So I managed to find my "holy grail", a complete set of Big O LDs. A nice deal of $65, and the auction even had free shipping (neat!...or not, you'll see).

So came time to ship, I opted for EMS as I didn't want to chance anything with these. I didn't think I needed to add "protective packaging" via Buyee, as all my LDs have arrived in sturdy boxes with at least 3 layers of bubble-wrap around the sleeves.

However that was not the case this time.... the "box" was made out of very soft cardboard, the 7 discs were wrapped with just a single layer of bubble-wrap to ensure safe travel. I suppose I should be grateful that the discs themselves arrived without damage! Every single volume has the same exact crease/bend damage, which can be seen in the outer "box" itself.


(perfect...except...)


(crease/pressure/indentation mark on the box)


(close-up of the damage)


(such sturdy material!)


I'm not sure if this happened during local transport or occurred during it's international trip....

That said, what, if anything can be done to help revert as much of this as possible? I've reordered them so the affected area isn't against the same bend as the one above.

Suffice to say... I'm angry, sad, and somewhat heartbroken. I doubt I'll ever see another complete set (let alone any individual volumes) for sale again (or at least not any time soon...maybe 10yrs from now?).

Damage / creasing to precious cargo while in transit is avoidable with a little attention to detail.
Added cardboard squares, double boxing, layers of pneumatic padding, and a non shifting load are integral to a safe passage from abroad.
These protective additions do add to the weight of the parcel so thus more cost is involved.

There are several threads about "how to" properly package laserdiscs ......... ATTN : DEALERS - check 'em out ! ! !

Mr. firehorse_44 pretty much covered how to pack it. I would like to add it is highly recommended to do the same type of packing even when shipping domestic. I've lost count on how many discs I have from in-country purchases that have smashed corners and seam splits. The trick is to not have anything sliding around, including the disc (even inside the jacket). The disc edge isn't very sharp, but it can punch through the jacket. The automatic sorting machines the post service use do apply some serious g-forces to the parcels. This is where the actual serious abuse happen, and why the post service say you have to pack things well.

As for the damage.... It is permanent. Nothing more to do about it. If they're still bent, you could always try to bend it the other way to make the jacket more straight. This could create more damage on the other side, however. If they're straight, I'd just leave them as is.

I wish the YAJ seller could've read this before mailing it. Again, no idea when this occurred.... so no clue if doing "protective packaging" would've prevented it. I haven't had a single issue in all my other LDs from Japan.... but of course the rarest set has to be the one that winds up damaged.


I was afraid of that. It's more than just the crease, they're all bent/curved upward in that area. So that's why I've reordered them and applied light pressure (another set of discs in a box) on top of them.... hopefully it'll help a bit.

Suffice to say... lesson learned. Will avoid auctions that say "free shipping", since if this is anything to go by, that indicates bare-bones packaging. Not to mention I'll spring for the protective packaging as an additional precaution.

Hopefully I'll eventually secure another set, without any damage.

It could be an idea to get another middleman. Kobos or some other person that knows what they're doing. It would get repacked properly before being sent abroad.

I don't think it was the middleman service's fault. Everything else has been fine thus far, because the sellers have used proper packaging. Though I can say that I wish they would have notified me that the packaging it arrived in was flimsy... While I've no idea if the damage happened en route to the middleman or to me... I would have preferred a heads up as I definitely would've spent the extra $ for them to redo the packaging.