How to Pack Fragile Items Properly for International Shipping?

Many people may have beautiful items for sale on their webstores, but the pity is they are fragile, which may cause some headache when packing them for shipping to the worldwide buyers. It’s important for sellers to gain a good feedback from buyers by making sure the fragile goods well packed and reached customers safely. Then how to pack fragile items properly for international shipping? Follow this guide and save yourself some serious nightmares.

Packing materials needed:

Proper sized boxes

Plenty of Bubble wrap

Packing tape

Packing Peanuts

How to wrap a virtually unbreakable package?

First, bubble wrap is an important article for packing fragile items. Plenty of it is needed. Use small bubbles wrap each items separately first, for hollow items, like bowls, can stuff extra bubble wrap inside to prevent breakage. Combine them later into a large bubble wrap and tape them closed in the middle and on each end. If you need, trim the ends of the big bubble wrap.

Second, use an appropriate sized box with at least 1/2” space around each side of items, and tap the box with 2 layers of tape on the bottom to avoid losing. Cover the bottom with 2-4 inches of the peanuts. Place the bubble wrapped item in the center, and fill all sides with peanuts until you don’t fill the items shacking around in the box. Remember, the package will get turned every which way during postal handling, so allow cushioning around all six sides of that fragile item (top, bottom, front, back, left, right), but don’t too tight because this can case your items to explode inside the taped box for pressure.

Third, once you have felt your items are completely cushioned, you need to close the box and tap several row of packing tap over the top of the box to seal it.

Finally, if you want your items handled more carefully by carriers, it’s recommended to write FRAGILE on the box. If you ship lots of breakable items overseas, it’s worth to order a Rubber Stamp says ”FRAGILE”.

How to ship fragile items?

Now you have done a great job on packing your fragile items, but it doesn’t mean a total loss&breakage-free shipping, it is to some extent determined by the carriers, but you can still do something on it – choosing a quick shipping service. Less travel time means less chance of demages, a priority mail or a quick-turn around shipping service will contribute to a safe shipment. 

Beside, shipping insurance is also very important when shipping fragile items. Even though perfectly packaged items can still get lost or damaged by your carriers, it’s critical to add insurance to items of high worth or fragility before international shipping. Shipping insurance will reimburse you for either type of loss which you can request your customers to purchase. It will be always recommendable to use courier companies with sound insurance systems.