Question regarding Reselling kits and Shrink Wrap

tankerbuilder

Hey SMEAG! didja you have a lot of turkey? When I ship models and the very pretty little brass parts I manufacture (radars etc.) I do this. First a fluffy layer of tissue. Then BUBBLE wrap (YOU mean I can,t pop it!!) The small bubble wrap.  then a small layer of crushed newsprint and then tape securely and ship. I usually , If shipping a model to someone ,open the original box and wrap the bags full of parts with small loosly crushed balls of tissue. I have NEVER had a customer complain about recieving a damaged kit. I always do a drop test BEFORE I wrap it to ship.YUP , you read right!!.Never have broken one in drop testing either!! Tankerbuilder

Hey Tankerbuilder, I wish you had shipped my Full Stack Shuttle. I asked the vendor to do as you say, and package up the loose parts with bubble wrap. If he had taped the outerboxes edges and corners, all of the locater pins for that big fuel tank would have made the journey.

I had to replace 10 of them with segments of paper clip. Oh well, at least I got to practice my micro-drilling skills.

Hey SMEAG! didja you have a lot of turkey? When I ship models and the very pretty little brass parts I manufacture (radars etc.) I do this. First a fluffy layer of tissue. Then BUBBLE wrap (YOU mean I can,t pop it!!) The small bubble wrap.  then a small layer of crushed newsprint and then tape securely and ship. I usually , If shipping a model to someone ,open the original box and wrap the bags full of parts with small loosly crushed balls of tissue. I have NEVER had a customer complain about recieving a damaged kit. I always do a drop test BEFORE I wrap it to ship.YUP , you read right!!.Never have broken one in drop testing either!! Tankerbuilder

Good to hear.

As far as the shipping thing, I dont mean just wrapping the box, but just putting very stiff (thicker then the boxes) cardboard on the top and bottom, instead of a box.  It saves weight and saves on shipping, but isnt as secure as a box, but close

I paid a year's model budget on a 1/72 scale Monogram Full Stack Shuttle over the 'net, and the seller was a reputable guy. Unfortunately, when he boxed the big kit up, he didn't bother to tape the edges or corners of the cardboard box he fashioned, but just wrapped the whole thing in paper.

So that big shipping crate he made just folded in on the kit box, and it took a beating down from 'excellent' to 'poor.' Shrink would not have helped.

Other problems I seen with shrink wrap: it can hold moisture inside and grow mildew; it continues to shrink over time and warps the box and occasionally entire sprues inside resulting in warped wings and/or fuselages; old cellophane shrink (60's or 70's vintage) will sometimes crinkle and/or adhere permanently to the box.

I've been stung before on evilbay by sellers advertising the kit was "still in shrinkwrap"  only to open it and find parts missing and even decals cut from the sheet !  Obviously some sellers have access to shrinkwrap equipment.  I can see why some people might want to keep the box looking fresh, but there are some tricksters out there.  As for people who ship in the kit box alone, without a second box- chinese water torture is too good for them.........last kit I recieved in this manner looked like it had been run over or sat on.

I get just about all of my kits on eBay.  I just can't afford hobby store prices anymore.  Personally, I buy kits as builders, not for collecting.  If the box is open, torn, mulched, whatever, I don't care as long as the parts are complete and the decals and instructions are intact (unless stated otherwise in the auction before I buy it).  I do have an issue when sellers put something up as new in original shrinkwrap and yet you get a kit that is in a very dirty box, inside new shrinkwrap.  Some sellers seem to think buyers are mentally deficient or something.  So no, I don't think it's an issue if it's not sealed.  Usually those are all I can afford anyways.  Just make sure the kit itself is OK.  Oh, le me know your eBay ID if you have any up and I'll check out what you have.

Rich

smeagol the vile

Hey guys I have a question for you.

 

Latley I have been trying to pick up cheap kits at the flea market and put them up on ebay, but I have run into what MIGHT be a problem.

To me it wouldnt be, but to some it might, I want your opinion...

If you were to order a kit off of ebay and when you recieved it it had no shrink wrap on the box BUT all of the parts were there in the bags and instructions and decals and everything was there, ala 100% complete except no shrink wrap on the box.  Would you be upset by this or would it not bother you?

I personally open every kit I get to make sure that everything is there, I have heard to many horror stories about getting 2 of sprue A instead of A and B, or missing parts, broken pieces etc, I always open to make sure stuff is correct.

What do you guys thing?

I've sold quite a few kits on ebay and only one time did I forget to differentiate whether a kit was MIB but not shrink wrapped.  When the buyer received it he complained stating I misrepresented the kit, as he wanted one that was shrink wrapped.  The kit was complete with nothing missing, but the shrink wrap.  Personally, when I buy a kit I really don't care whether it is shrink wrapped or not, as long as everything is in there and undamaged.

The savings cost is too minimal with option B IMO. Almost all that have come to me were via A. Every now and then a yahoo sends one wrapped up in like a cereal box or something. The worst was in a non-padded cheesy box. Being a first-time seller, I suggested to him proper ways of packing. I always pack mine to the hilt with peanuts, newspaper, whatever. I pack it like I'd like to receive mine.

Ok, I just know that option 2 works perfectly fine and protects BUT doesn't look as nice when opened BUT it saves at least a dollar.

If we're talking a kit or two, I'd rather go for option 1 with the solid box. I know it's a kit that comes in little pieces...   but for shipping purposes they weigh nothing, I'd rather make sure it arrives safely.

Leme ask THIS question then.

Which would you rather

A - a solid box that contains the kit inside for a shipping fee

or

B - the kit box, with two pieces of sturdy cardboard on the top and bottom, wrapped in paper, for LESS of a shipping cost?

Meh.

Which is to say, no, I don't care if a kit I buy on eBay is shrink-wrapped, unless the seller specifically notes this in his description, and then it doesn't arrive that way.  But that's not a shrink-wrap issue to me, that's an issue of a seller making a mistake or pulling a fast one.

I buy almost all of my kits on the secondary market, too, and I accept that the kit was probably opened at some time before it reached me.  Let the buyer educate himself and develop an eye, before he spends his money.

If I do find a kit with the original bags intact, I consider it a bonus, but it's not a deal-breaker for me if the parts are loose.  I do look for sellers who note that they've tried to verify the parts count somehow, either by visual inspection of the sprues, or inspecting them and comparing them to the instructions, if they're present, and so on.

Best regards,

Brad

I bought a kit on ebay last month seller charged me $7.50 for shipping when I got kit usps ship label said .80 for shipping and no decals in kit, gave that seller a bad review he did'nt like the bad review I gave him so I just woun't by from that seller anymore. No probluem with missing decals have some here that will work.                      aceses5                almost done Tamyia 1/48 Gekko III

Thats what I thought.  Just wanted to make sure the rest of the community was with me on this.

I have started putting 'no shrink wrap on the box, and the box was only opened to check that all parts were there.  All parts are there in sealed bags as well as the instructions, decals, and anything else that comes with the kit.'

Life can be simple. In the product description, indicate the condition of the kit honestly. Opened, shrink wrapped unopened, parts in bags, no bags, started. If you let the buyer know in advance what to expect there will be no surprises.

In the ancient days of the 70's, I worked in a KayBee Toy and Hobby. Kits arrived in the store shrink wrapped. I'd often open the new releases to examine them and use the store's shrink wrap machine to re-seal the kit.

Smeagol,

I would not care if it is wrapped or not. As long as all the parts are included and the "guts" are not a mess, I would be fine with it.

fermis

 

VanceCrozier:

 

. Yep, I pull that wrap off as soon as I get home to check it out too.

 

 Holy crap, you can wait til you get home???!!!! I'm tearing into it before I even start the car!!!

Well these days I (literally) live across the road! And he moved closer to me... wonder what that says about my buying habits!!!

For years kits were not shrink wrapped. That was started by distributors and stores as a theft or accidental spilling of the parts on the store floor measure. It also served to keep the boxes clean and protected from moisture.

I suggest when purchasing at flea markets, you inspect the contents if permitted to inventory them. If you're ordering online, understand that there are risks and proceed accordingly. I once won a bid on eBay for a kit I really needed. When it arrived the box was perfect but the box did not contain what was on the outside...something much better and more rare. It was a win even though I did not get what I had bid for. So I went looking again and eventually got what I was after. Yes I too have had kits arrive with missing parts, but if the seller can't fulfill, I request an appropriate refund. You can always scratch the part or seek aftermarket replacements...or continue hunting till you can have a complete kit.

Even now Hasegawa kits are not being shrinked by their new US Dist. It costs them money to do so so they aren't doing it.

VanceCrozier

. Yep, I pull that wrap off as soon as I get home to check it out too.

 Holy crap, you can wait til you get home???!!!! I'm tearing into it before I even start the car!!!

Smeag, if I used E-bay, I would fully expect the kit to have been opened, and would be semi-surprised if the parts trees are still in their bags. Just like at vendor tables. Last show I went to, I was eyevalling a kit, still sealed, I asked the vendor if I could open it to check the kit out. He said "No way, if it's opened, I won't be able to sell it!". I set it back down and replied, "Right now...you are not able to sell it!" He packed it up at the end of the day. I was pretty much sold already, but when he said that, I just had to proove a point.

My LHS receives his kits already shrink-wrapped as well, they are sealed by his distributor.

I believe the shrink wrap is applied by the manufacturer. My buddy owned a shop and he didn't have to shrink wrap a kit.

But some disreputable sellers will shrink wrap a kit that was opened and may or may not be complete, then offer it as "Shrink wrapped". Buyer be ware.

I wouldn't be concerned about it. Yep, I pull that wrap off as soon as I get home to check it out too. You may want to add something to your product description (or seller's info?) that states that the kits have been opened & re-sealed to guarantee the contents? Or would that cause more problems??

Smeagol, I've seen many posts of kits stating it has been opened to check all parts are accounted for. When ebaying the persons point vaule/percentage always counts as much as to if its been opened/2nd hand for me.

Andrew

Same here, shrink wrapped kits are a rarity & I don't specifically remember who shrinks & who doesn't - I for one wouldn't worry about it.

AFAIK, shrink wrap is usually applied by the selling shop and not the manufacturer.

Only Kit-company I am aware of  that seals kit boxes is ROG and they use a round clear sticker/label.

So for me a kit being shrink wrapped means little, I used to work weekends at a LHS and we never received shrink-wrapped  kits. And I know many kits are not shipped from the maker boxed but all in the plastic bags  and boxes are supplied but still flat.