leeloo and anyone else with unwanted china, the purchase, sale and hire of it is what I do so maybe I can give some advice. :)
- Don't assume that just because it's a big name it's worth a fortune or because it's not it won't be.
People look for names, for sure, but they also look for pretty. I've got brown and beige tea sets by the famous names Royal Albert and Paragon which have been languishing here for months. OTOH one of my most popular and high selling sets was a relatively unknown make of bone china with pretty pastel flowers.
- Ebaying and mailing china isn't a problem as long as you remember the following -
Royal Mail is far safer. It's good value for smaller packages although a little more expensive than Yodel/Hermes etc for larger parcels .
MyHermes and the like is pretty risky for the inexperienced packer and/or extra fragile items. I do use them but with caution.
No shipping company insures against damage in transit (loss yes, damage, no) except Royal Mail Special Delivery. The choice is yours but I use RM SD for expensive items and normal RM or extra well packed and padded out boxes sent by MyHermes/Yodel services for lower value ones.
Royal Mail Special Delivery also provides proof of receipt via a signature.
3/ Wrap each item individually in new bubble wrap.
Wrap extremities (teapot spouts, for example) in bubblewrap before wrapping the item as a whole.
Having wrapped each item of the same sort in bubble wrap wrap them together in one sheet (e.g., whole sets or 2 x half sets of dinner plates, three individually wrapped tea cups stacked together and then bubblewrapped). No item should touch another (including teapot lids etc) unless both have been individually bubblewrapped.
Use a strong, preferably new box, and make it a double-walled one if the items are especially heavy.
Pad the box out on all sides, top and bottom so that the bubble wrapped china doesn't touch the box at all and so no item can move about in the box. Shredded paper, polystyrene chips or balled up newspaper is good for this (the chips are lighter and will add less to the overall weight and cost, obviously). Popcorn works well as a box protector too, would you believe. Just buy popping kernels and off you go!
Use lots of strong parcel tape on the box not normal sized Sellotape. If in doubt use tape right round the box not just on the part you want to seal.
Mark your parcel "FRAGILE - HANDLE WITH CARE" clearly - RM can argue that it isn't covered against damage unless you do.
Always get proof of postage from the post office.
ParcelForce is a reliable service for heavy items. The same rules of packaging apply. They don't insure against damage in transit but with careful packing it shouldn't happen. I've been using them for years and have never experienced a customer complaining of breakage yet.
If you want to use ParcelForce get comparison quotes via an online broker like ParcelMonkey or Parcel2Go. They cost nothing to use and can save you a bit of money.
Remember that despite what you'll read on other people's Ebay listings, according to Ebay and Paypal's t&c's you are responsible for loss or damage in the post so cover yourself with the measures above.
4/ Accept only Paypal for posted items.
BTW, if you do sell locally accept only cash for collected items - it's not unheard of for people to pay by PP, collect in person then go home and raise a dispute claiming that the goods weren't received and get their PP payment back. You have no proof that they have the goods if they collect in person and not even a signed receipt is not acceptable to Ebay/PP.
HTH