UPDATED 4/19/08

I'm sure anyone who buys a license plate on eBay, whether it's for their collection or for a classic car, would agree with me on this one. I encourage everyone who sells license plates on eBay to read this and follow my advice!

Buyers - are you tired of buying a nice, straight plate on ebay, only to have it arrive mangled and beat up? I know sometimes this can happen with even the best packaging, but when the seller slips the $700 porcelain plate you just bought from them in a paper bag from the grocery store and tosses it in the mail it's pretty annoying isn't it? You bet it is! Even on inexpensive plates it can be a problem.

Sellers - I know some sellers (you know who you are) like to moan and bellyache about how much they would have to pay for packing supplies. Consider this: You can get used cardboard boxes for FREE almost anywhere. You simply cut 2 pieces out of it slightly larger than the plate and sandwich the plate between them. Then tape the edges closed. Ta-da!! Simple. You can ship these "sandwiches" by first class mail, parcel post, or priority. If you are the kind of seller who will only ship priority, consider using a small priority BOX to ship 1 or 2 plates. It will generally cost the same or pennies more than tossing the plate in a priority envelope with absolutely no protection. If you want to use the flat rate envelope for only 1 plate, at least put a piece of cardboard in with the plate to stiffen the package. If you use a box, use crumpled up newspaper, styrofoam peanuts, or grocery bags to fill the extra space. A plate shipped in a box with nothing to keep it from flopping around inside is equally useless as dropping the plate in a paper bag and mailing it.

Here, some sellers would argue the massive cost of packing materials again. All of the items I mentioned above can be obtained free or very inexpensively. If you go to the grocery store, save your empty bags to stuff in the box. Most people get the newspaper on a regular basis. If you are too cheap to pay a few cents for a newspaper, consider asking your neighbors for their old ones! Also, contrary to popular belief, there is no law banning the re-use of styrofoam peanuts. Simply save them when you get a package with them inside. Nobody will leave you a negative feedback if your peanuts are on their second packing job (at least I HOPE not :-). Also, you can buy a triple axle dump truck load of styrofoam peanuts for about $25, which should be enough to fill at least one room in you house right to the top. Unless you buy monogrammed peanuts at Saks Fifth Avenue, there should be no issue with cost. Thanks for taking the time to read my guide! Use this to make your customers happy!!

PORCELAIN LICENSE PLATES - DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SHIP A PORCELAIN LICENSE PLATE IN AN ENVELOPE (EVEN IF IT IS A BUBBLE MAILER MARKED "HANDLE WITH CARE"! Also, do not use the method of shipping it between two pieces of cardboard. While this may protect modern steel or aluminum plates, porcelains need to be boxed. BOXED SHIPPING IS NOT THAT MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE AND IT OFFERS A LOT MORE PROTECTION TO THESE SEMI-FRAGILE PLATES. I got one in the mail today with a nice big wave in the middle of it now because it was not shipped in a box. I NOW HAVE 4 PORCELAIN PLATES WITH A BIG WAVE IN THE MIDDLE SINCE SELLERS WILL NOT HONOR MY REQUEST FOR BOXED SHIPPING!!! You can straighten modern plates to some extent with a rubber mallet but I don't think you want to try straightening a 100 year old porcelain on steel plate in any way. You'd feel really bad if your nice plate lost a big chunk of porcelain right where the wavy spot in the plate was because you were beating on it with a mallet. Keep your feedback positive and ship these plates in a box!