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Disappointed


vinny1957

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As new to the doll house world and ordering my first doll house (the Lily) which was damaged in shipping, I ordered the Magnolia just a day or 2 later. I received the Magnolia and every thing was fine (except the shingles were everywhere, in pieces) but I must say I'm disappointed in the packing and the over all strength of the box. It's soft sided with no packing inside to help protect the contents. Question for Greenleaf. Why do you not invest a little more in packaging to help insure a safe delivery? I have purchased much cheaper items for doll houses with superior packing. I don't understand the reasoning behind this.

Vinny

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Hi There Vinny and I am sorry that your house was damaged :( .

First off, was your house purchased directly from Greenleaf? I know personally as a retail customer of theres, they ship the houses to me personally in New double card board boxes and the houses looks great when they get here.

On Ebay, when I re-sell houses (this only applies to those with "free shipping" that are big houses only), I only ship the houses in the box that they come in (This time of year they are wrapped in brown paper to hide it's contents just in case it's a gift) which can leave the house ready for shipping abuse. So far, I have not had any issues but I know some people have.

I personally do this only to help save the customer money because believe it or not, I get more complaints from people about shipping prices being too high (they are high to ship large items and I can't charge $2.99 for shipping like Overstock :) ). I personally can't take the hit (which I still do sometimes when I miss quote a price and charged them too little). I think other sellers are feeling the same way (from what I read on a few retail forums I belong to).

As for your house being delivered beat up, call the company and let them know. They should be happy to replace it ;) . I know I have in the past (only when the customer has paid insurance which is another issue I have because I would rather the customer pay for insurance but most opt out) I don't know if customers feel sellers pocket the money or something (we can't get rich off of $2 :D ).

There is a Yin & Yang to everything (opposite sides) and the two are both equally important (You the customer and them the company). Was the house bought directly from Greenleaf? If not, you should call the place you got them at. If so, you should Greenleaf. I know for sure if it was shipped by greenleaf, they will rectify the problem if it was bought from them direct. ;)

Hope this helps and Hey, it's good to vent your frustrations sometimes. It was a disapointment for you! ;)

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Hmmm . . . sorry about your house Vinny! :D

I received my Haunted House directly from Greenleaf, and as Tracy stated, it was double boxed! No problem with damage at all.

I also received my Willowcrest from Tracy's website which was in the original box only, and again no problem with damage. Oh, that Willowcrest is calling my name again from the closet . . . :)

I think these things sometimes have more to do with the rough handling from the delivery people (whoever they may be) more so than with the packaging itself. I've received items in the mail which were packaged extremely well and had fragile written all over them and still the item was broken!!

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I'm fairly sure if it was a greenleaf house the damage was most likely caused by mishandling during shipping.

My reason for this belief is that almost all of the parts in greenleaf kits are flat plywood sheets. These stack together into a nice rectangular bundle. Putting the box (custom made) to fit the kit tightly around this bundle is most likely to hold the bundle together. Nothing moves unless the entire box moves. True there ARE a few loose parts like perhaps a bag of shingles, and these may slip around a little but that's not going to affect the kit as a whole.

The cost of shipping is high due to the weight of the package. I am sorry your kit arrived in less than perfect shape, but I don't think Greenleaf could do a much better job at packaging without adding considerably to the cost. And they have always been excellent at standing behind their products and taking care of the customer much more than many companies do.

Darrell

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I have received damaged Dura-Craft kits, in both cases it wasn't directly from the company.

The only time I received anything directly from Greenleaf that was not perfect was the Arthur kit, which was missing ONE acetate window from the sheet that could have fallen out in original packing & was not only easy but fun to replace with a piece of acetate packaging. Other kits since then have arrived in perfect condition.

I used to work at Lionel Playworld (many years ago, when they were still in business) and there's a LOT of potential manhandling between the manufacturer and the retail customer you cannot imagine!

If your kit came directly from Greenleaf you might mention the shipper who delivered it.

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Thanks everyone, I got the house from Overstock.com, looked like it came from the factory. My second doll house (the Magnolia) came the same way. I'm sure the damage was done during shipment. Maybe Overstock.com takes it out of it's outer box to keep the shipping cost down?

Thanks again,

Vinny

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Yep, they probably do. I am a dealer for Greenleaf and their packaging from the company is pretty good--never had a problem with the kits being damaged when they are delivered. Overstock can probably keep the shipping costs down, which results in some more time and money spent on your kit. Like Tracey said, there is a down side to all of this because you as a customer suffer. On the down side, I have shipped UPS and been VERY dissastisfied with their service when something is marked fragile and it arrives broken. I feel for you Vinny.

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I no longer use UPS for my packages from Dee's Delight & Aztec because my fragile products inside reaches me broken EVERY order. It makes no sense. There actually be "dents" and "holes" in the boxes as if they were kicked in :D !

When I get the kits from Greenleaf, there is no problem from UPS maybe it's because the boxes are usually bigger and there are boxes inside the boxes. I guess it makes them more sturdy.

I now ask the other companies to use anyone else but UPS because I got sick of waiting for re-shipments of everything. :)

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I feel confident that our master carton packaging is very durable, but there is always room for improvement. I started a conversation with the production team and we'll see where it takes us. I will also check to see how many shipments have been reported as damage. I think its safe to say that it is a micro percentage or I’d already be aware of the problem.

I apologize for any problems you might have had Vinny and I thank you for bringing it to our attention!

Dean

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