Packaging Delicate Items For Shipping

[BadBob]

How would you package a delicate item for shipping?

So far, the only thing I can come up with is to sandwich it between pieces I cut from a box with some bubble wrap on either side.

For example:
The painted cross is tempered hardboard, and the other is laminated hardwood flooring (plywood).

 

[Puzzleguy]

thats a tough one -with something that thin and fragile you almost need something

like luann plywood , masonite etc - cardboard in a bubble mailer might work but not

strong enough if someone bends it etc-

[kmmcrafts]

How large are these? They look like Christmas ornament sized. I mail out all my Christmas ornaments in these cotton filled jewelry gift boxes. A business card fits perfect inside the boxes width. Believe the boxes are sized at 5-1/4 x 3-3/4 and they have either clear top or cardboard tops.. The clear tops is just flimsy thin plastic tops with not much protection but the cardboard box tops are actually pretty strong. 

I place in the box and then use two squares of the 12" wide small bubble bubble wrap. Lay the box up about 4" from end and in the center of the wrap and fold wrap over box then fold each side over and sort of roll it up. Place them into the 6 x 9 ish bubble mailers and send first class mail. Usually weight in at about 2.2 - 3 oz.  My biggest sellers is ornaments and I've mailed out thousands of these over the past 15 years.. Have had maybe 3-5 of them broken shipping in this manor. I make my ornaments from 1/8 BB ply and some of them are really fragile.. 

Edit To Add: Here are the boxes I use.. I order several at a time to save on the price.. plus I use about 14 boxes of these a year so.. People love them because the ornament is ready to be gifted instead of trying to find something to wrap them in etc. 

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-9812/Jewelry-Boxes-and-Displays/Jewelry-Boxes-5-1-4-x-3-3-4-x-7-8-White-Gloss

Edited June 9, 2022 by kmmcrafts

[dgman]

I use two pieces of cardboard. Then wrap it tight with stretch wrap. The stretch wrap firms the bundle so it won’t flex. Then I wrap it with bubble wrap. It will be safe to ship in anyway you see fit including a bubble lined shipping envelope.

[Dak0ta52]

I tried mailing a delicate piece that was wrapped with cardboard and then securely taped. The piece was broken by the time it arrived. My suggestion is to wrap it in cardboard, then put it in a larger box with styrofoam or bubble wrap. Good luck!

[new2woodwrk]

I package items thusly....

• Wrap item in bubble wrap
• Wrap bubblewrapped item in cardboard
• Place item in box
• Fill box with stuffing - popcorn, bubble packs etc
• Close and shake - if anything moves add more stuffing
• If not, tape and ship

 

[Dan]

I've mailed many items like that. I just sandwich them between corrugated cardboard, tape the sides of the cardboard, place it in a box and add bubble wrap or packing peanuts. Never had a problem.

[BadBob]

19 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

How large are these?

8x10.5 inches as large as I could print the pattern. They are intended to be hung on the wall.

Edited June 10, 2022 by BadBob

[BadBob]

Thanks for all the good suggestions.

[kmmcrafts]

The biggest thing with packing is you need at least 1" larger box than the item going into it.. and once packaged shake the box as someone else said.. if it moves you need more packing.. they need to be packed tightly so they don't slide around in the box as that can break fragile items just from the moving around inside the box. Being that large I'd probably have to ship that in a box and most likely your cheapest method will be the priority free boxes.. by the time you pay for a specialty box sized right and first class ship it you pretty much eat your savings buy buying boxes. I'd probably go with this free box from the post office. https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-box-1095-P_O_1095. Priority mail also gives free insurance up to $50 -100 depending on where you purchase the labels. The size and detail of these I'm sure they'll be around $50 +.. anything of that type of value and fragile I'd most likely use that box. Wrap the crap out of it in cushion wrap, tape the ends shut so it cannot slide out of the cushion.  

[BadBob]

@kmmcrafts

The heavest so far is 3oz. Packing them and getting them under the USPS 16oz First Class Package limit should be no problem. I can make boxes if needed.

I like using air pillows for padding. I wrap my item in air pillows that are taped together tightly. If there is room in the box, I fill it with more air pillows or some other lightweight material I have. The item itself is also wrapped with stretch wrap. Most of what I sell is irregular shapes, so this works well. When I am done packing, I can throw the box and not worry about breaking it. Crushing is my biggest concern. I had a package get run over once without damage to the contents.

I'm thinking:

• stretch wrapping the cross
• sandwich it between double-layer corrugated paper
• pad it with air pillows or bubble wrap to fit the box
• weigh it and ship first class if it is light enough

I don't care much about the insurance or the free (not free boxes). If something gets broken or damaged, my policy is to replace it or refund the purchase price. So far, I have never had anything lost or broken.

I have a pile of priority mail boxes that I rarely use. The only time I use them is when I ship a large custom order. Not once have I had a customer request priority mail.

[BadBob]

 

I have concluded that packing these crosses is not much different than packing a puzzle, except that I need to pack them with more padding.

[kmmcrafts]

There are not many items I ship with priority mail.. BUT I will say that "making boxes" and custom packaging takes time which time is money.. I get a lot of priority shipping upgrades and even sometimes I get request for overnight LOL. 

I do agree with you that there is no such thing as free boxes since you want to call out on that.. But there is a thing called convenience. You can spend 20-30 minutes trying to custom package an item or as my best friend does.. drive around town spending $10 is gas and an hour driving to different stores to get a free box.. that's not free either but he says it is.. LOL

When you asked the question I guess I assumed you was looking for the easiest cheapest method of shipping those items. I'm not sure on my end what type of packing supplies you have on hand or how easily you can make custom packaging so I don't mention doing it this way.. Nor do I have any idea how much the item weighs until you posted the weight and the method you chose to ship it.  The free box I mentioned is much cheaper than what "most" people would say as most mention the free flat rate boxes.. which most times is about $5 more than a regular free priority box and many people do not know about those free priority boxes. IF you had to go to the store and "buy" a box for $3-5 and then pay the first class shipping of another $3-5 it cost you more than using one of the free boxes and a bonus your customer gets it faster and also you get issuance.. That item would ship most places in the US for $8-10 for priority or $4-6 first class and many people would spend time and money to go buy the box if they didn't have it on hand or spend 20-40 minutes scrounging around for boxes cutting boxes to "make" a box.   

I buy most my boxes and I try to make my items sized to fit the packaging materials I have on hand so I don't often run into these situations where I have to run to the store to get 1 box.. I buy bulk in some of the sizes I most use.. I keep on have a few of the different sized "free" LOL boxes from the post office too. Not all my items I ship can go into the priority box as I get a lot of international orders and I do not do priority for those.. way too much $$. 

[BadBob]

My volume is low, and I ship many different sizes and shapes. Having boxes on hand for every size and shape would be bad for me. I already have storage issues.

While I will not say, I would never drive to the store and buy a box. I never have and don't plan to. A trip to the store to buy a box would eat all the profit and take much longer than making a box. Most of the boxes I make are for flat items like puzzles. Easy to do.

For packing supplies, I save suitable boxes, padded envelopes, and other packaging materials that come in. Plus, my family and some friends save these for me. I keep a selection of small purchased boxes on hand and only use them when I don't have a suitable used box. 5x5x5 is the most common box size I use.

I have a pile of USPS Priority mail boxes sitting here collecting dust.

I just checked box prices and discovered that the boxes I paid less than $0.50 cost more than $1.00 today. Not that I need boxes. This discussion got me thinking about box prices.