7 Effective Ways of Shipping Fragile Items Overseas

Return of goods because of damage during shipping can be a courier company’s worse nightmare, especially fragile items shipped internationally. Unfortunately, it does not only create a massive burden in terms of time and money, but can also put your business in a bad light. While there are various ways to secure packages to prepare them for international shipping, clients can contribute, too, in preventing damages to their cargo.

Here are some effective ways of shipping fragile items overseas. Continue reading below.

1. Protect Goods from the Pressures of International Shipping

Whether you send or receive packages, the safety of fragile goods is what you would always hope for during shipment. But believe it or not, mishandling of packages is likely to happen when shipping packages overseas.

Expect handlers flinging boxes onto a trolley or at each other. That is what international shipping looks like, and that is what cargoes go through just to reach point B from point A.

To avoid mishandling mishaps, analyse how you can protect fragile goods while they’re on their way towards the receiver. Securing packages is particularly crucial for large goods because they easily get loose under tremendous pressure.

Make sure that your packages can be easily arranged together with other goods. With various packages, your item must be placed alongside, on top, or against other things without being damaged.

2. No Matter What, Get the Packaging Right

Do not settle for frail shipping boxes if you are shipping items internationally. This type of packaging can get easily damaged along with other boxes. Instead, leverage double-walled or reinforced parcel boxes. They are the standard packaging for shipping goods across different territories. Although it will cost you extra money, the additional protection these boxes provide is worth every penny you invest in them.

There is an array of goods the two-layered cardboard can protect. With the different sizes and weight capacity to choose from, the more ideal it is for shipping goods overseas. In addition to that, label your box properly by indicating that it is fragile and which side it stands upright so that handlers know the delicacy of care your boxes have to be handled.

3. Consider Crating or Palletising Larger Packages

Whether crating or palletising is part of the full shipping arrangement, it is crucial to consider it if you send larger goods to other countries. Having crates or pallets will improve the security of your larger and heavier goods in terms of structure, making them well-prepared for turbulence and other motions of the entire international shipping process. Edge protectors or paperboard can also reinforce this for additional protection.

Even if crates and pallets are good enough to protect your items from what overseas shipping has in store, adding a shrink wrap and banding can give another level of protection. Banding or strapping your boxes together makes them sturdy as a single block of structure, while shrink wrapping protects your boxes against the rain or other damages caused by some environmental factors.

4. Internal Packaging and Taping Are Important, Too

Protecting your packages against potential damages while they’re in transit does not end with double-walled boxes, proper labelling, and crating or palletising. By now, you probably think that it quite a handful of things. Well, that is true. But all this will be worth it once you find out that your packages arrived at their destination on time, without single damage to them.

After you’ve upgraded your parcel boxes, make sure that your items are well-packaged before placing them in the box. To put box security a notch higher, use bubble wraps and air cushions to fill the empty spaces in your parcel boxes. This way, the items inside the box will stay in place while on their way to the receiver. Filling spaces with air cushions and wrapping small items with bubble wraps reduce the occurrence of damage.

Given that your boxes have a long-distance journey ahead and will be handled by multiple couriers, the possibility of damages occurring is endless. Another effective way of securing your items is box-in-box packing. It is a method in which the box that contains the goods is placed in another bigger box, with filled spaces surrounding it. When this has been sorted out, tape the boxes’ edges using the H-taping method.

5. Check the Maximum Weight of Your Goods

Choosing the right packaging that suits the weight and size of your goods is very critical for the safety of your parcel. As mentioned, box sizes and weight capacity come in various options, and this gives you more choices based on the number of items and their total weight.

When you chose the wrong box size, the possibility of damage is higher. Avoid mismatched boxes by weighing your goods before picking a box size.

6. Do Not Sacrifice Function in Exchange for Aesthetics

While many go above and beyond in finding various helpful ways of shipping fragile items overseas, some don’t prioritise protection. Rather, they give more importance to how their packaging looks. There is no negative connotation about this, though, as long as you strengthen the package’s protection. You can hold protection and aesthetics on the same level—it only takes the right box choice and other materials.

Sacks and baskets are becoming popular these days in many industries. They use these soft packaging to secure gifts and other items shipped overseas. However, this type of packaging might not work for shipping fragile items overseas. But if you insist on using decorative packaging, ensure to protect your goods first. With this, you don’t sacrifice function in exchange for aesthetics.

7. Ask Your Courier What They Can Do to Protect Your Items

Many courier companies in Australia go to great lengths to secure their customers’ packages. Each has its own set of policies and guidelines in line with parcel protection and international shipping.

That is why it only makes sense that you ask what they can do to protect your items if you are shipping with them overseas. They will be more than glad if you ask so that they know what services suits your shipping requirements most.

Do You Need to Ship Items Overseas? Couriers by Demand Express Got You Covered

To learn more about us and our fast courier services, do not hesitate to give us a call on 02 9095 5000. We will be glad if you ship with us!

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