Shipping fragile items through the mail is always a gambit. You never know what sorts of pratfalls your package will encounter en route to its destination, which is hardly conducive to peace of mind. However, while a large chunk of the responsibility rests with shipping companies and delivery personnel, there are numerous steps senders can take to ensure a package’s wellbeing. Putting the following pointers into practice can help prevent any fragile items you ship from incurring damage or becoming broken while in transit.
Be Generous with the Bubble Wrap
When preparing fragile items for shipment, cushioning should be among your foremost priorities. Dependable cushioning can effectively absorb impacts and bear the brunt of any drops a package suffers. When shopping around for the right cushioning, you can’t go wrong with bubble wrap. In addition to being consistently reliable, bubble wrap is affordable on even the most stringent budget. The more bubble wrap you use, the more protection your items will enjoy, so don’t be stingy when prepping the package. For additional impact protection, consider including some miniature airbags.
Don’t Use Needlessly Large Boxes
Items that experience excessive shaking or jostling while in transit often arrive at their destinations damaged or broken. While there’s no way to eliminate this danger entirely, you can help offset the effects of excessive motion by selecting the right shipping container. Using a box that’s several times larger than the item(s) contained therein only increases the odds of the package’s contents incurring motion-related damage. The more free space a box has, the more room there is for error. With this in mind, opt for a box that’s only slightly larger than the item(s) you’re shipping. This will allow you to include ample cushioning and help ensure that the cargo remains firmly in place throughout its journey.
When shipping large items like machine parts, a reliable tilt indicator can add another layer of protection against extreme motion. These handy devices monitor and log tilts and other extreme motions packages undergo, ensuring that recipients are immediately made aware of any problems that occur during the shipping process.
Mark Your Package as “Fragile”
While it’s not an end-all solution to shipping mishaps, marking a package as “Fragile” is liable to have an impact on the way delivery personnel treat it. Depending on your preferred shipping company, you may even able to obtain a special label for your package that makes note of its fragility. Packages with these labels are generally kept separate from standard-grade packages and handled with a greater degree of delicacy.
You’re always taking a risk when you ship a fragile item through the mail. Of course, this isn’t to say that you should simply throw up your arms and leave your package’s safe arrival up to chance. When it comes to protecting delicate items, senders are far from helpless. A little bit of knowledge and follow-through can go a long way in keeping your packages safe, regardless of how arduous their journeys happen to be.
