So I'm about to send some buddies some calls and I kinda wanted to show some juice and send them in mouth call cases like you'd get if you were buying a call from a professional call maker, however, I might be being cheap but 30 cents a pop per plastic case has dissuaded me to an extent. Would I be alright just sending them in a baggie or should I suck it up and just drop the 15 bucks on a 50 bomb of them?
It's my first time giving out calls and I'm concerned enough just by the notion of giving away a call that I can't know is going to work well, let alone them getting damaged in the mail.
Walmart (and probably others) sell small zip-lock bags in the crafts/sewing section that are perfect for individual calls. They come in packs of 100 and are like a dollar or two for a pack. Just the right size for a call and business card or call description. ...Beats the heck out of paying 30 cents for those plastic containers.
Shipping in plastic bags is ok, and inexpensive, but I will tell you that if you plan on shipping a calls regular like, you should maybe look into a hard case of some kind. The reason is that even if you put them into a padded envelope of some kind, they can get bashed around in transit to the point that the call frames can be bent. I had several that way ( out of hundreds, so a tiny percentage) and couldnt figure out why the customer was contacting me saying the calls were flat sounding and had lost their stretch. I looked at everything like latex slippage in the frame etc., but then figured out that they were getting damaged in transit.
So, I switched to a hard case. I hate the tine square ones, although there is nothing wrong with them, I just prefer something different, even though it costs a little more.
But yes, a hard case is really the way to go imo.
Mark
What I use:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3943/33904301845_48ff1ddb5f_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TE1pJn)001 (https://flic.kr/p/TE1pJn) by Lonehowl (https://www.flickr.com/photos/31777870@N04/), on Flickr
Appreciate the help, Jim and Mark. Both fantastic ideas.
Those are some really nice cases you make, Mark. Significantly more useful than the regular classic clam shell packaging and if I had any desire to ship a ton of calls(I don't at all, just wanna take all the credit if my buddies kill a bird with one of my calls :TooFunny:) I would definitely look into something like that awesome case you make. Significantly higher quality, and something I'd see as a deal breaker if I was buying calls. Actually, I'm probably going to get ahold of you as season nears for my own personal calls because I like the design so much.
Jim, I knew exactly what you meant by those small ziplock style bags in the craft section as soon as you mentioned them and I think that it is perfect for my application. I'll stop and pick up a pack of them next time I'm in Walmart.