I just won a group of cels on Ebay...

[toonybabe]

and yesterday they arrived in this:



Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[Sky Rat]

@___@ Yowtch.

I've never had any come so bad as rolled up. I've gotten ones not packed securely enough, and even with tape on them...

Have you upacked them yet to see how bad the damage is??

Did the seller have any negative feedback??

;____;

...'Do not crush'? Are they kidding? X__X

[cutiebunny]

I've never had anyone roll up my cels, but I have had someone send a cel in a regular manila envelope(with no cardboard or any other type of protection) from France before.

I think that, had it not been for the cel's background, the item would have been severely damaged. Fortunately, though, it looked ok when I received it.

I'm sorry to see how your cels were sent. It makes me angry when I see artwork just tossed in like that. Crippies...it's amazing some of these cels have survived as long as they have with people who send/store cels in harmful conditions.

[Killua]

Rolling cels up isn't actually as bad as you might think. A number of longer backgrounds are typically stored by studios by being rolled up. A crease on a cel is rather destructive and there's no way to really fix it. However, laying some books on top of these should probably flatten them out.

Cels do curve a little naturally.

[zerospace]

Rolling cels up isn't actually as bad as you might think. A number of longer backgrounds are typically stored by studios by being rolled up. A crease on a cel is rather destructive and there's no way to really fix it. However, laying some books on top of these should probably flatten them out.

Cels do curve a little naturally.

So very true, but seeing that still makes me want to cry a little.

To answer the question: nope, never had a cel shipped to me rolled up. I've had some pretty bad packaging both from US sellers and from other countries, though. Sometimes I've wondered how the cels survived in such poor packing...

I hope you are able to flatten those out.

[toonybabe]

The seller's feedback is 100% positive. I didn't see any damage on the cels, so I am not going to leave negative feedback. They are a large volume seller and they sell a lot of random things. I think this might be the first time they sold animation cels on ebay. I sent them a message telling them I was not happy with how the cels were shipped and I explained the right way to send cels.

Not only were they rolled up, but the cels were just sent in a stack with no bags or anything separating the different cels and sketches. They weren't even in order. Whoever packaged them just grabbed the stack of cels and stuck them in the tube. These cels and backgrounds were not big either - the tube was twice as long as the width of the cels. I imagine they were sliding around in there during shipment.

Like I said, I think it was the seller's first time sending cels through the mail, but it is still their responsibility to find out how to package and ship them correctly. I think I was lucky there was no damage. As soon as I get my cel bagged and into the cel book it will flatten out.

[sensei]

Glad to hear that the cels survived this ordeal. Worth noting that all kinds of things happen to production art before it gets into our hands. I once got a huge pile of A Tree of Palme art that had been literally stuffed inside a large-sized Japanese plastic shopping bag and put in a big box for overseas shipping. Another aToP setup was put inside a huge square box, and bowed a little because the background was just a little too long for the box. Nothing else in the box. Plus cels that are bigger than the bg so they're simply folded under on the bottom. Or backgrounds bigger than the cel, so they are trimmed to size.

It's functional art, after all, intended to last long enough to make it to a light table and be photographed; then the footage is the studio product and all the artifacts that made it possible are scaffolding junk, to be taken away as expeditiously as possible.

So, oddly enough, it does tend to stand up to a certain amount of abuse.

[graymouser]

Like someone else has said, sometimes the cels are stored rolled up like that. I got a rolled up cel from a dealer several years ago. It was not damaged, and the curve went away over time. The dealer said that he often received cels from the studio that were rolled up, so keeping them that way did not change anything.

[Maiko]

Very glad to hear there was no permanent damage. I know that if I was expecting cels, I'd freak out if I saw that on my doorstep.

The worst I ever had was when an eBay seller shipped me a cel in an old ziploc baggie.

[toonybabe]

The seller messaged me back and apologized. They said it was their first time ever selling animation cels - they were really nice. My cels aren't damaged, so everything turned out ok.

And I can't believe some of the shipping horror stories you guys have responded with! I am also surprised by how much actual production art has survived over the years.

[Belldandy16]

he does that and he writes on it FRAGILE?????????????


awwww man!

[Keropi]

I've only had two bad experiences in that area:

1. I had hanken sketches shipped in a box that was much too small for it. By the time I picked it up all four edges were bent upwards and wrinkled up because the sketches and items in the box were moving around during delivery.

2. I had a large pan sketch that was shipped to me in a large size bubble envelope with nothing else in the envelope to keep the sketch from bending. Needless to say by the time it arrived it was pretty wrinkled up.

Has anyone else ever received one sketch in a paper envelope (with no stiff backing) before?

Well...I suppose it could have been worse if they stuck a stamp on the sketch itself and mailed it that way.

[Penguinton]

I've had a sketch sent rolled up like that once. But all it took was laying it under some heavy objects to flatten it out. It still shocked me when the tube contained the very expensive sketch I was waiting for.

I'm glad your cel is okay though.

[duotrouble]

The worst I ever had was when an eBay seller shipped me a cel in an old ziploc baggie.

I had the same experience. I received an ebay cel in a ziploc. I actually laughed figuring they ran out of bags. I rebagged it because I rebag all my cels anyway. My "bad" bags are the ones I send out.

I've had sketches sent to me rolled up. They weren't damaged and were easy to flatten with no issues. I've also had a cel arrive to me half hanging out of the box with the box's glue stuck to the middle of the cel. Thank goodness the cel was in a bag. So I just ripped the bag open, removed the cel and placed it in another bag. No damage again. I've been lucky so far with that. *knock on wood*

[sensei]

The worst I ever had was when an eBay seller shipped me a cel in an old ziploc baggie.

I had the same experience. I received an ebay cel in a ziploc. I actually laughed figuring they ran out of bags.

Heh. I can top that, as I've gotten YJ cels that were wrapped in the Japanese brand of Glad Wrap. Hey, cel bags can be expensive if you have a giant stack of cels you're trying to unload a few at a time. I'm just glad that it came with that much protection.

Yeah, I rebag everything when it arrives and usually recycle the old ones for the douga, which more often comes unbagged or (hopefully) loose in the same bag with the cel. Though I've bought cels sold as separate from the douga, except that the dealer stored and shipped the two together so that even if they weren't stuck when s/he put them for sale they are when they arrive here.

And packages apparently bashed by a crowbar or used for harpoon practice by the USPS I don't need to mention. I don't put "Please do not bend" when I ship cels any more because I think some postal workers with an attitude take that as a challenge.