Things Learned About Pony Shipping

Star Warrior

Star Warrior

Night Hawk author
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
182
I've been sending and receiving pony shipments for years now, and have over time collected a few tips that I keep on hand for myself. While I'm sure a lot of this is well known to those here, I thought I'd share anyway. :satisfied:

These are things that have happened to me. The shipments came from eBay and are not pointed toward anyone here (at least that I'm aware of!).

1. Never wrap ponies in newspaper. The ink comes off on the ponies and stains them.

2. Speaking of ink - plastic bags can make for great packing, but make sure any ink label on the bag is NOT touching the ponies. It will stain them.

3. Never dump all the items together in one big box. I once bought a large collection. They sent it in one big box (which is fine) but literally just shoved all the items from the tables they got the pictures on into the box in one big pile. :shockpony: Ponies were messed up, some items got smashed and/or broken and a couple little items were lost. They weren't very cooperative when I contacted them about the packing job and needless to say are the only sellers I have not given positive feedback to.

4. If a pony doesn't smell very good, number one it would be nice if it's noted in the condition, number two, consider NOT throwing fabric sheets in with the pony. Speaking for myself, I'm very sensitive to odors and the fabric sheets are concentrated. The smell doesn't come off the pony for quite a while and in the meantime, I find myself rather sick (especially when first opening the box). I'm sure others have similar allergies.

5. Keep cats away from open boxes of ponies. I had an incident a couple years ago where a box I received had ponies that smelled and felt of cat urine. Yuck! Having worked with cats for years, I know how some will get into boxes and mark things. Luckily with some good baths, all the ponies cleaned up well. However, I've noted to always keep an eye on pets - especially when they're around goods to be sold.


That's it. I know some of those might be known to the people here but it's always nice to keep even the simple things in mind. Does anyone else have other tips they've learned from shipping situations? It's always great to learn from each other.

Star Warrior
 
I have a few pointers to add aswell, even though those are probably well known too :p


These are things that has happend to me over the course of my ponycollecting years. Some quite recently, some ages ago. But nevetheless still worth mentioning.

1. If you ship MIB ponies (no matter generation) please send them in proper boxes. I've had several MIB (G3's especially) sent to me in either bubble envelopes or just with a layer of plastic bags wrapped around them and needless to say they were pretty darn crused once they got to me. :(

2. If you're gonna ship something fragile please please please pack it well in a proper box with lots of padding so it can't move around in there.

3. If you're gonna ship a MOC pony then please find a box it fits in. Do not bend the card to make it fit in a small box. This has happend to me on more then one occation on Ebay with both G1 MOC's and G2 MOC's and it's never a nice surprise to open those packages =/

4. If you sell books, please note if they have been drawn in. I've bought several old My Little Pony books and Annuals and in the description they have been stated as "good, used". In my world that means they probably have been read and show wear from that. But too many times I've recived the books and they're full of drawing and stuff and looks absoluely horrible.

I'm sure there's more, but that's from the top of my head that haven't already been mentioned.
 
Good tips! This should be stickied on the sales/trades/buy boards! I have a few...

1) For any within country shipping anywhere that has the option of adding inexpensive delivery confirmation (it's .90 cents in the US), KEEP the tracking number until AFTER feedback has been left by the recipient. Even weeks later even when the usps website claims delivery and you threw the slip away, the customer claims they never got it.

2) As a seller- tell the buyer what kind of shipping method you plan to do (first class and in a box or priority in a bubble mailer with delivery confirmation). Some buyers have different ideas of how things should be sent (see Desert_Rose's tips!) and this gives them the opportunity to voice that. Also, it helps the buyer know what kind/size package is coming in the mail which is always useful knowledge!
 
Also, if you're shipping a pony that has already been cleaned, conditioned, etc., make sure the hair isn't positioned in such a way that when the buyer opens the box the hair is all kinked up and/or frizzy. Wrap it around the pony's leg if you can, or otherwise keep it in the same place with a paper towel. For ponies with curled hair, bubble wrap. It's really annoying to receive a pony you thought you wouldn't have to work on only to open the box and find that you do.
 
I got a few ponies boxed with plastic bag and each in her own ziplock bag. Was every happy with their condition
 
These are great tips and I'm making note of them to make sure I can be the best seller I can be. Shipping MIB using nothing but a bubble mailer! :shockpony: Yikes! That's terrible. Of course they'll be crushed. Do people think we pay higher prices for MIB just so we can rip the packaging apart to get to the pony? Hmm.

I just discovered yet another tip:

G2 pony's jewel eyes fall out very easily! I was not aware of this when I sent a couple off. Luckily the buyer found the wayward eye, and everything worked out happily, but still... From now on I'm wrapping G2s differently to try keeping the eyes in and if they do fall out, to make sure the jewels can be easily retrieved. And I'm going to be sure to let potential buyers know of the eye hazard, too.
 
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