i just received a bat today that was shipped to me by Menace7. the pics below are how to
properly ship a bat.
DC AND Insurance
A triangle box that can be picked up at the PO or delivered to your house. These are FREE. Notice all the tape on the box. That is a properly taped box. There was also newspaper in the box to pack the bat and to keep it from ratteling and moving around.
Notice the tape again...
and again...
Here are pics of a NON-PROPERLY taped TUBE that was sent to me by Michael Gerena aka fatcatdog32001 aka mylittlepony from Renton, WA
Here is a tube with NO insurance. Inside there was no packing and no bat as a result of poor packing and tape job.
Both sides of the endcaps were taped down using priority mail stickers, not tape, stickers.
When you don't properly package a bat, the bat bangs back and forth eventually popping off the endcaps or allowing somebody to get into the bat with ease. Notice the STICKERS are ripped from the endcap being popped off either by the bat banging back and forth or by a person. This leads to a bat not being recieved. The clear packing tape was not put on by the shipper, but by the USPS after the cap popped off or they opened it.
So remember....
Package the bat yourself, don't rely on the girlfriend/wife/mistress/random dude at the ups store to do it correctly. (from yem549)
always tape the crap out of the box
use a bat box or triangle box. the triangles are free from the PO.
always get DC and insurance.
always pack the bat tightly to prevent movement
write the name, address AND tracking number ON THE BOX with marker, just in case the label with the address comes off, gets dirty or damaged somehow. (from thejackyl666)
please properly mark out all names and addresses on used boxes before reusing or recycling them. (to deter identity theft) (from kruncyfrogg)
this is taken from the Selling Section...
Mailing Issues:
I typically will use USPS because of the Mail Fraud Laws. But no method is 100% perfect. If you prefer UPS or Fedex, fine, but use these suggested packaging procedures to minimize losses.
1) Take pictures of the items you are sending as proof for insurance.
2) Package the items in a quality box. If it's been used and crushed before, find another box.
3) Securely tape the buyer's address to the item in case it really does 'accidentally' escape the box.
4) Triangle or Square boxes for bats are preferred for several reasons.The round tubes have a history of the cap cutting the tape (or a person) and being received empty. It's harder to identify that the cap has been opened. The triangles are free from usps.gov (order 10 free online to have some on-hand) and these can be better taped closed. If you insist on using a tube, be sure to staple the endcaps in place every two inches, then crisscross the endcaps with strapping tape (see below) and then wrap tape around the tube end to cover the ends of the strapping tape.
5) Use strapping tape rather than box tape... strapping tape has strands of string (maybe fiberglass) running the length of the roll. This is much harder to 'accidentally' break or cut. CHEAP TAPE is no bargain.
6) Tape over the ends of the box, then tape around the end of the box to double secure the tape you put over the ends.
7) Always purchase insurance and delivery confirmation. Include this coverage in your selling price.
8) Notify the buyer when you ship the package. Send an email with the tracking number (and pictures if you have them).
9) The buyer should check the box for weight (that it's not empty) BEFORE they sign for the delivery. If it IS empty, be sure the delivery person signs something that states it was delivered empty!
