Vintage Fishing Lures Sold on Ebay: Shipping

How to wrap and package lures for shipping

So, you listed some vintage lures on Ebay and someone bought them. That is great news. The inevitable next question is: How should I pack the lures for shipping to ensure they get to their destination safely and undamaged?

For the outer box, using the free Priority Mail boxes provided by the post office is a good way to ship. Otherwise, make sure to find a sturdy cardboard box to use for shipping. The more crush resistant the better here.

First, wrap the hooks in soft tissue paper so that they are away from the main lure body. The main goal here is to make as certain as possible that the hooks cannot come into contact with the lure and cause damage to the paint or finish in shipping. With the possible impact to grade and value that could be caused, this damage is important to avoid.

Next, wrap the lure in soft tissue paper and then place it in a sealable plastic bag. Around this, also wrap bubble wrap for further protection. If your shipping costs can cover it, then you may also want to use some packing peanuts in the box around this as well. This method should minimize any potential damage that could occur during shipping including any crushing of the box by another item, and any water damage if the box is somehow left in the rain by a delivery person.

You should advertise in the body of your auction (or other sales method if not using Ebay) how you will ship and package your lures. If you are selling lower priced or lower quaiity condition lures, then some of the more advanced of this packing strategy may be too much for your buyer to pay for, so you may want to offer more than one shipping and handling price or method for different values of lures to better appeal to the cost consciousness of the chosen market segment.

Whether to offer shipping insurance is another option, and one that may best be left up to buyer option.

Note: If you are a buyer of lures, then this advice applies to you as well, but in reverse. When bidding on an auction, look for notes on how the buyer packages their goods to ensure that they will reach you in the same condition they were advertised in. Don’t be afraid to pay a few dollars extra to get a quality packaging job that gets your lure to you in the advertised condition.

As always, use your own care and judgment in making the shipping choice that best suits you and the buyer from both a cost and safety standpoint. If the shipping method and fees are clearly defined upfront, the chances of a misunderstanding resulting in a bad transaction and negative feedback can be minimized.