Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD

New cd swapper and received my first cd in pieces. This was sent wrapped in a piece of printer paper and nothing else. It got here with one postage stamp- nice and cheap for the sender, but really, shopping for cds is so such an awesome deal here that I don't mind spending a little postage to mail one out more securely wrapped. So, is the way I received mine typical or acceptable- I'm wary about ordering again if it is.

I have to say linda ive been a member since 06 granted ive only had a bought 60 trades and that has never happened to me.The only thing bad that has ever happened to me is i was sent the wrong cd. but all the others have been packed very good .There is alot of good people in here people who are on the level dont let one bad trade scare you away. there is nothing better than getting a wishlist cd or one you really want in mint condition,because it happens here so stick around and welcome to the club

My experience here is that about half the discs are wrapped well, and the other half are wrapped according to site guidelines.  Of the ones wrapped without sufficient protection, most make it through okay.

Here are my received statistics:

222 received, 1 promo, 8 unplayable, 2 damaged art, 5 broken, 1 wrong, 5 listed incorrectly.

So that's a failure rate of 10% = 22 out of 222.  "Your mileage may vary."

Linda,

When you receive it - receive it with a problem and explain it was received in pieces.  You will get an "I'm sorry" email from SACD and you will be put at the front of the line the next time the CD is listed (or you will get an automatic note if there is another copy available).

You also will get your 49 cents and credit refunded.

Regards,   Steve :)

Daniel's post got me looking at my RWAP #s: and thought I'd share:

206 incoming

3 lost 

2 damaged in transit

2 unplayable

2 missing art

3 wrong

=5.8%  Problem Transactions

I dont have a high volume of trade, but I have

14 incoming

2 unplayable

1 missing artwork

1 wrong

=29% RWAP. I think I have really bad luck :-( But I've never gotten one in the mail that was broken, and all but 1 came with the printer paper and nothing else. I've also mailed all of mine (19 I think?) in printer paper backed by cardboard and never had any of them broken.

Unfortunately, I get this too often. From cracked to completely obliterated! Most are just the disc (with and without inserts) inside the "standard" SACD packaging with no reinforcement. The latest was a disc in a bubble-mailer. It arrived snapped clean through. I know some think sending in a bubble-mailer and paying the extra postage does the trick, but YOU STILL NEED CARDBOARD! Preferably a thicker, corrugated cardboard so it can take the stress off the disc itself. I know I get my credit back, but it really sucks since it is a rarely posted CD that will probably never come across SACD again. I've had a few rare ones in all the broken discs I've received because of inadequate packaging.

Anytime a disc comes damaged, it's too often.

The reasons they can come that way mostly, but not always come down to inadequate packaging.  The potential for problems is always there and so is the effect of just plain luck.  Sometimes discs get pounded in the mails and sometimes they don't.  Good faith means going a little extra to make sure the ones YOU send do as well as they can.

I've received 1022 discs via SACD so far.  I've had cracked discs three times, out of those.

I've received discs in typing paper and scotch tape (cheap/inadequate packaging) plenty of times with nothing bad happening, but hey.  Luck.  

Exercise good faith, and pack 'em like you like to get 'em.  Happy trades, all!

Wow, 3 out of 1022? You may not know just how lucky you are. I received yet another one today!! Again, it was the disc in the recommended SACD wrapper, this time with two pieces of cereal box (which is way too thin) and it was broken into pieces. This one was also a rare disc that will probably never come up again as well. Between the last one received in the post above, I had only had one other disc come and it was in the case so no problems, but then today back to cd shards..

Oh man -- that is bad.  I"m so sorry.

I wish I could see dots on a map or something - something to show a pattern....  Don't you just wonder?  Is there a single broken roller-thingie in Hoboken that munches square, flat things and lets the rectangles through fine?  Lots of dots clustered around Hoboken.

I got one once with a triangular hole punched straight through it -- bubble wrap, cardboard and all.  Scary!

FWIW, if you're going to use the standard Swapa packaging or other lightweight alternative, it's critical that the "NON-MACHINABLE" label be plainly visible on the front of the package.  The whole point is to keep the package out of their automatic sorting machines.  If the package goes through a sorting machine, the disc is TOAST.  Even with the label, the Post Office sometimes still makes this mistake.

I agree that cereal box cardboard is inadequate.

Whoa, a triangular hole punched straight through it?

I guess I have something new to look forward to!

This has been happening to me an AWFUL lot lately. I mean ALOT! IN the past few weeks it's been rising steadily, but this week it has been terrible. The bulk of the issue is the poor packaging & the cd's being snapped in half. I'm all for the cardboard backing, anything less equals broken. It only took me one time to mail out one & it be broken when it got to another member to learn that. I felt horroble because it was a disc that rarely shows up.

It has gotten REAL interesting this week- something sticky on top of a cd, so it skipped like mad, another cd that looked like it had been skidded across a parking lot - skipped badly. Today I got another that was snapped into & another that the package had been taped together poorly so the cd/cover were completely gone... EMPTY. The thing that really stinks for me is I get random stuff on impulse & nine times out of ten if it's broken/damaged I don't want it anymore. Seems like a hassle to wait again ~ I'm weird.

Monday, I'm going to report all of this to my local post office, because I honestly feel my post man is just slinging my mail around. I also got a record today I'd bought off eBay today & the box was totally annihilated but the seller had packed the vinyl so heavily that it was untouched.

I'm babbling, but to reply properly - No, one bad swap doesn't mean every disc will be that way. I LOVE THIS PLACE! I'm totally addicted to it even if the Metal selection is slightly weak. I check the site several times daily in hopes of treasures. LOL

Ok, I know this has littely to do with SACD members & more to do with the Postal Service in my area - but I got quite a few cd's in today & only one of them wasn't BROKEN! Only one............ I'm SO at a loss for words at this moment ----- totally shocked. My mail was absolutely FORCED in my box that I could barely get it all out. Again little to no backing was in the wrappers, but I think this has very little to do with it. I think the Postal Worker in my area is just being HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!! I'm going to report this ASAP.

Is it really ever this bad for anyone else or is it just the Georgia heat making me agrier or my postman dumber?

Although I feel your pain, I doubt that it was the postman who personally broke your CDs.  It takes a deliberate and serious effort for a person to break a CD (ever tried it?) but the sorting machines can do it with ease.  The only remedy is better packaging - such that it cannot go into a sorting machine.

As has already been mentioned, it's the Post Office sorting machinery that's destroying the discs, not poor packaging. If a CD stays out of the machinery for the entire trip, it will survive even if it's only in a Ziploc bag. Layers of cardboard may make you feel better, but it really won't do much to protect your disc if it hits the machines. The key is paying the NON-MACHINABLE surcharge to make sure the discs are only handled by humans.

Look at this video of the machinery in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB7dhE_TW9g

With such high speeds and sharp angles, you have a good chance of your disc getting snapped. Sure, a lot make it through fine, but it's too risky a gamble. Don't blame the seller for not using better packaging. Blame them for not paying the extra 20 cents to keep the package out of the jaws of the disc killers.

Problem, Phil - is that even with paying the 20c surcharge and even with marking the package clearly "Non-Machinable", some post offices still sent it through the automatic machinery.   Also - in Andy's case, the individual delivery person crams everything into the mail box.  And if he lives in an apartment building, the boxes are small.

I have received hundreds of CDs packed in just the paper that arrived safely - but, on the other hand, I don't believe I ever received one sent in case where the disc was broken.  The case might have arrived broken - but whoop dee doo on that - they're easy to replace.

That's a cool video!  I wish it were permanently included in the site, somehow.  It's really impressive and gives you quite a respect for the P.O.'s task in getting a single little square thing to the right place...never mind the reality check about packaging.

As a 1000+ trader, I have to say that the whole "non-machinable" thing is a little confusing, right from the outset.  Pre-printed labels are not required, naturally, and neither is pre-printed postage, so how can there be any assurance that anyone paid extra for the special handling?  Not that anyone is trying to get away with anything, but for many people, "non-machinable" probably equals writing "fragile" on the package.  I don't know that people realize that it's an extra cost service they should be paying for.

This is all very interesting -- BlackAndy, your experience sounds really outrageous -- I'd be aggravated, too.  I don't think it's normal AT ALL.  At least I hope it's not.  

There is nothing more frustrating after finally getting a requested CD only to find that it is broken due to the sender not putting any protective packaging around the CD.  What are they thinking or are they just plain cheap!  Ugh!

I got one once with a triangular hole punched straight through it ...

Wow - the one damaged CD that I have received had a triangular hole in it too!

edited to add:  It was wrapped in the standard SACD wrapping.

For what it's worth, I always write NON-MACHINABLE and FRAGILE on the front and back of the wrapper. I figure if the package ends up upside down on the conveyor belt (and I figure there's a 50/50 chance) at the beginning of the sorting, it will be easier for someone to see it and remove the envelope. I'd say 95% of my CDs that I send with the standard wrapping get through without a problem.

I recycle priority mail boxes and ship the cds inbetween 2 pieces of it and it seems to do the trick (making sure the pieces are a tad bigger than the cd and/or artwork). I have received cds mailed with sheets of cardboard from cereal boxes and needless to say they have arrived broken. I did however receive a cd in one piece and it was just wrapped in computer paper, not sure how it made to me in unbroken though. I definitley recommend cardboard as thick as what priority mail boxes are made out of to ship cds in.

Hi Brandy,

Just fyi - it's a huge no-no to recycle priority mail boxes.  The post office expressly forbids it.  If they catch it along the way they will try to collect the priority price from the receiver. Then if the receiver refuses delivery or payment of the extra postage, it'll go back to the Sender, postage due.

While it is true that the USPS does forbid re-use of Priority Mail boxes without paying Priority Mail fees, I suspect the use Brandy describes will go totally unnoticed, since it won't even look like a box anymore.  I like the idea, and I plan on trying it out using some of the old Priority Mail boxes I have laying around cluttering up the place.

Newbie question

Do people actually mail JUST the CD without the jewel case?

Is that recommended? Noticed the jewel case adds almost $1.00 to the shipping cost.

greg