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I used to work as a Senior Packaging Engineer for a major

catalog company. It was my job to travel to other countries to teach

manufacturers how to package for mail order. These are a few of the

biggest and most common mistakes that I saw and some easy solutions.

1) BIG MISTAKE !…Packing a fragile, hollow item in styrofoam

peanuts! In transit a box is vibrated and shaken to the point that the

item will move or travel through the peanuts to the side of the box

that will invariably be the side that the box is dropped on.

SOLUTION…First…if you have a hollow item and can pack the inside

with newspaper or peanuts, do so, and do it tightly. That will absorb

any shock that would be transmitted from the outside of the item. It

doesn’t matter how well the outside of the item is packed if you don’t

pack the inside too. Often this simple change saved many of our

shipments of vases and such.

SOLUTION…You can still use peanuts (if you must) as long as you

pack them so tightly as to keep the item from traveling through them.

SOLUTION…”Suspend” the wrapped item in the box by putting that box

in another larger box with some shock absorbing material on every side

around the inner box. (newspaper, peanuts, block foam, toilet paper or

paper towel centers, fast food drink holders, etc.) Using two boxes is

more expensive but if you have a valuable, one of a kind item, it saves

a lot of time and trouble!

2) BIG MISTAKE !…Wrapping a fragile or painted item in

paper…almost any kind of paper is abrasive when in transit ; even

kleenex.

SOLUTION…Wrap the item first in a plastic bag. I use all my

recycled grocery bags. Then you can wrap it in paper or whatever else

you want.

3) BIG MISTAKE !… Believing that a FRAGILE sticker is going to

make people handle it differently than everything else! I used to tell

manufacturers in other countries that putting a FRAGILE sticker on an

item in America is like telling some people “throw it harder and

farther!”

SOLUTION…Pack your item well enough to be able to drop it on all 4

sides, a corner, and all the radiating edges from a height of about 3

ft. without breaking. That used to be the test for the National Safe

Trasit certification. I personally would not put a FRAGILE sticker on

anything. It is like an invitation to anyone who has had a bad day to

take it out on your package!

4) BIG MISTAKE !… Putting flat glass in a flat box! Any drop is going to cause torque in the glass.

SOLUTION…always put a few pieces of tape on the mirror or glass to

absorb the torque and/or shock, no matter how you package it.

5) BIG MISTAKE!…Not protecting corners and edges! Bubble wrap

does not protect corners or edges in a drop. When a bubble breaks,

there is no longer any protection where that bubble was.

SOLUTION…If you are sending an item that has corners or edges or

both, always cover the corners and edges with plastic stretch wrap

or Saran Wrap, then wad up newspapers or something to make the corner

less sharp and secure that with tape, or stretch wrap, or Saran Wrap.

Another great corner protector is made from styrofoam egg boxes. Just

cut up the box to fit on the corners and secure it the same way.

Remember, if you use tape, not to put the tape directly on the surface

of the item. That can do it’s own damage.

6) BIG MISTAKE!…Not considering the weather where you are

sending your item. Hot and Cold conditions affect many materials. I

once had a buyer send me a large architectural piece of iron packed in

a flat “ravioli” pack (two pieces of corrugated taped on all sides). It

arrived broken in half.

SOLUTION: Consider that anything, if cold enough, will break…even

iron! Many things will melt or change shape if hot enough. Package

with that in mind. If you are sending something to a cold place or

through a cold place, use an appropriate amount of padding to protect

the item. If something is in jeopardy of changing shape in the heat,

package it with enough structure to hold it’s shape…like putting a

candle in wax paper in a cardboard tube inside the box. or securing it

to a chopstick or some other rigid material.Please visit http://www.studentloandebtnomore.com