Submission instructions15680

Originally Posted by DrWatson
Wasn't it a member of the cgc forum that posted a how to on packing books for grading? I'm not sure if it survived the cgc forum redesign or not.

I'll see if I can find it.

Originally Posted by Sigur_Ros
One thing CBCS can certainly learn from CGC is how to provide clear instructions on submitting books. They have a step-by-step process that show how and what to pack.

The closest thing to that CBCS has is this mention of a link that doesn't actually exist.




I've pointed this out to "customer service" a while back, but of course...

Originally Posted by dielinfinite
Newbie’s Guide

Originally Posted by dfoster43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigur_Ros
Quote:

Originally Posted by dfoster43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigur_Ros
One thing CBCS can certainly learn from CGC is how to provide clear instructions on submitting books. They have a step-by-step process that show how and what to pack.

The closest thing to that CBCS has is this mention of a link that doesn't actually exist.




I've pointed this out to "customer service" a while back, but of course...

I called twice during my submission phase and had pointed this out to them both times (a french sounding guy, my bad I am terrible with names) who was surprised the first time and said he'd look into it and the 2nd time just said "yes, that's still broken."

But hey it's understandable, web links break all the time. It wasn't a huge issue.

But it's not a broken link. The link is completely absent from the FAQ.
If it was broken it would still show as blue (or something) and would take you to a bad page.

Broken , missing, potato potato ... I still told them twice ... LOL

Originally Posted by Sigur_Ros
Quote:

Originally Posted by DrWatson
Wasn't it a member of the cgc forum that posted a how to on packing books for grading? I'm not sure if it survived the cgc forum redesign or not.

I'll see if I can find it.

For me personally, I just wondered if I should include my invoice or if there is some packing slip I need to print, or whatever. The actual packing of the books is not the issue, but it would ALL be good information to have on a website that wants you to do that very thing.

I have an email from CBCS on July 6 stating they are "working on the link".
I'm curious how many years before July 6 it's been that way..

Thank you for responding.

Originally Posted by DrWatson
I found it. Copied from my buddy Boozad. Any references to international shipping is because he lives in the UK.

I know all of this will mainly be preaching to the converted, but we’ve all heard horror stories of books arriving damaged (I’ve had more than my fair share), so hopefully this may come in use at some point and no offense is intended to boardies who know how to pack their books!


Step 1:


Find a suitable oversized box that is substantially bigger than the books.






Step 2:


I’m packing ten books here, so what I do when sending more than one book is place all of the books into one larger bag. The reason for this will be explained in a moment. Turn half (or as close to half) of the books facing inwards so the backing boards are facing outwards on both sides of the stack.





Step 3:


Fold the bag around the stack of books snugly and tape it shut securely, this will prevent any of the books moving around in the sandwich you’re going to make.

The reason for using a bag is that there is no trying to rip tape of the comic bags (nightmare) when the recipient opens the package. The tape can be cut from the outer bag quite easily and the books are free straight away.





Step 4:


Next up, find two sturdy pieces of cardboard. They need to be bigger in dimension than the stack of books but smaller than the internal dimensions of the box.






Step 5:


Tape the bagged stack of books to one of the pieces of cardboard, with a piece of tape at each end and each side. Larger stacks may need more than one piece of tape on each side.









Step 6:


Take the second piece of cardboard and lay it onto the exposed side of the stack of books, making a sandwich so to speak. Now tape the sandwich together with a piece of tape on each side (larger stacks again – more tape again). Offset the pieces of tape so as they don't get stuck to the pieces of tape holding the books to the first piece of card. Getting several layers of tape stuck together when opening a package can get very annoying.

I also fold one end of each piece of tape over to form a tab (on every single piece of tape used in the package), and mark out where to open. This isn’t because I think the recipient has issues, it’s just helpful. I hate scratching a pieces of tape stuck to cardboard for half an hour.









Step 7:


Now you’re ready to put your book sandwich into your box. Make a protective layer across the bottom of the box. I’ve used packing peanuts, but bubble wrap or even newspaper will work. (For domestic packages I will place the oversized cardboard sandwich into a bubble mailer. Any corner or side impacts are absorbed by the cardboard, not the books).




Place the book sandwich on top of the protective layer, then fill up the remaining space with packing, making sure if that any gaps around the sides of the sandwich are filled.




Step 8:


Always include the invoice with the books and place everything into another box for shipping suitable to your shipping method, i.e. double boxed. Close up the box and make sure that every opening is covered in packing tape. Ship with the carrier of your choice.










The same principle applies to slabbed books, cereal boxes just don't cut it.


Step 1:


Plenty of bubble wrap. Cardboard sandwiches are just as easily applied.





Step 2:


Pack out the box with plenty of protective padding.





Step 3:


Tape up the box securely, making sure all open sides are taped up.







So there you have it, pretty simple really. This isn’t a bible and as I said at the start of the post – I don’t mean to cause offense to anybody, I know from experience how many boardies on here know how to pack books!


But for those new to shipping books, or those who just like to throw their books into a bubble mailer or a plain envelope, just remember, if you have sold another collector a lot of monies worth of books, it’s worth 15 minutes of your time to make sure they arrive safely.