I used to work in shipping, specifically packaging and sending out mail-orders.
Packing your stuff
1. Pick a box that's much bigger than the item you're shipping, especially if it's going to travel to another landmass. You want at least a couple inches of packing material surrounding the item on all sides.
2. Choose your packing material wisely. Crumpled newspaper works well for light items, but it has too much give for heavier items. Brown paper is great for heavy things, but it's heavy on its own and will add to the cost of shipping. Peanuts stick to everything, and let items settle to the bottom of the box. Bubble wrap is my favorite because it's supportive but light. If it's something like a game console, wrap it in a couple layers of bubble wrap, tape the ends together like a candy wrapper, and then fill the rest of the box with either more bubble wrap or paper. Those air-puff bags are really great for filler because they weigh next to nothing, but unless you saved some from another box it's not economical for one-off home shipments.
3. Small crap gets lost in boxes. Bag small items in gallon food bags so they're easier to find. Small flat things, especially, love to find their way under the flaps at the bottom of the box.
4. For the love of [diety], don't just plop things in an empty box, use a box that fits the item like a glove, ship a laptop in a bubble envelope, and DO NOT USE POPCORN, BALLOONS, OR INFLATED CAPRI SUN POUCHES WITH THE STRAW HOLE TAPED OVER to pack your stuff. Yes I have seen such packages.
5. Don't stack tape on top of tape. That won't add any strength. General rule of thumb: every piece of tape on the box should grab multiple surfaces on the box, with less than half of each piece overlapping other tape.
6. If you're mailing optical media, put it in a DVD case or at least in a bubble envelope with two pieces of corrugated cardboard cut out for reinforcement. (Cut the two pieces with the wavy parts pointing opposite ways to get more strength out of it. That's why plywood is so strong.)
7. Bare circuit boards belong in antistatic bags and not just tossed loose in a box of peanuts.
8. Batteries should be removed from devices and bagged if you have to include them at all. Lithium batteries may be prohibited, depending on the carrier.
9. Bag game cartridges so the contacts stay clean.
10. Don't try to reuse the little desiccant DO NOT EAT THIS pouches from electronics. By the time you have them they're used up.
11. Scotch tape doesn't cut it. Get a roll of proper box tape from Wal-Mart or Staples.
12. If you have the box for something, ship it in that box. (If it's something like a boxed console where you actually care about the package's appearance, pack it inside another box.)
13. Things with exposed LCDs need special attention because nothing should ever apply direct pressure to the screen. I recommend double-boxing things with unprotected screens unless it's a flat panel TV or computer monitor and you still have the factory packaging.
14. Speaking of factory packaging, a big box covered with Sony or Sharp logos is a big target that says "STEAL ME". Pay extra for signature-required delivery, or wrap the box with plain brown paper like it's a present. (Just remember to tape all the seams on the paper so they don't get caught on any edges or equipment en route. Shipping companies don't like that.)
15. Containers holding liquid should go in leakproof bags, which should be sealed with a knot or a goose-neck held shut with a zip tie. (Make a goose neck by twisting the airspace in a bag into a rope and then fold the rope part over on itself, making a loop.)
To get an idea of what you should pack for, imagine dropping your box onto the ground at multiple angles (flat, corner, side) from holding it higher than your head while standing on a chair. If you feel confident that your item would come out of that test unscathed, it should stand up to all but the grungiest run-by-an-ex-con couriers out there.
Picking a carrier
You can pick any two of the following:
- Fast
- Cheap
- Your package arrives in one piece
USPS is relatively cheap, and have their international flat-rate shipping boxes, but they're bloody slow and they pass international orders to the local postal service once the package hits foreign soil.
UPS will get your package to pretty much any stoop or mailbox in the world, but pack your items well because their employees' favorite game is volleybox. Your package is virtually guaranteed to endure at least one 6 foot drop onto concrete.
FedEx is my preference for quickly getting a package from point A to point B in one piece. They usually cost a couple bucks more than UPS, but their boxes don't get beat on as hard. Whenever I RMA or receive computer parts at work they come through FedEx, and they usually arrive in better shape than boxes coming in through UPS. (Then again that might just be because the boxes have DELL written on them in big bold letters.)
Etiquette
- If you're sending a package, give the recipient the tracking information as soon as you get it from the carrier.
- Don't be a dick with the packaging. Nobody wants to unravel a rat's nest of box tape to get their item free from its bubble wrap.
- If you're the recipient and you don't see your package in more than a couple weeks, contact the seller (especially if you have no tracking information). If after 3 weeks they fell off the face of the Earth and your package still has not come, file a dispute with PayPal or have your bank issue a chargeback on your card.
- Leave feedback once the transaction is complete!
