catbarf on 31/7/2008 at 23:44
I'm looking to replace my 8800 GTX with a pair of HD4850s. I know I can sell it on Ebay, but the problem is that I don't know how to ship it. I don't have the original packaging. Could it go in a plastic bag and then surrounded with bubble wrap and foam peanuts, or is there something special I need to seal it with to prevent damage? And if I decide to get a new motherboard and sell my current one, do I need to do anything special for it?
Microwave Oven on 1/8/2008 at 00:23
If you're going to go with the plastic bag in foam peanuts, make sure you use a special anti-static bag. Foam is very good at generating static electricity, and without the proper precautions you would very likely end up with a card that's DOA.
Another thing that you could try is to see if the old card will fit into the new card's packaging. I've had good luck with this, but your mileage may vary.
catbarf on 1/8/2008 at 06:04
Ah. Do you think I could get by using a whole ton of bubble wrap? Or should I really see if I can get an anti-static bag?
dvrabel on 1/8/2008 at 07:38
The anti-static bag is essential. Pop into a local computer shop and ask if they have any spare.
CaptSyn on 23/8/2008 at 15:05
An antistatic bag and either foam peanuts or paper shreds is all you need. I sent an old card to a friend, with paper shreds, like that via US Postal Service and it arrived just fine.
You should always keep any antistatic packaging as you never know when you may need it for whatever reason.
As someone who has been building and working on computers for many years, I can tell you those bags are handy as hell. Especially when you have several pieces of hardware just sitting around on shelves waiting for a new lease on life.
