So i thought i would do a blog about all my unfortunate damaged goods i received. People who follow me on Facebook will know my anguish at all the Cake stands that have never made it to me intact because of inadequate packaging.
Ebay is a treasure trove for Cake stands from around the world, people buy them abroad and bring back to the UK and one day sell them. That is when i find them and buy them most of the time. The thing is these are often pieces which are no longer made and sought after and not available to buy anymore.
Being an Ebay seller myself and reselling on the occasion i know how to wrap something well for postage. Ceramics are a nightmare in the post and guess what a majority of the ones damaged were? CERAMIC! accidents do happen i agree in transit, but you cannot always blame the post carrier if it is not wrapped properly.
To date i have had 9 stands damaged or destroyed in the post.
2 teapots
1 mug
The 2 that got some minor damage i could repair but the others went to the Cake stand Graveyard.
SO WHY HAS IT HAPPENED?
So first of all i imagine bubble wrap and a box is needed and some padding for postage to avoid bumps and jolts and to cushion the item from impact.
I have had stands arrive in a box that is not big enough with the glass dome popping out the top no bubble wrap. I have had stands in shoe boxes, a kettle box. A teapot wrapped in magazines and wrapping paper no box or bubble wrap.
What gets me is they sound surprised it is broken when i message them! although some don’t and just send a refund. These stands have been in unused condition or not used and there has been no care in packing them.
You would think this is just individuals but WRONG!
I ordered 2 glass ceramic domes stands from Hobbycraft and they came in a large box
no bubblewrap so they were cushioned by a deflated airbag LOL and some Renshaw icing underneath. no surprise smashed and split in half the stand.
I ordered some ceramic dishes from Aldi online to bake crumbles etc 2 sets of 2, they were wrapped in a box but no cushion on the bottom so that was smashed also.
All of these have a thing in common HERMES! well it would be easy to blame them for the damage being mishandled in transit. However if the items are not wrapped well for the transit, is not their fault. They may well be moved around and jolted about but you need to allow for the packaging.
You cannot say that is is the mail services fault when the item is wrapped in paper and magazines and smashed to bits.
Royal mail i use myself and cannot fault them, they are more an issue with mail going missing then being damaged. I have had a couple of Royal mail items delivered 2nd class smashed.
I myself have sent out a few delicate items and only 1 was damaged but that went abroad and was the handle of a cup 1 out of 4 cups , accidents do happen
HOW TO PREVENT ?
Some of the nicest Cake stands around Primarily from the states are Ceramic. It is easy to say enough is enough and not buy ceramic anymore, but cannot assume everyone is the same when it comes to packaging. I will still buy them if i like them but prepared for the worst now. A majority of the ones i buy that are Ceramic i pick up in person from shops mainly Tkmaxx
TOP TIPS
Buy a box ! and some bubble wrap not too big as it will move around too much.
I understand that not everyone has copious amounts of packaging around to pack the items with. If you decide to sell something like that it is up to you to make sure you have the right stuff, as i know well, you will just end up losing the post and item money and putting a claim into the carrier to say they damaged it.
I also think they are trying to cheap out on the postage, i would rather see a higher postage cost that reflects the packaging then a low one with none!
Cushioning the item!
If you do not have airbags fill any gaps with plastic bags or newspaper or foam pellets
this will help cushion the item but not protect it if it is not bubble wrapped.
I have had bags of sugar i won wrapped in tons of foam pellets and bubble wrap absolutely tons of it! so no excuse. I had a Cake stand that was collection only i wanted delivered from Ebay, the seller agreed to post it out and i warned them of the risk of damage. They ordered some Bubble wrap and it arrived wrapped in a whole reel of it. but no box! was worried it would be broken but there was so much wrap it was intact.
That is what you call wrapped up well. I thanked the seller as it was an exceptional stand and a hard to find one also.
This does not look broken but arrived in a Kettle box no packaging! it was severed across the feet. I just about managed to rescue it with some glue but it doesn’t look as good as many small fragments are missing where it splintered.
THE ONES THAT SURVIVED THE POST
Jane Asher Sprinkles stand no longer made – the 2nd one as the 1st one was a victim of above
Brand new hanging Cupcake stand which came with 2 matching bowls. Was very well wrapped
Spider print Cake stand – never ever seen anything like these
Strawberry hanging Cake stand to match my Cupcake ones, small chip i knew about and the one wrapped with a pile high of Bubble wrap
Well wrapped in Styrofoam and a box and wrapped, even the small hanging pieces were wrapped.
There are another 2 Ceramic ones that also made it.
And so the Ceramic journey continues ……..
Adampastryguy 