Fragile Stickers - Yes/No?

[Thumper]

Was just trying to order another bundle of the courtesy Canada Post pre-printed "Fragile" stickers - apparently they are out of stock but were happy to return a "May We Suggest:  COD Stickers"  (wtf?)

 

... anyway, was wondering what the general perception of shippers/receivers here was on using Fragile markings on their boxes. I've heard some folks are of the opinion it's tantamount to a "kick-me" sign, while to others it just seems a more professional presentation for the items being sent... does it even matter?  

[cvail8]

No.

 

I worked in a FedEx warehouse.

 

"Fragile" is a French word meaning "throw this box extra hard".

[Neosphinx]

Pack your items well, no need for stickers. I don't believe 'fragile' really makes delivery people handle your package differently

[Neosphinx]

 

[biniou]

"Fragile" , "This side up", etc. are useless.

Employees don't have time to give some care to packages.

 

I would say that:

 

99% will not care about what's printed on the box

0.9% will give an extra little kick/punch

0.1% will try no to shake it too much

 

My opinion is based on human behavior in (cake and meat) factories.

 

Don't expect too much that smart people or with some conscientiousness work there. They don't care and/or have not time to act so.

Edited October 22, 2014 by biniou

[Guest TabbyBoy]

"FRAGILE" will not help in the slightest.  "HUMAN KIDNEY" may be looked after a little better. ;-)

[Bold-Arrow]

I concur, doesn't make any difference.

[naf]

"FRAGILE" will not help in the slightest.  "HUMAN KIDNEY" may be looked after a little better. ;-)

 

I know what I'm putting on my next shipment.  Can't wait for the bricklink/ebay feedback from that one

[Thumper]

For extra protection while shipping I have always packaged sets in a large heavy duty 6mil plastic bag within the box, mostly to keep it clean & separate from the packing peanuts, dust & whatever else might crawl inside during transit.  These bags I purchase bulk surplus from the federal gubberment (just wish the crates were less then 75 lbs each so they would be easier to move about the packing room)  at one point a couple years ago they listed a nice lot of 10,000 slightly thinner 4mil bags preprinted with the big yellow "Biohazard" logos (surplus from the NRC) - they looked really cool... but I figured That would not likely be so much appreciated on the receiving end :-)

[TheBrickClique]

For extra protection while shipping I have always packaged sets in a large heavy duty 6mil plastic bag within the box, mostly to keep it clean & separate from the packing peanuts, dust & whatever else might crawl inside during transit. These bags I purchase bulk surplus from the federal gubberment (just wish the crates were less then 75 lbs each so they would be easier to move about the packing room) at one point a couple years ago they listed a nice lot of 10,000 slightly thinner 4mil bags preprinted with the big yellow "Biohazard" logos (surplus from the NRC) - they looked really cool... but I figured That would not likely be so much appreciated on the receiving end :-)

I do something similar but with even thinner leaf and green waste bags or smaller clear garbage bags. Walmart has some 13 gallon bags that work well for large sets. They work out to about ten cents each. I secure them on with a continuous wrapping of shipping tape around the bag on the narrow edge. Keeps the set nice and clean during storage and helps to keep down shelf wear.

Take pictures before wrapping if you do this or you might have to do it again before shipping :)

[biniou]

"FRAGILE" will not help in the slightest.  "HUMAN KIDNEY" may be looked after a little better. ;-)

 

 

Give me that package, I'll take good care of it with fava beans and chianti.

[Cross]

Well I am an idiot. Thought this thread would be about investing in Fraggile stickers, those wonderful little guys on HBO in the 80's.

One thing I have learned from this thread:

If you ever ship Fraggile stickers, put fragile stickers on the Fraggile stickers so they are handled with fragileness.

[Grynn]

It's a small sample size of a dozen or so, but since I've started requesting sellers put these markings on their packages, I've not had a single one show up looking abused through USPS.

 

And I get a lot of beat up packages considering the volume I receive.

 

 

I also worked at a UPS hub in college and while the things that are done to packages there shall not be mentioned for reasons that shall not be explained, I never witnessed anyone purposely jacking up a FRAGILE marked box. Occasionally, when we noticed, we would put all the extra handling care we could into the 1.5-3.0 seconds it was in our possession loading or unloading.

 

These things said, my personal opinion is that such markings probably don't matter but have a better chance of helping than hurting.