Packing a kit for mail

[BillLee]

Need some advice on packing kits for sending via USPS.

If you have seen my classified, I have a number of kits for sale from the Don Shaw estate. I need advice (and would like to hear of success and/or horror stories) for packing a kit to send. Also if you would recommend USPS or UPS.

Thanks.

Regards,

Bill

[David Ebers]

In my neck of the woods,  middle of nowhere centeral Texas, First choice USPS
Second choice UPS
Absolutely the last choice, if there was no other way and hell froze over, fedex.

[Craig Beswick]

I second USPS, double boxing and insurance.

Craig

[peabody]

Brodak had issues with ARFs initially....his latest boxes cost him a dollar more and you can drive over them.
For his kits, Nikki will sometimes double box them.

[Dennis Leonhardi]

20+ years of selling on eBay, USPS is substantially cheaper and more reliable overall (areas of the country vary).  Pirate Ship will offer some rates that USPS doesn't even show - discounts up to 30% and Insurance (that actually pays) is about half the price of USPS,  And you'll have easy tracking -

https://ship.pirateship.com/

Boxes can be expensive - if you're going to be shipping a lot of kits, you might want to find something like these -

https://www.uline.com/Product/AdvSearchResult?keywords=rifle%20box

https://www.uline.com/BL_1851/Large-Corrugated-Pads?keywords=corrugated+sheet

I purchase a lot of 48" x 48" corrugated sheets - you can cut them to size and wrap around the long sides of the box, then just put a piece of carboard or even paper on the ends.  The ends are rarely ever damaged.

The Postal Service will deliver a roll of Priority Mail "stickers" free, right to your mailbox - https://store.usps.com/store/results/priority-mail/shipping-supplies/_/N-p52cprZ7d0v8v?No=36&Nrpp=18& - and shipping labels as well should you want them.

Using a service like Pirate Ship you'll typically find Priority Mail isn't more than about a dime more costly than ground shipping and is even cheaper in some situations.

Using "Fragile" labels or a self-inking stamp can't hurt.  Good luck!

[Dan McEntee]

  I will vouch for setting up a Pirateship.com account. Saves you a ton of time at the post office and money on shipping. It's easy to set up, print out the shipping label and then just drop off at the post office. They will give you a receipt that you did if you want one. All the typical insurance and other services are available along with tracking. Search out some one that buys boxes by the bale and see if you can get the corrugated sheets that they wrap the boxes with when the strap the bundle together, then use that to wrap around the kit boxes . You can crease the folds with an old pizza cutter and make a nice neat wrap. If you want, take some scrap to make an end cap, but as Dennis mentions might not be necessary, and then tape securely. This really does a to make things tougher and really helps protect the kit. The rates today start off with the package girth, so it helps immensely to keep the dimensions as close to original as possible. Double boxing is nice but can add 50% or more to the rate. If it is REALLY nice collector box it may be worth it, but for a building kit, the corrugated wrap is worth the little bit of effort. I been selling off some of my stuff and have found that Lowes sells boxes pretty cheap and bought some of their larger moving boxes to cut up to make custom sized long and narrow boxes.
  Use lots of tap along any seam where a flap closes. I have learned through the years that tape over any seam reduces the chance of a box edge hanging up on a sharp edge anywhere along a conveyor.
   You nay get asked about shipping over seas. I have a package on the way to a guy in Canada that has been " in route to it's destination " since June 1st!! And the USPS tracking is useless. No one seems to know where it is. I have another in the ay to Australia. It is in the same situation, but finally cleared customs in Miami after sitting in Chicago for two weeks!! Lots of unexpected fees along the way and you also have to deal with the exchange rates. I may not ship outside the US again. Both buyers have been very patient, but getting an insurance claim against the USPS is very difficult from what I understand.
    Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[ericrule]

I agree with the comments about Pirate Ship. Although I have not used them I did use Stamps.com for over 21 years. They simply print out your label, postage paid and offer a discount. You can insure the package through them. Unlike the USPS they actually pay immediately in the event of loss or damage with no hassle or typical minimum 30 day delay before you can even enter a claim with USPS. One caution.... make sure you measure the length and girth of your package to make sure it falls within the standard mail size posted by USPS. If it does not then USPS automatically defaults to "large package" pricing. USPS International Priority Mail for anything you send overseas (don't even try to send to China as it will never get there)!!!!

[Ara Dedekian]

      I sold six giant scale estate kits on behalf of the club and used FedEx for five of them and USPS for the sixth. All got to their destinations undamaged. FedEx was the cheapest and the most convenient for me. Did the entire transaction, including the label, on the computer and just dropped the packages off at a nearby FedEx drop off center. The Pirate thing offered no benefit to me.

      I spent a lot of time double boxing them in cardboard, sealing with hot glue and taping edges with strapping/packing tape. I keep a stash of large cardboard pieces and cut them up to make the boxes. I took a lot of money from the buyers and felt a responsibility to get the items delivered safely. I couldn't comprehend wrapping the kits in paper for shipment. It was appreciated by the buyers in the feedback.
 
      Shipping is a killer for kits. It cost $100 to get a Kit Cut Ziroli P-51 with fiberglass parts and canopy in three boxes from Maine to Florida. Try to get the buyer to pay shipping. I had to negotiate shipping and leave some money on table on some of them just to move the kits.

      Ara   

     

[Dennis Leonhardi]

... Use lots of tap along any seam where a flap closes. I have learned through the years that tape over any seam reduces the chance of a box edge hanging up on a sharp edge anywhere along a conveyor. ...
    Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

Excellent point Dan, well worth repeating!

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

USPS purchased at pirateship is excellent.  For certain items, FedEx ground is good, worth checking.

Double boxing is much appreciated by buyers.  Good sources for corrugated to reuse is the guitar store, furniture store or appliance store.  However, for a larger estate, purchasing 54" x 96" sheets from a city box maker can make things go very quickly.

The typical box design is a "sleeve," with the seam just where it would be on a sewn shirt. 

Best to box before offering items, so your shipping estimates are accurate and prompt, as are your deliveries. 

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Also, consider your skills, knowledge and ability to perform regarding international destinations. 

Myself, I do not have the knowledge of export/import laws or customs house services.  For this reason, I ship only to domestic.  If a buyer has a serious interest in an item, I advise him to elect someone in the US to accept the item and handle the country to country transfer.  Collectors often have such an agent.

[mike londke]

Always double box. I bought a kit from forum a member that arrived split open and with broken parts because he just slapped a shipping label on it. . PO would not honor the insurance. I was refunded the price of the kit but not the cost of shipping to me or for me to return it to him. I guess he thought I should eat that.....will never buy from him again.

[Craig Beswick]

A customs declaration is no big deal. Just ask for the form and fill it in honestly.

If there is any duty to be paid it is on the purchaser to pay it. Where people go wrong is trying to deceive customs and put a lower price on an item to try and avoid any duty to be paid.

I purchased a kit which was $130 + $65 delivery. The seller, a major supplier I will say, thought they were doing me a favour by putting $20 on the customs declaration as the price of the goods.

Unfortunately, the kit went missing, I made an insurance claim stating $130 only to have all sorts of difficult questions asked of the seller when they produced the customs declaration with only $20 on it!!!

The seller ate the loss, thankfully, but it was just not necessary.

It is not the sellers responsibility to worry about the import costs to a buyers country. Just be honest about it. If a buyer is asking you to alter a price on a legal document be very careful, you are potentially committing postage fraud!

Craig
Ps. List the goods as they are. Toy plane, model engine, model kit etc. It is not a big secret that needs to be hidden.

[Mike Griffin]

I will offer, for whatever it is worth, how I shipped kits during the years I produced them.  I used "5 fold boxes" that I ordered from ULine.  Learning how to arrange the parts of a kit within the box for shipping is somewhat of an artform or maybe a science, not sure which.  I used a combination of bubble wrap, waded up newspaper and foam peanuts inside the box to protect the balsa pieces.  Some one mentioned this in a previous post but I always sealed every fold with packing tape.

As far as carriers, USPS Priority mail proved without a doubt to be the best.  I had very little damage using them.  I did try UPS a couple of times but they were more expensive and I did have damage.

Mike

[Steve Helmick]

I like to wrap (roll) the kit box in sheet cardboard. It reinforces the stock kit box a lot, but doesn't add a lot to the dimensions. Big boxes cost a LOT to ship these days.

I prefer USPS, UPS and uh, the other guys in that order. Last fishing rod I ordered online from the manufacturer (ALX) somewhere in Virginia or NC. It came via the other guys, and would probably still be sitting in Troutdale, Oregon if it wasn't for ALX kicking them in the ass.    Steve

[PerttiMe]

Model kits that I have bought have arrived safe with double boxes, and filled to keep parts from moving inside the inner box.