It’s happened to you before – you’re looking at your orders
and ready to buy more packaging supplies, but you still aren’t sure what
materials are best for your products.
What are the best packaging materials for shipping books?
Should I mail jewelry in a poly bag or a corrugated mailer? If this product is
heavy can it only be sent in a corrugated box?
We’re here to help.
Books
Books face some tough challenges during shipping. You want
your books to arrive free of cuts and bends. You have to ensure books won’t
interact with liquids. Some books are extremely valuable and will require extra
packaging.
The most important thing to keep in mind when shipping books
is that you don’t want any extra space in your packaging. Extra space means the
book can move around and may get damaged, which leaves you with a dissatisfied
customer.
Clothing
With so many online-only options and big stores building an online presence, clothes are being shipped out more than ever. With so much competition the last
thing you want is to get an angry customer and a demand for a refund because
their item arrived in poor condition.
Luckily clothing is rarely fragile and having extra space in
your packaging is usually alright. Clothing is also fairly inexpensive to ship
compared to other types of products. Usually a simple poly mailer will do, which will keep clothing safe from the elements such as rain.
Jewelry
Jewelry is often small, often valuable, and often easy to
damage in shipping if not packaged correctly. Luckily shipping jewelry
correctly can be inexpensive and easy.
You can ship your jewelry in nothing more than a bubble
mailer or envelope if you use bubble wrap to wrap your product. Whether you’re
placing your jewelry item in a bag, box, or bubble wrap before sending it off
in a mailer, make sure it is well cushioned.
Electronics
Electronics are one of those items that make everyone
nervous when it comes to shipping. They’re fragile and usually expensive, so
packaging them correctly is extremely important.
You have to protect your electronics from a lot of things. For larger electronics we
recommend shipping your product in two boxes for added protection. As with just
about any product, eliminate extra space in your packaging materials so the
product cannot move around. Electronic accessories should be wrapped separately.
Use: Corrugated Box
Parts & Tools
Whether you’re shipping car parts or tool sets, these heavy
items require special care when it comes to packaging and shipping. There is no
way around this one – you’ll have to invest in double or triple wall boxes to
ensure your packaging materials have the strength to hold your products.
Make sure to keep extra space to a minimum, not just to
protect your products but because heavy items can cause damage to your
corrugated box if it moves around too much while in transit.
Photos/Documents
There are two major things you want to protect these items
from during shipping. The first thing you’ll need to keep in mind is water; no
one wants their photos to arrive with water damage! Of course the more
important safety concern you should have for your product is making sure it
does not get bent.
You’ll want to use rigid packaging materials that allow your
items to ship flat. Luckily this means your shipment won’t be too expensive.
Use: Flat Mailers
Everything Else
Okay, not literally everything
else, but eCommerce means that just about anything can be sold online. A lot of
products are going to be too large for bubble mailers and poly mailers. When in
doubt, the reliable corrugated box is always a great option for shipping.