Running a small ecommerce business is more challenging than it might seem. Apart from being a very competitive environment, there’s also the challenge of making sure your products reach the destination safe and sound and in due time. It’s a well-known fact that customers nowadays expect a flawless service from the companies they choose to do business with, so they’re unforgiving when it comes to shipping delays or receiving damaged products.
You’ll have to be on top of your shipping operations if you want to keep your customers satisfied, but that’s especially difficult when you have to ship fragile items. Fortunately, we’re here to make the process a bit easier for you with a few tips and tricks on shipping fragile items safely.
Smaller is best
Never ship a fragile object in a box that’s much larger than its size. You must choose the correct sized boxes for the items you want to deliver, otherwise if there’s too much space left in the box, the product can move around during transport and it can be easily damaged. So, when you look for a wholesale corrugated box, make sure you pick the right size. Usually, a box that’s slightly bigger than the product’s size would be ideal. After you’ve chosen the right box for your items, make sure you close it with a thick tape that will hold everything in place and won’t come off easily.
Use cushioning material
The size of the box is the first safety aspect you have to consider. Next comes the cushioning material, because you can’t just throw a fragile object in a box and call it a day. The most common cushioning material for shipping fragile products is the good old bubble wrap. Take the item you want to deliver and wrap it carefully in one or more layers of bubble wrap before placing it in the box. That way, if the box falls down or is not handled properly when being delivered, your products will be kept safe from external impact.
Use loose-fill packaging
Bubble wrap alone might not offer the necessary protection, so if you want to be extra safe, you should also get loose fill packaging when ordering packaging supplies. You can use packing peanuts or foam nuts to fill the empty spaces in the box and provide an extra layer of protection for your products. That should get your products ready for the road and ensure peace of mind.
Double boxing method
The double box technique is also extremely useful when you have to ship fragile items. The method is pretty much self-explanatory. You place the carefully wrapped item in a small box, and then place the box in a larger one. You fill the space between the two boxes with loose fill packaging and that’s it, your item is ready to be delivered.
Label it as fragile
Last but not least, you should let the world know there’s a fragile object inside the packaging, so they can handle it with care. You can do that by labeling the box with FRAGILE or HANDLE WITH CARE. You can either use labels for this or have the words directly printed on the packaging.