|
|
|
Cary Clark / FAQ / Market / pack-all | |
| How should I pack LEGO® for shipment?
From Todd Lehman: ! Count on package damage in the mail -- take measures to avoid it. Learn from the mistakes of others. Pack your LEGO® shipment as you would pack a crystal vase or fine china.
From Todd Lehman: ! For best results use a cardboard box. Boxes are cheaper than mailing envelopes -- free if you ask around at the right places -- and can’t be folded or crammed into a mailbox. Use padded mailing envelopes for floppy paper items or things of little value:
Some have had success sending mini-figures in bubble-padded mailing envelopes. Cassette tape mailing boxes (around $0.50 at the U.S. Post Office) also work well for mini-figures and small LEGO® parts.
From Todd Lehman: ! If you choose to use an envelope, use the smallest envelope that holds the item securely. Don’t fold the item just to fit it in a smaller envelope and save twenty cents. Use either padded envelopes or manilla envelopes with a piece of firm, flat cardboard backing so the items won’t bend easily as they journey from mailbag to mailbag.
From Todd Lehman: ! If you choose to use a box, use the smallest box that holds all the items securely, but that leaves enough space for padding. Don’t use a box that just barely fits all the items unless you are sure the box is strong enough; the goal of packing is not to be clever or frugal but to do the job right -- to get the items there unharmed. Don’t use shipping insurance as a crutch.
From Todd Lehman: ! Good padding avoids problems in shipping. Most cardboard boxes need 1 to 2 inches of padding:
If your box is exceptionally sturdy, you won’t need as much padding. If your box is old, tired, and seeing its last days, use a bit extra -- especially near the top corners, where other boxes are likely to smoosh it.
From Todd Lehman: ! UPS (United Parcel Service) recommends including a copy of both the sender’s address and the recipient’s address on a 3x5 card inside the package in case of emergency. Ask your bidders to supply an extra card with their address. Before sealing the box, shake it. If it doesn’t make noise, shake it vigorously. If it’s reasonably quiet, you’re ready to seal the box. LEGO® sets in a mailing box should sound like a muffled cereal box being shaken. If you hear a rattling, you’d better figure out what you did wrong. Remember, the goal of the padding step is to avoid problems. The goal of this step is to find any problems you may have missed. Use a good, strong tape. Test it on your arm -- if it pulls the hair off, you’ve got a good tape. If you can pull it away from the cardboard on the box and re-stick it, you’ve got problem tape. Start with the bottom of the box. Make sure the flaps line up well and nothing is loose from the last time the box was used. Re-tape the bottom edges and the centerline if necessary. On the top of the box, apply mailing stickers, 3x5 cards, or write directly on the box in clear, legible letters. Make sure your digits are unambiguous, espeically between 1’s and 7’s, 6’s and 0’s, 4’s and 9’s, 9’s and 7’s. Don’t get fancy. Someone once made a beautiful calligraphic 9 that looked like a 7; the $400 package he sent was delivered to the wrong house two blocks away. Cover both your address and the recipient’s address with clear packing tape. Press it down firmly -- run your fingernail or a pen across it, especially around the edges of the seal. Finally, seal the top of the box. Try peeling off the tape -- make sure it doesn’t come loose easily. If the box is small, you might want to go all the way around the box with the tape.
From Todd Lehman: ! Drop the box from shoulder-height onto the floor. Throw it a few feet. Kick it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, then it’s probably not packed well. If the tape moves or comes loose anywhere, you should consider buying better tape. Ask yourself, How are packages typically handled? Gently? How many times do they change hands? Will your box be at the bottom of a pile or at the top? Can someone put a pair of speakers on top of your box? Can your box roll 50 feet down a sorting treadmill and slam into another box? Is your box of precious cargo any more special to a mail handler than other box of equal shape and size? What if when the package is delivered, it is left in a window well outside someone’s house? |
|
Primary content in this document is © Cary Clark. All other text, images, or trademarks in this document are the intellectual property of their respective owners. |
| |
©2005 LUGNET. All rights reserved. - hosted by steinbruch.info GbR |
