The other way round: I have never had any weird & wonderful things arriving on my doormat which once must have been cycle parts. For instance I received a frame from Hilary Stone recently which was packed most impressively, pipe insulation cut to fit the frame perfectly without an inch of paintwork showing, masses of bubbleplast, plastic travel axles fitted, double skinned box, in short, it took me about as long to unwrap the thing as to build the bike up, figuratively speaking. Needless to say, the frame was in perfect shape although there were some other bits and pieces in the box, too. And, of course, there never was a thought of extra cost for packaging. Four United States Dollars for a letter, blimey.
Or take the moment of shock when I received a Hetchins Magnum Opus de Luxe (not mine, I´m sorry to say) from David Miller´s some years ago, with absolutely cavernous holes in both sides of the box, right through the frame´s main triangle. Thoughtful "plan B" packaging had made sure that the frame was left completely unscathed.
What´s the morals, you ask ? Well, if you know who you´re dealing with, there´s no need to loose any trust. On eBay you don´t know that, mostly. See why I never use any electric auctions at all, ever?
BTW, the frame mentioned first is extremely on topic, so I may perhaps be excused this outburst.
Regards,
Toni Theilmeier, Belm, Germany.
P.S.: In the case of a sudden disruption of an e-mail conversation with me, please assume that I have given up the medium and contact me in a more traditional way. I am in the trial phase of a last ditch system after some others could not stand my constant abusing them.