Prepping fragile products for shipping is a must. If you don’t take the necessary precautions, you could cause more damage than good. This will not only cause your customers to be unhappy, but it could also result in negative reviews or, even worse — lost customers. So, how do you properly prepare fragile goods for shipping, and how can you ensure they arrive safely?
1) Pick the right box size
When shipping fragile products, you may be tempted to use an extra-large box with lots of extra room around the item. Unfortunately, this can backfire in a couple of ways because not only will the bubble wrap move around in transit, but you’ll also incur higher shipping and handling expenses.
Buying boxes that are too small for the product will give insufficient padding. So, what is the magic number?
Ideally, your box should include 5 cm of extra room on all sides to fit the product inside—no more, no less. That’s more than enough to keep the shipment secure while also keeping costs down.
To ensure that your products fit correctly every time, you should properly measure the items that will fit inside your package.
2) Choose high-quality materials
Consider the packing supplies you use as an investment that keeps your things safe and ensures they arrive to the consumer without a scratch, scrape, or dent.
Cheap materials will not only look and feel cheap, but they will also not protect your products effectively in transit. Thinner, flimsier boxes may be less expensive in the short term, but they will result in more customer returns and product replacements due to broken items.
In the long term, you risk spending more money and losing crucial consumer loyalty. Customer loyalty is critical for organizations that ship a lot.
3) Label your box as fragile when shipping
Just keep in mind that accidents happen. Writing “FRAGILE” on your box as a label will not always keep your shipment from being dropped or damaged during transit.
Even so, it’s always a good idea to include it as a label when shipping your custom box – you’ll have significantly more room for error with your shipping business if an item comes broken or crushed.
When clients ship fragile items, they will become anxious. Print “Handle With Care” or “Fragile” and instantly place a label on their boxes to reduce stress.
