Hello fellow Comrades,
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| Our toys: Floating Magnetic Ironman by Beast Kingdom |
Every once in awhile people start asking questions about how we package our collectible items that we are giving away. Top questions include how we justify the outcome of the shipping price, how we package, where was it from.
Well, Here's a quick article to answer those questions!
Q1. Where is the item from? Why sell it?
First off, our toys are mostly bought from friends and relatives who work in collectible toy, comics and gaming shops. Other reasons include our own toy collection which we have amassed. Sometimes we streamline our collection to make way for other toys too. We are collector's first and foremost. Most are toys that come off from a local convention display. Hence, our toys that we giveaway are given away at reasonable prices meant for the purposes of spreading joy.
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| One of our toy items sold to us by a friend who works in a toy store. Item was in a local convention display. |
"We would rather giveaway a toy, comic or gaming collectible than to throw it away...where's the honor in throwing something precious anyway?"
Here's what we check for before we give it away to you:
- There's a strict ethic code when it comes to choosing what toys we choose to take. We always look for the manufacturer's seal, but when there is none, we ensure that the toys joints are tight, no broken parts and no missing parts. We are extra careful when it comes to Loose collectibles, as they have the tendency to show signs of wear, loose joints, missing parts etc.(of which we reject)
- Our toys are usually convention display sets which people close to us want to giveaway at an affordable price. Let's face it, no one gives away something they love for free, and if they do, that is like a big giveaway that something might be wrong with the collectible!
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| We also wrote an article on how to spot bootlegged toys |
Q2.What goes into our shipping pricing?
Our giveaways are shipped using the strictest, safest and cheapest method possible. Most people might agree with our shipping prices, but there are those that don't. For anyone in the middle of the fence,here's how we calculate our shipping(toys):
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| We use a kitchen scale to measure the exact weight of items to be shipped. Our local postage service uses grams to weigh items. |
- Overall shipping weight.(Original package weight + shipping box + bubble wraps/foam/pads etc) Also, our local courier has a restriction on custom shipping boxes that are too big, of which, we need to repackage it in the courier's own package.
- Tracking price. Some of you might grumble on this point, but the truth is, having this addon will be a lifesaver. Not only does this build trust between buyer and seller, this also ensures both our local couriers don't mess with our transactions(couriers do it more often than not, trust us, we have friends working with the local post). Among other things, it has been reported that it's easy to 'lose' some items between transactions, or at least, if you do surface shipping, your item might be tossed, slammed, or pinned down during the delivery process, leaving you with a defect box, we wouldn't want that do we?
- Travelling expenses. Just in case people don't know, we are normal working adults, with just enough love for collectibles to share it with you. We do take some time away from our busy schedules to travel and travelling fare is a cost which we cant do completely free, so there's that element.
- Shipping materials. We do custom boxes coated with a waterproof turqoiuse paint whenever we can(if we don't, it means, we just don't have time or we have to change the packaging as dictated by our courier postal service). We also buy pads, foams or wraps specially made for our toys. Tape. And printables and promo materials in case you're interested.
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| This isn't just a one-off thing, our items do get tossed! except with better aiming than this guy. Thank you Mark Bridgman for opening our eyes to the world of freight handling. |
-Our friend who works in the postal service" I remembered a customer of our local postal service wanting to claim China plates which they imported from overseas. It was surface shipped, but the worse was that it didn't come with the fragile label. The postal counter girl gave it a slight shake and told the customer it'd be best if it wasn't opened, and shipped back to the sender..."
As for cards & comics(Shouldn't be a problem, since there's no complaints, but here it is anyways):
- Overall shipping weight.(Cardboard protective backing + envelope/Manilla envelopes + original item)
- Protective sleeves for cards. Very essential if you'd like to avoid scratches, and we'd like you to have the items in a pristine condition.
- Tracking Price(Same reason as toys)
- Travelling expenses(Same reason as toys)
Q3.How do we package our items?
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| Captain America: First Avenger By Hot Toys, Hong Kong(a subsidiary of 'SideshowCollectiblesUS'). |
How do you package your items? is it safe? In sending an item overseas for shipping, we are dealing with variables. With us, it's all about eliminating variables. We are toy collectors ourselves, so we are always ensuring that not just the figure is intact and in mint condition, we do that for the original packaging itself!
Below is an example of how we packaged our Loose Hot toys item for one of our guys...
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| fig1. Individual items are individually wrapped |
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| fig2. Cont from fig 1, the items are kept in a bubble-wrap for prevention |
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| fig3. figure is bubble wrapped along the joints and limbs to protect against movements |
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| fig4. figure is placed inside of a wrap to prevent friction. |
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| fig5. This shows all the individual components...ready to ship |
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| fig6. Place one pad on either side for weight distribution upon impact |
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| fig7. A closer look |
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| fig8. protection fitted on the side too |
- Protective items. Surrounding the original packaging are bubble wraps/ peanut foams or pads
- Our printable items e.g. buyers' shipping summary & promo poster for upcoming toys
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| This is our promo poster, which keeps updating itself. If you like our items, do visit our store and become a member now to get updates on great offers! |
EndNote
Now that you've gotten an insight as to how we ship our items and how we calculate our shipping prices, we do understand that sometimes your budget doesn't allow it, that's why we're flexible. Upon request, we:
- Allow anyone who is interested to order our items loose(only for toys), so as to get a significantly cheaper price on shipping
- We sometimes offer combined shipping on items(Stated on listings)
- We like to offer auctions every once in awhile
- Most times, you can just "Make an offer" to us, as long as we don't lose too much on our purchasing price.
Do check out our other toys on sale on eBay(or through this blog's homepage banner!)
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