How exactly do you ship large items?
Whether you’re moving your home cross-country or you’re sending your mom a gift, shipping large items always conjures feelings of dread for the shipper.
How do you package it to avoid damage? Should you expedite it with a priority service? What are the weight restrictions? And, most importantly, how much is it going to cost?
These are all valid questions. In this article, we’re going to try to answer all these questions and more. Shipping large items don’t have to cause you headaches.
Follow these steps and your package should get there in one piece without breaking it or the bank.
Shipping Large Items: Packaging
How you package up your oversized item will definitely have an effect on the state it arrives in once it gets to the destination. If you don’t know how to ship things the right way, you won’t be too happy when you open that box.
Why You Need Good Packaging
If you want your goods to arrive at the destination in one piece, then you’ll have to package them the right way. A shipping company can refuse your goods if they don’t feel like they can safely transport them.
When you package something heavy, you need to make sure it can withstand being dropped, the vibration of conveyor belts and in-transit trucks, compression on all sides from stacking, and temperature and humidity changes.
It may seem like a lot to account for, but it’s not too hard to manage. Let’s talk about how to go about doing this.
The Box
You may not think a simple cardboard box will be enough to hold your item, but think about how you normally receive items large and small in the mail. They always come in a corrugated box with support on the inside.
Don’t reuse an old box. Make sure that you’re using a new corrugated box that will support the weight of the object. Always wrap the item in protective material like bubble wrap or old blankets, then fill the gaps with air pillows. It can be tempting to use paper products, but these will compress when the weight shifts.
Extra Measures
Center the object as much as you can in the box so that it doesn’t have a lean during transit. If you are able to support the object with styrofoam, that’s usually your best bet to hold it in place.
If the item is breakable, consider putting the initial box into a second, larger box with even more protective cushioning in between. In the event of a tumble, this gives you some extra insurance if the box is punctured.
The tape is often overlooked when shipping large items. Simple packing tape is usually the go-to, but in this circumstance, you should use water-activated tape. This tape will bond with the corrugated cardboard and keep your box sealed throughout the shipping process.
Almost Done
If you’re shipping books or any other smaller thing that make a heavy load when combined, try and disperse the weight in a few different boxes and fill in the empty space with lighter things.
Once you’re done, lift the box and give it a shake. If everything feels secure, you’re ready to move on to the shipping portion of this process.
What Service Should You Use?
It is generally believed that shipping large, heavy items is quite expensive, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Many variables factor into the cost of shipping, only two of which are the size and the weight of the parcel.
Who Will Get My Package From A to B
The most popular and notorious shipping companies are usually the first ones that pop into someone’s head when they’re shipping something. Purolator, UPS, and FedEx are all huge international corporations that have made a name taking goods all over the place at any speed you can think of.
While these three companies have dominated the shipping conversation in America for decades, there are young companies coming up that are improving upon the deficiencies that those old guard shippers have shown.
At Need It Now Delivers, we provide same day international service to most cities in the world. By phone, through the app, or online, you can arrange for the pickup and delivery of your parcel anytime with our rush couriers, air freight, pre-scheduled routed delivery, or luggage delivery.
You’ll get an email notification when the item is picked up and an electronic signature when it arrives at its destination.
Shipping for Cheap
As we’ve stated, the cost of shipping is dependent on a few variables. The physical size and weight of the parcel is one part of it, but the destination and speed at which you need the delivery will come into play as well.
Obviously, selecting ground shipping will be cheaper than air shipping because more items go on ground service and the cost of travel is cheaper. When you select air service, you’re making your shipment a priority. Fewer items ship this way and fuel is more expensive, which is reflected in the cost.
Need It Now offers competitive pricing against other large shipping companies and an array of services to fit your budget and need. To obtain a quote for your delivery, visit our services page and select the type of shipping that you’d like to get a quote for and we’ll respond with our rates.
Shipping a large item doesn’t have to drain your bank account. With our services, you will get your package to its destination safely, efficiently, and at the lowest possible cost.
Arrange Your Shipment Today
Now that you’ve conquered your fear of shipping large items, there’s no reason to procrastinate on your shipment. Using Need It Now Delivers, you’ll get attentive, careful, and affordable service for your shipments.
Now that you know how to carefully package your shipment and which service you’ll need to use, you can proceed with getting your parcel out the door!
Contact us for more information about booking your shipment and visit our page to see the locations that we service.
