Packing Fragile Items to Avoid Breakage in the Mail

Packing Fragile Items For Shipment Safely

Those of us who buy and sell fragile items have probably experienced this at one time or another.  You're waiting patiently (or not) for that rare antique vase you've been drooling over.  It finally arrives and your heart sinks.  It's broken, crushed, cracked, ruined.  The vase was wrapped in  a little piece of bubble wrap and a few peanuts.  You contact the seller and settle the matter through the shipping insurance.  But that money will never replace that rare or much sought after item.  So, this is mainly for the sellers who do the packing.  Most of us know what's important.  Some of us need a little guidance. So I've compiled a list of the methods I use to pack .  I hope this will help.

1. Always double box.  Make sure the outer box is big enough to allow adequate room for additional padding.  And the smaller box to fit in the larger without touching the sides.
2. First, I would stuff the vase (or cup, bowl, etc) with either peanuts or bubble wrap.
3. Double fold two pieces of the small bubble wrap.  So that's two pieces and two layers.  Make sure both doubled pieces are large enough to wrap around your vase. The sizes should be adequate to wrap around both vertically and horizontally.
4. Wrap with the bubbles outward.  It absorbs the shock before the vase.
5. I start vertically so the peanuts don't fall out. Tape where the two ends meet.
6. Then wrap it horizontally.  If you have pieces overlapping, just smooth them down and tape.
7. Then take some bubble wrap with the big bubbles large enough to cover the vase vertically, but not so big that the ends stick way out.  Wrap around (bubbles out) and  tape,  The ends should just be big enough to tuck, fold and tape.  Use too much and your package won't fit in your inner box.
8. Place the wrapped package in the inner box and then stuff every nook and cranny with peanuts.
9. Line the big box with styrofoam.  The thick harder type.  Styrofoam breaks very easily so you can break it to fit the size of the box.
10. Line the bottom  and all four sides
11. Layer the bottom with peanuts
12. Put the inner box centered in the larger box
13. If there is any space between the styrofoam and inner box, stuff every nook and cranny with peanuts or scrunched up small bubble wrap.
14. Put layer of peanuts on top and then the styrofoam lid
15. This is the key - MAKE SURE NOTHING MOVES IF YOU SHAKE IT!!!!  If it can move, it's going to shake, rattle and break.

   The postmen are so hurried to get the mail out on time, they don't stop to read fragile.  I know this sounds like a lot of work and it is.  But your package won't arrive to your buyer in ten pieces!