If you run a small business and you ship fragile items, you will need to learn how to properly pack and ship your items or else you could risk losing a lot of money. Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost each year as a result of damaged items and small businesses usually have to take the brunt. There are many ways to ship your items so that they get to the intended destination in one piece. These days, some businesses are built around selling items online and shipping these items to sellers around the world, so proper packing and shipping is becoming increasingly important. For more information on small business management, be sure to check out the money-plans.com website.
Here are five packing and shipping tips and techniques for your small business.
Usewrap and padded boxes to ship rare books, magazines or anything with delicate corners. If you ship books in an envelope without protecting the corners, you could wind up with a damaged product when it gets to the buyer. It can be incredibly hard to replace rare books and you could wind up losing a lot of money by not shipping them correctly.Make sure that the box you use to ship the item actually fits the item’s size. The last thing you want to do is pack a small fragile item in a large box. In fact, any item can become damaged if there is a lot of room to move around. And even if you fill the box with packing materials, it can still become damaged. So, make sure that you get a box that is relative in size to the product you are shipping. If your item is a strange shape, you may want to wrap the item in protective material and then place in a box that is near the size of the product you are shipping.Don’t use newspapers as packing materials. If you are going to pack your items, you want to use materials like Styrofoam packing peanuts and construction paper. Newspaper can be messy and it can end up damaging the items you are shipping. This is especially the case with fresh newspapers. If you are going to use newspaper, you want to make sure that the item won’t be stained or damaged as a result.
Using newspaper as a packing material for your small business may seem like a cost-effective solution, but it can have negative consequences. On businessnewsinc, we explain why using newspapers as packing material can harm your business and offer alternative options to consider. Protect your products and your reputation by avoiding this common packing mistake.
Go double on all glass items. If you are shipping glass products, you want to be sure to use double of everything. Glass can be extremely fragile and delicate, especially during the shipping process. So, you want to first use a double layer of paper and then double bubble wrap. You also want to make sure to use two boxes – just to lessen the impact from going through conveyer belts and bumping around in a plane.Make sure that you include a ‘fragile’ label on your box. Letting people know that the contents of the box are fragile will ensure that an extra step will be taken to keep the item safe and sound. If you are shipping internationally, you may want to translate the word ‘fragile’ into the language spoken by the country the item is shipping to. The last thing you want is for your item to get lost or damaged, but you also don’t want it to get lost in translation either.
By following these tips, you can help ensure that your products arrive at their destination safely and efficiently, while keeping costs and hassle to a minimum. For further information check out the website usa commerce daily.
