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I love the idea of the mineral stones – have always thought they looked awesome in the pictures! And I’d love to see more sand dragons and would be willing to pay more given they are more of a hassle to paint. And Black Violet Peacock Coiled Males. And production Secret Keepers available in the store!
Oh, I wish I could meet you and others here! I live in Kansas City, MO, but I’m going to be tied up with graduation stuff (I teach at a university here). Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful time!
This is an interesting thread, and I have a few comments to add. First, with respect to why Windstone Editions might provide boxes when others don’t, the main reason might be that their loyal customers are asking for them. As someone who owns more than 100 statues, I have spent an enormous amount of money supporting this company, and I’m glad to do so because overall WE is an awesome company that treats its customers really well. I think that this would be something the company could do because so many people are asking for them (as evidenced by numerous threads on point). In any event, I don’t collect other items like I do with Windstones, so I can’t speak to whether other companies make replacement boxes and why they do or don’t. Moreover, shipping a plate is much easier than shipping an Old Warrior or Lap dragon without the original packaging and without breaking off the horns. I’ve bought lap dragons from several of you on the forum who have packaged the items very well and they have still arrived broken. These are awesome sellers who did everything right. We, the many loyal customers, are asking for the boxes to protect the works of art that we have invested our money in. It seems to me that the majority of WE sales are by people who own lots of their pieces, and this would be a small way of showing those customers that they are appreciated.
As for the expense, I have no qualms about spending $30+ for an emperor box if it means that the dragon I’m spending hundreds of dollars on will arrive safely. While Ebay and Paypal both require shippers to deliver the items in the condition advertised, when items arrive that aren’t as advertised (due to being broken during shipping), I still have to pay return shipping. I’d rather spend that money on the boxes up front to make sure they arrive in good condition. Further, I have shipped boxes to be used to ship items back to me, which means I’m spending money anyway. I’d rather buy the box from Windstone, have it shipped to the seller (because I’m already paying the shipping expense), and then have the seller use that to ship back to me.
Also, it isn’t like each box is designed for a specific color (they aren’t artists boxes). The only identification is a sticker. Thus, given that the boxes are generic, they don’t have to recreate boxes for a specific color, and as others have mentioned, they could even stamp “Replacement Box” or something similar on them. The boxes, for all intents and purposes, are practical. And, the boxes aren’t only needed for shipping. They are helpful for safe storage. I don’t have the room to display all of my pieces at the same time. As a result, I need the boxes for those that aren’t being displayed.
It is so frustrating to receive an item shattered due to shipping without the original box and to not be able to buy a piece I’ve been looking for for months or years because I’m afraid the item can’t be shipped safely without the original packaging. I don’t like feeling that there is always such a huge risk in having a piece shipped.
I would love to be able to buy them, too. I’ve had an ad listed in the classifieds looking for a number of dragon boxes since early January (and I’m willing to pay for them), and I haven’t had anyone contact me. I’d especially like to be able to buy replacement boxes for the more fragile and larger pieces (laps, scratchers, old warriors, emperors, rising spectrals, etc.)!
I saw that, too. It made me think that the laps, mother coileds, scratchings, and hatching royals are all being retired (at least for regular production dragons), given that all are listed as permanently out of stock (other than the remaining Brown and Gold Scratchers that are still in stock). I hope that’s not the case!
Isn’t he gorgeous! I didn’t love the Old Warriors at first (I have no idea why!), but now they’re probably my favorite sculpt. And I love the rubies. Be careful to keep him out of direct sunlight because the rubies have a tendency to fade in too much light. Enjoy!!
Thanks for your reply! I have to move them around as well, and it always worries me that I’m going to bump a horn and break it off or something!
I would certainly pay for shipping for a box to make sure that an emperor, old warrior, lap, scratching, or rising spectral dragon that I order arrives safely. I’ve had too many of those dragons arrive broken, which is always so heartbreaking!
Hi Melody,
First of all, your work is a delight. I had a peacock mother dragon when I was a kid, which I had to beg my mom to buy me one year. Somewhere along the way, I lost that peacock mother and forgot about Windstone Editions. Last year, however, I stumbled upon your website, and my passion was rekindled. Now I have more than I’d ever want to admit!
I would love to see more of the curled dragons and fledglings in gold and sand, and any of the Secret Keepers painted in production colors (especially emerald peacock and black gold – like the one you did with red eyes)!
And, if you’re ever considering new production/limited production lines, I love to see the Blue Ice, Sand (like the curled/fledglings are painted), Black Emerald, Lilac Shadow, and Indigo colors. They’re magnificent and look so different from any of the other regular/limited production dragons. Oh, and a regular/limited production color in orange (for example, like Flame-Point Tabby or Hot Summer). That’s a color scheme that seems to be left out!
Thanks so much for your beautiful work and for asking us what we like!
Blessings!
Aaron
It’s been nice reading through the comments because I don’t feel so alone! And you all have offered great advice. I think I really just needed to make sure I wasn’t in the Twilight Zone because I have had two sellers argue with me about their packaging in the past two weeks. The first seller shipped an emerald lap dragon in a priority mail box. The dragon barely fit in the box and just had paper tissue surrounding it. Needless to say, the dragon arrived hornless and with a tail that was broken in multiple pieces. When I asked the seller for a refund and showed the link on Ebay describing how to properly package a Windstone, she claimed that this was the post office’s fault and that the double packaging method wasn’t required. The second seller sold an emperor dragon and a fledgling and packaged them in the same box. The Ebay listing said that the seller understood how to ship high value collectibles and that it had engineered packaging for each piece since it didn’t have the original. The seller wrapped each piece in separate shopping bags and put them in one large but weak box filled with popcorn. Both pieces were damaged from head to toe because they kept smashing together during shipping, which this seller also claims is the carrier’s fault (in that case Fed Ex).
Both sellers also tried to claim that my only recourse was shipping insurance. This violates Ebay policy because, as I learned this week, shipping insurance only protects the sender, not the buyer. It was interesting reading the numerous articles online explaining that Ebay buyers should never pay extra for insurance because Ebay requires its sellers to get the item to the buyer as described, period. If the item is lost or damaged in shipping, Ebay requires its sellers to rectify the situation. Shipping insurance only applies to help the seller recoup its costs from the loss or damage in shipping, but the shipper must provide documentation that they properly shipped the items.
Both sellers had the audacity to ask for my help with filing their insurance claims by telling the carriers that the sellers properly packaged the items. Not only did I refuse to do this, but I told them that if the carriers contacted me, I would tell the carriers that these items were inadequately packaged and that both claims should be denied without question.
I understand some of the ignorance that can occur with respect to proper shipping, but I simply do not understand failing to take care of customers who have paid hundreds of dollars for items that arrived shattered.
Because Ebay tends to take care of its buyers, I remain confident buying on Ebay. The one policy they should change, however, is that if an item is described incorrectly and/or arrives broken, the buyer shouldn’t have to pay the return shipping.
