Sellers And Tape - What Is The Obsession?

First off, this is meant to be funny; lest anyone take this too seriously, although I do find it somewhat funny in the amount of tape used in a good deal of letters I receive from stamp purchases.

That said, what is the obsession with taping everything shut? A glassine envelope taped shut inside carboard that is taped shut, inside an envelope that is taped shut?

Are there known examples of stamps flying out of glassine envelopes encased in carboard surrounded by an envelope?

Just wonder why sellers tend to love tape so much?

(I do appreciate waterproofing living in SW Florida, just to be clear; but not the use of a razor knife to retrieve stamps from an envelope.)

I have had a number of these over the past few weeks, it is maddening.

Of course, at least I did not have to call anyone...

Don

The amount of tape being used is totally uncalled for.

On the positive side, sometimes you can re-use it, and it goes a long way.

I've noticed that many times the tape rips the glassine envelope when I try to get it open. I agree, I would appreciate less tape when it is really not needed.

"First off this is meant to be funny".....The solution to this is to buy shares in 3M

Packaging DL envelops with stamps is our speciality.

Take 1 A4 stiffening cardboard folded in half then place the stock card with stamps that fits perfectly into a glassine, inside the folded A4 cardboard. That then fit snugly into the DL envelop.

No sticky tape so far as the envelop is closed then we use some sticky tape to make sure that the envelop is safely sealed.

I don't know about other countries, but UK postage is calculated on the basis of both weight and dimensions. In my early days of ebay selling, I had a couple of items in which the contents moved around after I'd posted them, inadvertently transforming them from a "small" to a "large" letter because of increased thickness in one part of the envelope. Cue unhappy buyer who'd had to go the sorting office to pay an increased fee (postmen no longer collect "postage due"). So, if in doubt, internal taping.

Yeah, but only small bits of tape are necessary inside to prevent things shifting. I'm already as good at spleen surgery as I need to be. I don't need the extra practice with my in-x-acto.

Maybe some sellers just assume that, at some point, the article will be completely submerged and that hypertapism is needed for hydraulic mail.

Having read the New Yorker article about Dr Giulianotti's remote-control surgery, I shall be moving on to robotic collecting and packing.

It's not just stamp people who are obsessed with tape. Here is a record package that came in recently:

This was in today's mail, the content of this packaging was a single postcard!


Don

This is a pet peeve of mine. I haven't had problems with sellers in the United States or Europe, but I'm convinced that every Canadian owns large blocks of 3M stock. When I receive a purchase from Canada, I cringe becaue of the lawyers and layers of tape used in packaging. I've dinged a couple of the most flagrant on ebay feedback for "poor packaging - excessive use of tape".

Funny, thought I was the only one who thought some (especially low-value) stuff was way over-packed.

That said, it is probably fair to sellers who may have to eat a sale due to something going wrong, mishandling and so forth to tend to overkill and armor an envelope.

Also, who packs something with "someone has to open this later" in mind?

Glad to see I'm not alone in not being thrilled with using an Exacto to open packages though!

Some of us do, especially those of us who have been on the receiving end of a roll of tape with a stamp at the center.
I put tape on both sides of envelope flaps where there is no self-stick adhesive to provide a good seal. My concern is that the PO's automated equipment could catch one of the sides and rip the envelope along with its contents to shreds. That said, I make a point of leaving enough space at the top so a letter-opener or knife blade can easily be inserted to slit the envelope open.

Joking or not, it is a sticky subject with some collectors. The adherents to tape will tell you it's to discourage tampering. I avoid tape as much as possible, would hate to scotch a nice stamp under a flap of tape. I use new zipper bags to seal contents. Some think I've come unglued, but I'll stick to my way of doing things.