you can, even using tape or staples to hold it closed. Put into the box and fold the box closed. Seal it masking tape. Spray the great stuff into the bag until full. Peak through the corner the straw is sticking into. It dries and hardens in seconds. The bag keeps it from sticking to the item and box. It's only 1 use, but it's great for delicate items.

Great stuff hardens hard though (I know that sounds redundant). It doesn't have any give. If you're not careful, it's like packing your models with light bricks all around them.

Yes it dries hard. I'm not saying to use it for padding, like bubble wrap. It makes a custom shaped container.
Grainger, 1 of the biggest tool and parts distributors in the US, uses a packet material that forms to the size of the box. It's not a soft pad.
It hold the parts or items in place. This is a way to make them your self.
This custom shapes or forms to the shape of the item.

kturock wrote:You can also crumple the plastic grocery/mart store bags to fill space.

They don't have a lot of stiffness though so they don't fill space very well. I always look out for real estate flyers at my local supermarket. They tend to be free, in large quantities and fairly decent paper stock. They make great box fillers if you don't have access to packing peanuts.

but when you pack enough in, they become like a solid mass of plastic.