Packing and Packaging
Recommendations for packing items
Many companies spend several percent of the item's value on packaging and circa 10% on shipping. The costs may be higher if you are an individual carry out irregular shipments and not benefitting from bulk buying and contracts.
Don't make packaging an after-thought; plan how you'll pack and ship items in advance so you can appropriately quote on shipping costs when listing an item for sale.
Small and medium items
Typically pack small and medium items in a study, cardboard box. Damage is most likely to occur during transport if:
- The items can move in the box
- The box is crushed or dropped
So, wrap fragile or valuable items in bubble wrap, and use packing filler to ensure that the item sits securely in the middle of the box's volume.
Items prone to damage from being crushed or dropped (particularly, unboxed items, odd shaped items and fragile items), may benefit from being double-boxed. That is, packed in a small box, which is packed into a slightly larger box.
Large and bulky items
Items shipped using a haulage company need to be palletised.
An example of a well-packed, palletised espresso machine
You will need:
- An appropriately-sized pallet
- A way of securing the item onto the pallet
- Packing material
- An external box
Damage is most likely to occur during transport when:
- pallets are stacked
- a pallet is dropped and the item can move off the pallet
- a pallet is knocked or hit from the side
Consequently,
- mark your pallet as 'Do Not Stack'
- secure the item to the pallet
- using packaging material to protect the item from knocks or being hit
- wrap the item and packing material in a study cardboard box