Some assorted tidbits:

I snagged off the bay a fairly rare 20-year old Elektra TPB described as pristine. It was shipped in a plain manila envelope. I have one of those modern mailboxes the size of a rat hole. My mail carrier proceeded to fold the envelope in half to fit in my box. I scolded the ebayer for how he (didn't) packaged the book and got a refund. I now demand (and pay extra if necessary) that any TPB or magazine be shipped in at least a padded envelope reinforced with stiff cardboard and labeled 'Do Not Bend.' My carrier now puts them in the keyed package bin next to my mail box.

One of my book shipments came in a stack of individual mailers via UPS. Noticed one was missing, but figured it'd come the next day. Later in the day I'm on my way to the grocery store, and eight houses down in the middle of the road I see a familiar looking mailer. I put the car in idle (not a heavy trafficked neighborhood), pick it up, and lo and behold, it's my missing book. Must have "fallen off the truck" and it had been run over. Returned it for an exchange.

I tend to buy my new books quarterly. Once TOW put some 25+ hardcovers into one box. They even constructed a box large enough. Besides lifting the darn thing, with that many books, my main fear is them banging into each other. Contents were in perfect condition.

I do miss the days when TOW would staple those corrugated cardboard protectors around each individual book. They were nearly invulnerable to being dinged. The peanuts seem to work, but I hate digging thru them. Plus when I put the boxes out in the trash, some of them inevitably escape while those bins are lifted into the trucks. I find them scattered in my and my neighbor's yards. I now virtually tape the empty boxes shut before putting them out in the trash.