posted on September 30, 2003 01:02:42 PM
anyone have any thoughts on the best method to wrap fragile items such as ceramics,i have heard bubble wrap first ,paper first ,peanuts last,paper last .all help appreciated.
posted on September 30, 2003 01:21:41 PM
Hi, one of the very first things I learned was to make sure I double box. I use blank paper from the end rolls from our local newspaper, then bubble wrap, put in box with foam peanuts, seal box, then put it in a larger box with foam peaunts. the very best advise I received right here from this board and that was to double box.
reenie
I don't get even....I get even better Jimmy Hoffa
posted on September 30, 2003 01:40:54 PM
We use so much bubble wrap (the large bubbles - not the tiny ones) that there is about 6 inches of padding around each item. Only had one thing break in all these years (and I have to question that one - I think he was just looking to replace a broken anniversary clock globe). Our packing is much better than some of the other eBayers out there. I've received glass items that I'd have to wonder how they ever made it in one piece. Some people think that all they need to use is newspaper. Bad idea.
posted on September 30, 2003 08:20:20 PM
There is one product I starting using over a year ago. I think it is lightyears ahead of anything else on the market for fragile items. It is Foam Packaging Wrap. I use very little bubble wrap since I started using the foam. Everything I sell is fragile and I haven't had anything break. There is no need to double box when you use it. For pottery, I always stuff paper on the inside of vases to stablize, then wrap the foam around any handles, then wrap the foam around the entire vase until it is thick and secure. Then place a layer of peanuts in the bottom of the box and use newspaper tightly packed between the vase and sides of the box. Then fill the rest of the box with tightly packed peanuts. You can use bubble wrap in the place of the newspaper, but I still prefer the security of tightly packed newspaper. I know it adds a little extra weight, but I've had really good luck with it.
[ edited by potterdj on Sep 30, 2003 08:22 PM ]
[ edited by potterdj on Sep 30, 2003 08:26 PM ]
posted on September 30, 2003 08:34:01 PMI found a long time ago you need air to cushion your item!
So if your item is 3x3x3 you need a box that is 6x6x6!
Place your item in the center of the box and tape it up good!
The extra 3x3x3 of air will cushion it as it bounces around!
posted on September 30, 2003 08:40:37 PM
I usually wrap the item in a couple of sheets of unprinted newspaper, then wrap in bubblewrap with the bubbles facing in (heh heh I just had to add that to stir up the bubbles out group). In the bottom of the box, I place a cut to fit piece of 30 egg cardboard seperator with a little crushed newspaper on that. I place the item inside the box and use a lot of crushed newspaper to insulate it from the sides of the box. (don't worry about the weight of the paper, the idea is not to save the customer a buck, it's to protect the item). I then pack a lot of crushed paper on top and use another cut to fit piece of egg crate for the top and tape the flaps shut. The egg carton material not only gives protection for the top and bottom, it's rigid enough to provide a good amount of lateral support against pressure from the sides. Then I insure the hell out of it and ship it.
Edited to add: Unless you have experience in materials handling, be very careful with those styrofoam peanuts when shipping anything fragile. They can give a false sense of security. Used correctly, they're great. Used improperly, you are inviting shifting and guaranteed destruction of the item you're shipping.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
[ edited by sparkz on Sep 30, 2003 09:41 PM ]
posted on September 30, 2003 09:09:52 PM
I took a course in patents one time, the instructor told us about a kid who's idea was so good the government took it away from him... The students had to package their own wristwatches in such a way that they could be thrown off the foor and survive. This guy took two steel bowls, stretched thick rubber sheeting over the tops of each one. Then he sandwiched his watch between the sheeted bowls, clamped them together, and his watch survived, That is basically how the army transports fragiles missile guidance systems, or stuff like that. I have used versions ever since- like taping an item between two blow up packing pillows, for instance.
When I travelled all the time, I was an ace packer- I once packed a Top Hat- very crushable item- into a soft duffle bag- so well that it went from Swizterland to California with only one tiny dent! The trick is to stabilise everything and pack as firm as humanly possible so nothing can shift. Obviously that would be expensive for shipping though..
Sorry, I'm babbling- better get to bed!
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
posted on September 30, 2003 11:46:58 PM
I have wrapped at least 50,000 pieces of china over the past 12 years. I use foam. I buy it in rolls 12 in wide & 600 feet long. It costs me about a nickel a foot. Last week I sold 4 Wedgewood plates to a lady in WA. I cut pieces of foam 12 X 12 & put between each plate. Then I make a double wrap around all 4 plates, Tape this in place with masking tape, then do it again going the other direction. I used a 12 X 12 box, put in about 6 in of peanuts, put in the plates & fill the box with peanuts. I always put in enough to make sure that when I seal the box , it is over filled. Nothing can move. That is the most important part. Everything must not move. The plates came through AOK.
[ edited by sanmar on Sep 30, 2003 11:47 PM ]
posted on October 1, 2003 05:42:06 AM
if I sell a 2 piece item, such as candy dish w/ lid....after I have wrapped each piece heavily with bubble wrap, I then tape the two pieces together....then double box.
taping the two pieces together keeps any possibility of them knocking together in transit down.
has worked very well for me so far
if you have access to the styrofoam used to pack computers, this is very good to use between the inner and outer boxes. you can brace the corners in such a way that the inner box cannot move.
posted on October 1, 2003 08:40:40 AM
One more thing...don't use the air cushion bags for packaging. I have an office supply business and I often receive supplies to resell from other vendors. Some of these vendors use the air bags and 9 times out of 10, by the time the product gets to me, the air has leaked out of the bags and the product is left banging around in an otherwise empty box. Really bad idea to use them for heavy items as they just puncture the bags and they deflate.
posted on October 1, 2003 10:51:01 AM
And those were exactly what I was switching to! Thanks for the heads-up, cta
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
I found a long time ago you need air to cushion your item!