How to Pack Your Fragile Items for Shipping?
Shipping is already a stressful business with all the timelines and customer sentiments involved. On top of that, if your items are fragile, it doesn’t help you a tiny bit. A business that plans to ship fragile items needs to know how to pack these items properly.
Fragile items are those that can break during shipping. To prevent this from happening, you’ll have to make an extra effort to pack them. Otherwise, be prepared to face:
- Returns:
If a customer receives a broken item, he’ll want to return it. If your shipping policy includes returns, you’ll need to pay the extra cost. Returns due to breakages mean wasted money and time just because you weren’t careful while packing the item in the first place.
- Negative Reviews:
Broken items won’t make customers happy. They will write negative reviews on your website and spread negative word of mouth that can be detrimental to your business and its reputation.
- Lost customers:
Not all customers will return the broken item and wait for a new one to arrive. Some will simply ask you for a refund and purchase the item from somewhere else, leading to lost customers and increased cost. Broken shipments can easily cost you around 0.5% of your gross sales. This cannot be taken lightly. Here are 5 tips to consider while packing fragile items for shipping:
1. Perfect Box Size
The box that you use to ship such an item must be of perfect size. It cannot be too large that the product can freely move inside, nor too small that there is no space for cushioning material. The best way is first to measure your product and then your box. The box must be around 3 inches larger than your product. Furthermore, you should never pack multiple items in the same box.
2. Cushioning material
Once you have the required space between your item and the box walls, it is crucial to fill it up with cushioning material. There are many types of materials available. Here is a list of the most popular ones:
- Foam
- Bubble Wrap
- Air Pillows
- Packing Peanuts
- Rubber Padding
- Corrugated Inserts
- Foam-in-bag
3. Packaging Tape
Once your box is ready with the product and its cushioning inside, make sure you use the best quality packaging tape you can lay your hands on. A high-quality and sturdy packing tape will firmly hold the box lid in place and minimize the risk of any breakages. Moreover, it needs to be durable and waterproof as the journey can be rough.
Check out this article about shipping tapes for more information. Seal the box tightly with the tape and you’re almost done.
4. Fragile Label
Your packing is not complete until you put a fragile label on your box. Make sure that you put the label on the top surface of the box so that it is kept the right way up during the whole journey. Also, consider packing fragile items in boxes that have a broad base and a low center of gravity, minimizing the risk of it toppling over. If you use such a box, place the label on the largest surface.
Fragile labels can be extremely useful as workers can take extra caution while loading and off-loading packages when they see such labels.
5. Advanced Protection
If you can afford it, you can use advanced technology to protect valuable products while shipping. Examples of such technology are installing tilt sensors and impact sensors inside the box. Whenever the package is tilted beyond a certain level or handled clumsily resulting in strong impacts, an alarm will go off. The shipper will be notified of such events, and he can take action accordingly.
Choose a Reputable Courier Service
Smart Delivery Service is the leading courier service in Minneapolis and Dallas. Not only do we ensure proper packaging of your fragile items, but we also offer reliable and affordable delivery solutions.
It doesn’t stop here. We provide warehousing logistics and distribution services as well. Moreover, we’re the best medical courier service in Dallas and Minneapolis. Contact us now for quotes and then sit back and relax while we ship your goods for you.
