I dont know about you guys but I am done with nobs and newbs and anyone else that has never sent a laserdisc anywhere. I bought a small collection (5 discs) off ebay for 25 bucks. Got some really nice midrange stuff and a really nice copy of Dr. Alien, or so it said. It was packed in a big envelope and sent out. Of course the upper right corners were tweeked to hell. The discs went from a seven rating to a 6 rating according to our scale, or from f/vf to g/vg in one shot. All 5 discs were damaged. There was no cardboard, there was no protection, just the envelope and the discs. Had another guy send a disc to someone because I cracked a disc. I bought a more expensive version of the disc to make up for my screwup. Guy put a 50 dollar ld in a manilla envelope and sent it off. Destroyed the jacket. I was unhappy. This is not uncommon. I have bought 5 minor collections in the past week from 5 different people and all 5 have arrived in manila envelopes and all have had creases. Lowering them from vf/nm to no better then g/vg. I look at the discs and sigh.

That sux. If I have suspicions, I usually ask how they are going to pack them or offer suggestions how to. Had the same problems when buying online.

I haven't had any come in a manila envelope (not yet anyways) I've had some some come just between pieces of cardboard (no bubble wrap inside) and taped around the sides. And when the cardboard pieces are part of the box flap with the crease in it, there's not much stability.

The cardboard mailers with the little wings on the corners are good, but I think they only have those in Japan.

Any seller I haven't bought from before I always ask if they can package properly using thick cardboard or a decent box.
Contrary to popular believe conventional card LP mailers aren't good for shipping LDs - every single laserdisc I ever received cracked arrived in one of those!
They do not take kindly to any form of knock or compression during transit.
A box like a pizza box (the bigger the better) with items secured inside can easily take a squeeze or a knock without any damage to the covers or the discs.
Oversized card sheeting also works well if you cannot find a box - items can be wrapped twice for extra protection on all corners.

The worst is the jiffy bag which again is often seen by some sellers as acceptable. How wrong they are!

I got two rather nice LDs that way, one was Chinese Ghost Story that I paid a good price for and the other was Re-Animator 10th Anniv edition, that wasn't too pricey. Both arrived cracked.

The first one arrive that way because the stupid post office employee thought it was a magazine and folded it to try to fit it into a mailbox! Then after realizing the mistake, they set it down on the front porch. It was an obvious goof, and the post office paid off after I showed it to the local manager.

But that's what can happen if the shipper uses a padded envelope. Since those two, I have a common refrain that I cut and paste into my payment email stating my request for packing. Haven't gotten any cracked discs anymore, and rarely an edge crease. I did have to explain about shipping discs out of the jacket to avoid seam splits.

I do like the sturdy pizza box for small disc lot shipments and the larger chains will give me the box free once they learn it will be seen by many on its journey. Sometimes they even throw in a coupon good nationally.

I use the record mailers as they go up to an inch. I take the LD, and then take 3 pieces of cardboard on one side and 3 pieces of cardboard on the other side, flip the sides together, tape the hell out of the corners and send stuff on its way. If I have to or feel the need I put another 2 pieces of cardboard on the outside of the mailer. I have not had any damaged in a while. Well, since I have started mailing things like that none have been damaged. There is 1 inch of cardboard between the LD and the outside. Works great.

ive seen some laserdiscs come to me with little or no protection, but miraculously none of them got damaged

It is the luck of the draw. The ones I get are always damaged in the upper right corner.

Just received two rare titles in a Manila envelope.
Held my breath as I inspected the platters, amazingly both were undamaged !
Gatefold and jacket had minor corner trauma, but less then imagined before opening.
So it goes, just have to ask people before you bid if they are willing to take certain simple steps to ensure safe transit.
Even then when I notice shifting when first picking up a parcel, my stomach just drops.....
No easy way around this issue folks.....
Except ideally to know your dealer !

This is my standard procedure: ( which I have learned from other Adept Dealers of Fine LD's ! )
Disc(s) is/are out of jacket/gatefold and both within plastic sleeve,folded in bubble wrap on all sides,boxed in ld mailer, this is placed in another larger size box with bubble wrap squares under extra cardboard squares above and below, and side protection in the form of folded cardboard strips in the corners and bubble wrap "logs" to fill any void spaces to prevent shifting of original box.
That is my version of Earthquake proof packaging.
This is my standard whether for domestic or International shipping.
The LaserDisc Gods have smiled upon this methodology....
Hundreds sold and not one damaged so far....................
nobs and newbs please take heed !!!

I once bought a mint sealed Crimson Tide DTS LD for $30.00, in the picture the cover was perfect, it shows up in a very large envelope with a major corner fold

I think out of all my acquisitions from ebay I might have gotten only 2 at the most 4 cracked movies though I do know I've been pretty lucky since not all of them know how to pack.

A friend on various forums has been really good to me, he has been sending me the odd LD from Japan, and like a star he packs them on 'pizza' style boxes...and they come totally pristine! But then he is a serious LD-head...just like the rest of us here !

But good grief, if I was to write out a checklist...they are all there so far....

[ ] Manila Envelope
[ ] One Single Sheet Of Card, Small Amount Of Bubble Wrap
[ ] Two Thin Sheets Of Card, No Bubble Wrap
[ ] No Card, No Wrap, LP Mailer
[ ] Discs Left In The Sleeves

Oh it's just endless! But having said that...there is a very good postman that must work at our local PACEL FORCE hub. Hes has delivered some to me and the first time, he asked if they were LPs, as he collects those himself. When I told him "Not quite, they are Laserdiscs" he gave me a knowing nod and said he'd keep his eyes open for me. Luckily I have had few disasters and at least some of it must be down to him.

For every couple of idiots, there is a saint!

I have received over 150 LD(s) through the US mail safely. The usual bent or creased cover is common ... but so far ... no damaged LD(s). I order LD(s) from all over the country and receive them from my small town post office. When I buy LD(s) from nobs or folks who are not "dealers" or used to selling Ld(s) ... I low ball my bids ... to compensate for the risk. Maybe I have been lucky though

My experience from less experienced LD sellers has varied ... everywhere from items that were packaged professionally (bubble wrap, LP type mailers ... etc) to LD(s) that were shipped in grocery store paper with no padding on the inside!

Yup, I've got couple from you in the past and they have been pretty much sturdiest packages I've ever received from anywhere

I was thinking abou tdouble packing my stuff in record holders and 14 inch pizza boxes but have yet to find a decent for them. It would add another 6 ounces to the package but would still be under 3 lbs. Not a problem for media mail.

Dam, just got my first ever disappointingly packaged Laserdisc in the mail
A dude was selling a copy of South Park at a fair price. I've wanted a copy for a while so I went for it.
To be fair, he did a great job with the box, going with a sturdy pizza box. Unfortunately, when it arrived just now I could hear the disc sliding around on the inside like nobody's business. I opened it up expecting the worst.
As I said the pizza box was good work, but there was not a drop of bubble wrap to be seen, just a few plastic shopping bags. So the disc has had 3 weeks traveling from the States with an inch each way of free sliding space. On top of this, the plastic cover the jacket was in had its opening at the same side as the cover so the disc was half out. Theres a few scratches but looks like it will play ok. The most annoying thing is there is a big tear at the top of the jacket where the disc has pushed through.
Its sad that a rare disc like thats jacket is now torn for eternity just because the seller didnt use a little bubble wrap
It's also annoying as its up there with the most I've ever paid for one disc.

Oh well...(oh and sorry if the seller was some one on this forum-please use some bubble wrap next time)

EDIT: On further inspection, make that a used pizza box

If you got that puppy off ebay I would let them know.
Chris

EEEOOOO...Please don't! As befits the thread title...some people have no idea. Jokes aside Austin, can you chase it up (because that is just not on)?

Worst packaging I ever got was one seller off of ebay sent me an LD shoved into one of those 23x12x3 "Priority Mail" boxes at an angle so it would fit. With no filler by the way.

Disc wasn't damaged but the disc was poking through the left side of the cover. Not sure if it was prior to being shoved in that box or not.

I also received a stinker this week.
It arrived in one of those horrible LP mailer style boxes which I really hate.
I'll grant you some of those boxes are ok, but most are rubbish and offer almost no protection.
In particular the white ones tend to be made from really soft cardboard that easily dents and crushes.
The better laserdisc sellers only use those as inner boxes when double boxing and in my opinion that is all they are fit for.

When I am selling items on Ebay I usually show a picture of the difference between the box I use versus those run of the mill LP mailers.
It makes it really obvious to collectors who they should buy from if they want to receive their items in the same condition I listed them as.

The box I received had one corner completely wiped out - causing a two inch crease back and front on what would have been a mint jacket.
As the seller had also opted to use zero bubblewrap or any other form of packing material the disc was free to slide around the parcel for its entire journey.
As a result all four corners were dinged and the disc had also sliced through one side of the jacket. All in all it was a mess.
To add insult to injury the disc also suffered from some mild laser rot!

So I didn't waste any time.
I raised an Ebay dispute straight away.
It wasn't economic to ship it back so I negotiated a 50% discount which at least helps to soften the blow.
The seller said they were going to bar me from bidding on any of their other auctions - I thanked them as I don't want to make that mistake ever again!!