While damage to items during the shipping and transit process is sometimes unavoidable, there are ways to minimize the chances of it occurring. Whether you’re a small eCommerce trader or a large-volume online seller, you should be doing everything you can to decrease the risk of damage to items during the shipping process. From choosing the right shipping boxes to using a courier service to transport bulky and expensive items, this article will share three tips to prevent damage to items packed in shipping boxes.
Choose the Right Sized Shipping Boxes
Choosing the right shipping boxes not only means choosing boxes with the right amount of thickness and enough walling to protect the items you’re shipping but also choosing a box that conforms to the shape of the items properly. This means you don’t want to select shipping boxes that are too big for the items you’re sending. While a bigger box will easily accommodate your items, it also results in more room for items to jostle around in during transit and handling. Many small impacts on the items you’re shipping can end up damaging or even breaking them by the time they reach their destination, even if every other precaution are taken.
If you must use a larger box than what the item requires, you can stuff the box with materials such as newspapers and even other smaller boxes with the goal of giving your items as minimal space to move around in as possible. Another reason to use the correct size shipping boxes is that larger boxes can incur higher charges for postage, so you’ll end up unnecessarily paying more for shipping and handling.
Don’t Skimp on Packing Materials
Particularly when it comes to posting large items, it can be tempting to skimp on packing materials in order to avoid cutting into your profits from sales too much. However, using lower grade or sub-par packing materials will invariably lead to items being damaged during transit. The receiver may also end up having a lower or negative opinion of you or your business if you use cheap, weak or unsuitable shipping boxes, as you’ll give off the impression that you don’t really care about the customer once the transaction is complete. It’s much better to raise the prices of your items and factor in increased costs for premium shipping materials. Not only will this decrease the risk of damage to items in transit, but it will also give your customers and receivers the quality shipping materials they deserve.
Use a Courier Service for Bulky & Expensive Items
In some cases, even your best efforts to track down the right shipping boxes and other essential packing materials may simply fall short of what the item requires to be sent safely. This is especially common when it comes to posting bulky and awkwardly shaped items such as musical instruments. In these cases, it’s best to concede defeat and outsource the shipping and handling process to a courier shipping service. Not only will a courier handle the sending process for you, but they’ll also ensure the item is packed adequately, as they usually have special shipping boxes on hand for particularly bulky and awkward items.