lokiwookie wrote:
Could we say that you consider it as a great item or not?  


On my side, I bought several copies for several persons in France and so modules were protected by themselves they all arrived in Mint conditions.
I guess that a single module could have been bent because french postmen (or postwomen, I am not sexist) do not take care to the pakages at all. My postman even throw the letter mail over the gratings directly on the soil

Thus, the solution is "to buy several ones"  

LOL  ... yeah great ... although I feel if you shrink the font size to match the old-school modules it'd be a 16-page effort rather than the 32pages.   I too bought a few and expect the extra ridigity helped.

Shit happens, I write "Do Not Bend" across the front of every envelope I have mailed, but the postmen can do whatever they want.  The secret is reasonable protection for items and I believe the Bros shipping is at least this if not more.  

No matter how good the packaging, anything can be bent, chipped or dented when in the mail.  

Mike B.

OK fellow Acaeum members.  I will let you decide if I ship another module all the way to France at my cost.

What I did:
-Explained exactly how the module would be shipped.
-Used better shipping materials than anyone I can know of.
-Actually took the time to write "DO NOT BEND" so it wouldn't get crammed in a mailbox.
-Charged as little as possible for shipping.
-Shipped within 48 hours.
-Had 2 packages out of 80+ take bit of damage and quite a few went out of the U.S.

I feel bad for him receiving a damaged item but I kind of think the Postal Sevice deserves the blame.  When I buy something on ebay and the shipping is cheap I know that they aren't going to go overboard protecting the item.  I ask them to package the item well and send me a new invoice.  And as Badmike says, anything can happen.  The artwork for this module was mailed only 300 or so miles to my house in a Priority Box.  When it got here it looked like the mailman had used the box for a seat cushion the whole way.  One of the worst looking packages I had ever received.  Luckily the art survived well enough.  Shipping something thousands of miles is basically a coin toss no matter how well protected.

Anyway what should I do?  Send or not?

BTW: I will be looking into those "wrap-around" cardboard mailers.  They will certainly protect better but weigh and probably cost alot more which will increase shipping charges.  

Perhaps a compromise?  If dwarf would agree, maybe he would be willing to purchase another copy and you could cover the shipping, with additional reinforcement?

Devon really can't assure that every package will arrive intact.  I've had packages shipped with significant protection that were somehow still damaged!  It will happen.

My two-cents...

burntwire brothers wrote:Anyway what should I do?  Send or not?

BTW: I will be looking into those "wrap-around" cardboard mailers.  They will certainly protect better but weigh and probably cost alot more which will increase shipping charges.  

1)  Right now, your reputation among OSR publishers is pure gold.  My advice is to go the extra mile to protect it.

2)  $2 shipping was awesome, and I got my copy in pristine condition.  You might offer a higher level of shipping protection for increased cost.  

(I realize that a part of your speed of service was uniformity in shipping.  Just making a suggestion.)

Ok  I have to make clarifications here about subjective opinion I read about my post.

First of all, my initial post was to inform other collectors here. I do not want that other Acaeum member has the same bad surprise as I had. We are here on a collectors forum and I then left my collectors feedback, quite normal.
Ask for a protected shipment if you want to avoid what I experimented, of course it will be more expensive.

JasonZavoda wrote:To me, Dwarf is in the wrong here if he knew the way it was to be shipped and did not request more expensive and (possibly) stronger packaging.

Jason, your opinion is surprising for someone who seems to be very attentive to the shipping quality. And quite a subjective opinion for someone that generally denounces the poor quality of some sellers shipping method and is so reluctant to ship overseas.  What would have been your behavior if YOU have received MY damaged module ?

The only thing I was aware is what is written here :

burntwire brothers wrote:The modules are bagged/boarded and will ship via 1st Class Mail in rigid photo mailers for protection.

It's a very positive description. I read the word "rigid" and ordered with confidence. I put my trust in the  description and then, unlike other sellers, I thought the seller was aware of the risks of unprotected module and that he will then take all easy and not disproportionate measures (like free backboards into the mailer) to insure that the whole was as much rigid as possible like said in the description. I put my trust in that and I was wrong like I said already. Yes, I should have asked to the seller to put rigid backboards. But do you ask that each time you order something to a seller that seems to take that point very seriously on a collectible forum  like Acaeum ?
I have ordered a few things to Acaeum members here and It was not necessary to ask them to protect the item. My behavior was the same here. I have to say also that I followed the general trust I felt here about the seller and the product to order it without asking some specific questions about the shipping. I have to say that the seller did not offered me several options, (I agree that I could have asked myself but when the seller claims a rigid and protective mailer why asking him for something else) it seems that its main motivation was to offer the lowest shipping price, and in fact I found the price rather low as it was first class, it's why I generally prefer priority flat-rate envelope as you can put several rigid cardboards into it without an increase of the price.

burntwire brothers wrote: What I did:
-Used better shipping materials than anyone I can know of.

The used mailer envelope is unfortunately larger than the module so if you don't put something inside the mailer the module is loose and it's easily to bend and to damage what is inside during transport. It why rigid cardboards larger than the module, if it can't be a total insurance of zero damages, is a great and cheap help.

tacojohn4547 wrote:
Speaking from first hand experience, order fulfillment is about the least glorious part of being a small-press game publisher. It's very time consuming, and it can be very expensive. Doing it right will keep your customers coming back for repeated orders.  Doing it wrong will drive customers and potential customers away quickly.  It's really no more complicated that making the right choice between those two outcomes.

I totally agree with that.
NEVER, but perhaps I have a lot of chance, (I buy many things from US), an item came to me so creased during transport when I receive modules in a flat-rate envelope with two rigid cardboards. It makes then a strong massive thing that is nearly impossible to bend. For example, I often buy to Intelligator on Ebay who is one of top seller for packaging (there is a thread about him here), he always send his modules in flat-rate envelope with a strong protection made by cut cardboards and always it comes in perfect condition. And look at his feedback, there is no secret, if a seller want the buyers to come back then you have to spend time for that, and it cost money yes. Nothing is free and the trust given by a buyer to a seller is not free, sorry. Joseph takes probably time to package but the service is irreproachable. Everyone here knows perfect that a magazine board and plastic is good for avoiding water damages or tears in a shrink when item is SW but not bending during transport.

JasonZavoda wrote:I would not send another.

I did not suggest to the seller to send me freely another module. It's clearly NOT justified to do so and I agree with Jason on that point. But the seller could have probably offered to me spontaneously a discount for buying another one. No such offer was sent to me and no private answer to my PM. It seems very strange that the seller asked for other Acaeum members what he has to do before trying to make an arrangement with me. A kind private answer from the seller would probably helped to find a good solution immediately.

dbartman wrote:Perhaps a compromise?  If dwarf would agree, maybe he would be willing to purchase another copy and you could cover the shipping, with additional reinforcement?

Thanks to dbartman for his neutral and objective message.
I already wrote it here : my purchase is aimed at keeping the best collectible item. I'm of course ready to buy another one as this module is beautiful as I also said. I just hope the seller will agree for a little discount on this second one. That time I will ask to ship with a priority flat-rate envelope I will pay ($13.45) with rigid cardboards inside. Hope this offer will be accepted by the seller. As a collector, I prefer to pay a little more (13.45 rather than 9.50 is not the double) in order to get a collectible item.

Devon really can't assure that every package will arrive intact.  I've had packages shipped with significant protection that were somehow still damaged!  It will happen.

Of course and I do not claimed that. I already received damaged parcels and as a buyer I have to accept the risk. I just think that it's not a reason to ship a module loose inside a thin envelope without rigid protection. Price is a thing, satisfaction of the buyer is another one and it depends on the price but greatly also on the condition of the item. It's a little bit too easy to say that's entirely the post responsibity. We all know that the packages are badly treated, so we have no other choice than to find a compromise between thin envelopes with a low shipping cost and a box inside a bigger box for very high shipping cost.
Hope my message will clarify the things.

And to end in a positive manner (I'm not a bad man just a passionate collector), I never put a negative comment about the great quality and interest of the product.  It's then probably why I'm so disappointed that this "gem" came damaged to me.

I offered Dwarf a free module if he will cover Priority Shipping.

I went out and bought several sheets of 3/4" plywood.  I will be cutting it into pieces and sandwiching the modules between two pieces and screwing them together for protection.  Shipping for one module in the U.S. is now $135.  Non-U.S. buyers contact me for a shipping quote.

Just kidding.  Maybe  

BTW, I'd just like to make it clear that I'm not taking sides and burntwires have been very fair in resolving it as a seller.