I bought a second hand book from a US seller in Baltimore MD (via abebooks.com) It's Vol 2 for a Vol 1 I've had for years.
Nice price: US$ 18.79 plus postage US$ 8.98
The packing was ... strange.
The bookshop put it in what is effectively a brown paper bag. The paper is tough, but stiff cardboard it isn't. The bag inside surface has a tacky coating, so the book doesn't slide around and excess volume of the bag sticks to the other side. Overall volume is basically the same as the book. But there's no resistance to impacts at all.
They put a customs declaration and address label on that bag.
Then someone in LA CA put that in a giant USPS plastic sack, dimensions flat: 1m x 0.7m. Wiretied the neck of the sack, with another address label. 'INTL SURFACE AIR LIFT'
That has a tick box for "Books/sheet music" but it isn't ticked.
And that's how it arrived. A book in a bag in a giant sack. This goes up there among the oddest packings I've ever received.
The book is hardback and survived more or less, but is sort of 'rounded on the corners.'
The sack seems pretty useful. Light and strong. Maybe for beach/snorkelling gear. But why was it added?