I collect porcelain figures, and plates from Homco Masterpiece, Franklin Mint, Andrea, Danbury Mint, Hamilton Collection and others. I also collect porcelain figural decanters from all distillers. I also sell these items in the Best of the Best Collectibles store on E-bay.

    If any of these items have their original styrofoam they arrive safely through shipping 99% of the time. If placed inside a box and protected with bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts you can raise that to 100%.

    If the original packing is unavailable then follow these suggestions below.

            1. Use the shortest shipping time that the buyer will pay for.

            2. Wrap your package in a professional looking manner because the carriers will take better care of it.

            3. Use thin bubble wrap around delicate parts of the figure such as necks,wings and legs and tape it but do not wrap too tightly. Wrap the entire piece in large bubble,bubble wrap and tape..

           4. On decanters remove the cork portion that may be part of the figure such as a part of a stone or head of the figure and wrap it separately if it is loose. If it appears solid wrap it with thin bubble wrap and tape it before wrapping the rest of the decanter in large bubble wrap.

          5. If the decanter is full and the buyer wants it sent that way which is actually against the law but somehow seems to be overlooked by some collectors, wrap the decanter in a clear plastic bag and secure the end. If leakage occurs the bag will retain it. Do not use bags with print on them because it will bleed onto the decanter and may be very difficult to remove. It should be shipped empty, however. Most serious collectors do not want them shipped full.

         6. Place the bubble wrapped porcelain figure in a sturdy box that it fits snuggly into and place the box or boxes into another box and pack them in snugly with newspaper, air bags, more bubble wrap or simply newspaper.

        7. The outside box should be of thick cardboard. Mark the outside "Fragile". If there is a wood base or something similar that comes with the figure wrap it separatley in bubble wrap and secure it in the box so the items cannot bang against each other.

          8. If you ship plates without original packing wrap each in small bubble, bubble wrap with a styrofoam plate on top of each plate, stack and tape together. Place in a box of styrofoam peanuts,air bags, or shredded paper.

        9. If the item commands a price over $10-15 plus s/h I suggest you require insurance, below that leave it optional. I suggest delivery confirmation, it is inexpensive and can save you some problems with buyers.

      10. The carrier used to ship the item does not really matter if you follow the above procedures.