I received a package today from TFAW and this was the main culprit for the damage. There were 80 comics in one big stack… no sub-stacks. And they weren’t bundled tightly enough… I think most of the damage came from the comics moving around in their oversized bags/boards. I had spine tears/rubs on about half of the comics… that shit ain’t pressable.
TFAW really needs to get their act together.
A. Establish proper shipping procedures.
Use painter’s tape and BUNDLE THE COMICS TOGETHER. Every order… even if it’s just 2 comics. If it’s a large order, wrap every 15 together in a bundle. This will prevent them from moving around in the box and within the bag/board.
Wrap the final stack of comics with 2 pieces of bubble wrap and make sure the bubble wrap is secured tightly around the comics as an extra measure to prevent them from moving around during shipping.
your packing peanuts seem to work… stick with that.
B. Quality control for the employees,
train the employees
draw a step-by-step diagram to hang over their workstation
put a camera in the packaging area. Even if you don’t watch, it will improve efficacy.
do spot-inspections of their packages once in a while
It’s really inexcusable that an online comic retailer doesn’t know how to package their comics.
I’m really careful when I open one to rebag. I just cut the tape from the back. Friend told me about that tip. He had a tape stick to a pretty high dollar book. So better to sacrifice the bag.
There’s a lot of other reasons why this doesn’t happen consistently. Employees packing the comics come and go, ongoing training, some employees just don’t give a crap, time and resources. Yes, some online shops who have a fraction of the orders can more easily equip themselves to pack better but I couldn’t imagine what Midtown and TFAW size shops ship out on a weekly basis…
But that’s no excuse but it’s gonna happen. It’s always going to be an ongoing issue with any large retailer who do thousands upon thousands of orders week in and week out.
Well, with new comics in some cases costing $5 each I can’t blame collectors for wanting 9.8 copies. 9.8 comics can still have one or two very slight defects. A brand new, day one comic really shouldn’t have more than that.
Some of those steps ARE in the proper procedures. (Like smaller bundle sizes.) And each packing station does have the packing guidelines/steps posted for reminder. Like poyo mentioned, sometimes the problem is just the amount of turnover and new warehouse hires we’ve had to make lately and people either cutting corners to save time, or forgetting because it’s near the end of the day or they got hit with two shipments in a row because Diamond’s delivery was 6 days late. When we find out things are packed incorrectly (like when people contact CS) we let the warehouse know and the warehouse leads can remind the individuals who packed it.
In the end, warehouse work is not an easy job, especially the last year, and people mess up sometimes.
I’ve posted some pics in the online store report card thread. Feel free to use those as ways to not pack. I had no wrap, partial wrap and not enough packing peanuts. Along with the boxes being to small for the size order. You guys are great though. Shit happens and mistakes will be made. You guys always take care of it when it happens which is why I’m still doing my preorders with TFAW. Along with a great website and excellent prices.
Usually anything posted in there is shared. The ideal way is still straight through CS, though, if anyone is trying to help out (because they can catalog everything in the proper way whereas I can just email it to people and say “here look at this”).
Since I’ve switched to nearly exclusively Gemini mailers I now cut a heavy piece of cardboard or foam board, tape the comic face down at only the top and bottom of the board (Painters tape), then tape the board to the mailer to prevent sliding.
A comic properly secured in a Gemini mailer should never arrive damaged unless it’s sabotage by a postal worker…or a horrific accident.
I used to tape mine into the Gemini mailers but have switched to a cardboard sandwich wrapped in bubble wrap. Anything over $100 gets put into a normal box.
I understand some people wanting comics in pristine condition, yeah I want the best ones too, but this past year people lost their jobs, people lost their homes, people lost loved ones, and here we are some of us complaining about a spine tick.
I dunno. I’m just trying to show others around me a little more gratitude. I was a lucky one.
Yea man, everything I sell on ebay is advertised as NM but I send out 6.5s and when people complain I just tell them my aunt died and I have no job. Seems legit. lol
I mostly agree and when you couple the recurring shipping delays and damages and just awful packaging along with getting free bags and boards and free shipping just about everywhere else I switched most of my pre-orders to other places. Like 50 some pages of Pre-orders on Tfaw just got cut down to 18 pages and 12 of those pages are locked in because of FOC. Anything not locked in got moved to other retailers save some incentives and I will likely drop many of those before FOC comes. I will always look for incentives on Tfaw and order some stuff like their exclusives but the majority of my business goes to other places now. The final straw was really when someone in customer service told me they were doing me a courtesy by removing pre-ordered items they have been unable to fulfill going back to November 2020. Oh and the time they put The Rise #1 up for sale on their website again and still haven’t shipped mine.
I have had no problems with any shipments from TFAW so far. I do have an oversized mail box which does not allow for any bending of envelopes. When I sell comics I use a gemini box and add either a packing board or old comic for extra protection. Plus the painters tape to strap the comic down. I have had no problems so far.
I use Mycomicshop for most of my pre-orders. They are great for ordering a ton of comics. The way they pack them is different from anybody else I have used. I have not had any problems over there.
The way My Comic Shop packs small orders is also great but I have one issue with it. The comic is bagged and boarded and out into a thick plastic bag. That’s then taped to an oversized piece of cardboard and put into a box. The box is similar to Gemini but it folds down the middle.
If the comics don’t slide, there’s buffer around the comics to take any hits or blows and the package does not easily bend, it’ll arrive intact every time. Take it from me, the expert who’s never had anything damaged in transit. Mmmmmm… Hmmmmm…
You all can thank me for MCS new packaging technique. Long ago, they use to be terrible. They would shrink wrap plastic around a thin piece of cardboard and shove in a flimsy mailer. When I pointed out their double standards of “no comic will arrive damaged or we’ll take care of you” with the other notice on their site that stated “if you don’t pay for premium shipping, we’re not liable for damages”… after a comic arrived damaged and they told me to basically F off… yeah, seems everything changed after that cause I ragged on their ass for months…
So everyone, you’re welcome! (I like to assume credit, it’s just fun).
But I still refuse to give them my business. They even came back and offered me gift cards to try and woo me back… nope, I stand by my principles. They treated me like a criminal so they never get a dime from me again.
I told CS a few times about issues with packaging. I would be willing to even pay more for using gemini mailers. Shipments were messed up several times and I was even sent the wrong books as replacements. I had the rest of my preorders cancelled and many of those books never even came out or it was months away because of Covid. Now my account is limited and your store will never give me the option to try again. I’m not sure if that was the best policy, but things worked out for me.
