A Packing And Shipping Manifesto
F1nut
Posts: 51,686
A PACKING AND SHIPPING MANIFESTO (rev. 1)
# Some people have packing sense, and some of you DO NOT.
Learning makes up for some of these inadequacies.
# PEANUTS ARE NEVER USED. Period.
Heavy things just SHIFT in Peanuts, settle to the bottom of the box, and get destroyed.
UPS might decline insurance claims if only peanuts are used.
Peanuts are ONLY good for the space between an inner & outer box.
White peanuts are the tool of Satan, PLEASE use static=free pink & green peanuts.
# A "200# burst strength" cardboard box WILL NOT hold more than 50 pounds tops.
# Double boxing aka overboxing is your friend.
# BUBBLE WRAP is your friend.
Big bubble bubble-wrap is your friend, Little bubble bubble-wrap is usually not.
Bubble-wrap ages, leaks, pops, weakens and dies.
# FOAM & AIR is your better friend. 'Nothing' touching the equipment is better than 'something' even foam, touching the equipment. Look at manufacturers packing. Foam supports, Air (space=distance=protection)
Catalyzed Foam is certainly very good, though in some ways , foam + air is better.
# SHIFTING is BAD. Padding is not just padding, it is ANTI-SHIFTIING MATERIAL. Shifting creates G-forces.. you remember that stuff form high-school. "An object in motion has a tendency to remain in motion". Its what does on inside a dropped box.
# "Factory Box" is not a silver bullet.
Not all manufacturers packing is adequate for UPS etc shipping. Some is made really for multiple item bulk freight shipping on pallets.
Sadly, nothing is immune from a 20 foot drop off an overhead conveyor. 20 foot overhead conveyors DO exist! Many people have testified express shipping spends less time in the conveyor system.
Anecdotal Experience & Urban myth is all that exists, sadly, for choosing UPS v USPS v FedEx
UPS _will_ sell you insurance, accept a package, and then deny the claim for inadequate packaging.
# You always have too much insurance, until you need it, and then you dont have enough.
# You always have too much padding, until you need it, and then you dont have enough.
# It doesnt matter how much padding you put on top of the equipment, if you put none underneath the box.
# A box has no "TOP", inspite of your cute label and emphatic arrows saying otherwise.
# Everything is crushable. Bubble envelopes are adequate for very very few things. But yes, boxes are crushable too. But less so.
# Yes, nothing is fork-lift proof.
Some "Mailbox, Etc" places hire idiot teenagers without supervision to pack your $2000 amp. You are warned.
# BAG items before packing - especially you peanut-ers. Peanut debris deep inside connectors & thru vent holes is BAD.
VISUALIZE:
Imagine YOU are the Equipment in box: A mean delivery man is going to drop you, kick you, throw you into the truck that has crappy shocks in a pothole ridden city. How much padding do YOU need?!
Homework: VERY GOOD THINGS TO READ, ABSORB AND UNDERSTAND !!!
Read the UPS Shipping Requirements:
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/guidelines/index.html
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/materials/index.html
# Some people have packing sense, and some of you DO NOT.
Learning makes up for some of these inadequacies.
# PEANUTS ARE NEVER USED. Period.
Heavy things just SHIFT in Peanuts, settle to the bottom of the box, and get destroyed.
UPS might decline insurance claims if only peanuts are used.
Peanuts are ONLY good for the space between an inner & outer box.
White peanuts are the tool of Satan, PLEASE use static=free pink & green peanuts.
# A "200# burst strength" cardboard box WILL NOT hold more than 50 pounds tops.
# Double boxing aka overboxing is your friend.
# BUBBLE WRAP is your friend.
Big bubble bubble-wrap is your friend, Little bubble bubble-wrap is usually not.
Bubble-wrap ages, leaks, pops, weakens and dies.
# FOAM & AIR is your better friend. 'Nothing' touching the equipment is better than 'something' even foam, touching the equipment. Look at manufacturers packing. Foam supports, Air (space=distance=protection)
Catalyzed Foam is certainly very good, though in some ways , foam + air is better.
# SHIFTING is BAD. Padding is not just padding, it is ANTI-SHIFTIING MATERIAL. Shifting creates G-forces.. you remember that stuff form high-school. "An object in motion has a tendency to remain in motion". Its what does on inside a dropped box.
# "Factory Box" is not a silver bullet.
Not all manufacturers packing is adequate for UPS etc shipping. Some is made really for multiple item bulk freight shipping on pallets.
Sadly, nothing is immune from a 20 foot drop off an overhead conveyor. 20 foot overhead conveyors DO exist! Many people have testified express shipping spends less time in the conveyor system.
Anecdotal Experience & Urban myth is all that exists, sadly, for choosing UPS v USPS v FedEx
UPS _will_ sell you insurance, accept a package, and then deny the claim for inadequate packaging.
# You always have too much insurance, until you need it, and then you dont have enough.
# You always have too much padding, until you need it, and then you dont have enough.
# It doesnt matter how much padding you put on top of the equipment, if you put none underneath the box.
# A box has no "TOP", inspite of your cute label and emphatic arrows saying otherwise.
# Everything is crushable. Bubble envelopes are adequate for very very few things. But yes, boxes are crushable too. But less so.
# Yes, nothing is fork-lift proof.
Some "Mailbox, Etc" places hire idiot teenagers without supervision to pack your $2000 amp. You are warned.
# BAG items before packing - especially you peanut-ers. Peanut debris deep inside connectors & thru vent holes is BAD.
VISUALIZE:
Imagine YOU are the Equipment in box: A mean delivery man is going to drop you, kick you, throw you into the truck that has crappy shocks in a pothole ridden city. How much padding do YOU need?!
Homework: VERY GOOD THINGS TO READ, ABSORB AND UNDERSTAND !!!
Read the UPS Shipping Requirements:
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/guidelines/index.html
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/materials/index.html
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
Post edited by F1nut on
Comments
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Good info above, bravo! I work in a government warehouse and I ship close to $15 million dollars of electronic equipment anually; you learn quickly what packing strategies work, and which ones don't.
A BIG amen on the peanuts; use them only to fill the void between a double-box scenario or to cushion multiple boxes inside a single large box. They should never be a primary packing material.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 -
Amen jesse......
This dude on EBay sent my preamp wrapped in bubble wrap................and bags under it and a bad box. Im surprised it arrived as good as it did.
I pack stuff as good as i can with my given materials. I usually use eggcrate, foam, bubble wrap, etc etc -- packing peanuts as well.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
if your item shifts while using peanuts you are not using enough peanuts.
I'm not saying peanuts are the end all-be-all of packing materials, but you can still pack something securely with them.
and an addition: Those little air pouches that amazon and other places send you will pop inside of the carton and things will get **** from there. -
i just receiver my amp with peanuts pieces that got inside the vents.. i had to open it up to air it out.. or else! who knows what would have happen.
I've shipped a PSW350 before. without the orignal box.. it was very well packed.. with several styrofoam blocks, and flats. with peanuts to fill in the air gaps. first i wrapped the sub in large bubble wrap. with tape to hold it tight.
the buyer emailed me when it arrived. says it was very well packed. and arrived in excellent condition. as it should have.PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
