Method and materials
Most transit damage is not caused by anything dramatic. It is caused by an object moving inside its own packaging, repeatedly, over several hundred miles.
Immobilise first, cushion second
The principle that matters is that the object should not be able to move relative to the box. Cushioning that allows an inch of travel lets the item build momentum and strike the wall, which is exactly the impact the cushioning was meant to prevent.
Fill every void. Where an object rattles when the sealed box is tilted, it is not packed, whatever quantity of material went in.
Two boxes for anything that matters
Wrap the object, place it in a box sized closely to it, then place that box inside a larger one with cushioning between the two. The outer box takes the handling and the inner box never experiences a direct impact.
This is standard practice for fragile goods and it is what most carrier packing standards expect for anything breakable. It is also the difference between a claim that is paid and one that is refused for inadequate packing.
Two tests on the sealed parcel, and what should never go in it
- Tilt test: rotate the sealed box slowly through ninety degrees each way and listen. Anything that shifts, taps or slides is not immobilised. Redo the filling rather than adding to it.
- Press test: press each face firmly. A wall that flexes in far enough to touch the contents will do so again under a stack of parcels.
- Never: loose paperwork, which is destroyed or lost. Documentation travels flat in a separate envelope.
- Never: anything that can leak or corrode, anywhere near the object.
- Never: newspaper against an unglazed or porous surface. Ink transfer is frequently permanent.
- Never: a box that has already made several journeys. Board loses strength each time it is handled.
Weight changes the problem
A heavy object stresses the packaging from inside. Boxes fail at the seams, handles tear out, and a base that was adequate empty gives way under load when the parcel is dropped the last few inches onto a conveyor.
Double-walled board, reinforced seams, and keeping the weight low and central all help. Past a certain weight a carton is the wrong container entirely and the object needs a crate, which is a job for somebody who builds them.
The recurring failures
Protruding parts left unprotected, so the first knock breaks the one vulnerable element. Loose components left attached instead of removed, wrapped separately and labelled. Tape applied along a single seam so the flaps peel open under load.
Reusing a box that has already made several journeys is another, and it is the one most often overlooked. Board loses strength each time it is handled, and a carton that looks fine can be structurally spent. For anything worth protecting the box should be new, and the cost of that belongs in the arithmetic behind how the selling channels compare.
Materials, and what to keep out of the box
Different fillings behave differently under load. Loose fill migrates during a long journey and lets a heavy object settle to one side, which is why it suits light items and not dense ones. Bubble wrap protects against impact but compresses over time under weight. Foam holds its shape and costs more.
For anything heavy, the material that works is rigid: shaped foam, corner blocks, or a purpose-cut insert that holds the object off every wall by a fixed distance and cannot settle.
Some things should not go in at all. Loose paperwork gets destroyed or lost, so documentation travels flat in a separate envelope. Anything that can leak or corrode goes nowhere near the object. Newspaper against an unglazed or porous surface transfers ink, and that transfer is frequently permanent.
Testing the parcel before it goes
Two checks take under a minute each and between them catch most packing failures.
Tilt the sealed box slowly through ninety degrees in each direction and listen. Anything that shifts, taps or slides is not immobilised, and the filling needs redoing rather than adding to.
Then press each face firmly. A wall that flexes inward far enough to touch the contents will do so again under a stack of other parcels, which is precisely the load a box experiences in a sorting depot. Either the outer box is too weak or the cushioning between the two boxes is too thin.
Neither test simulates a drop, and neither is a substitute for double-boxing. What they catch is the specific failure that causes most transit damage, which is an object moving inside packaging that looked adequate.
It is worth packing as though the parcel will be dropped, because at some point in a large sorting operation it probably will be. That is not pessimism about any particular carrier: it is the ordinary physics of moving several million items a day through automated handling. Packaging that assumes careful treatment is packaging that has assumed the wrong thing.
Keep the materials list simple and buy it once. A roll of good tape, double-walled boxes in two or three sizes, foam sheet, and corner blocks will handle almost everything an ordinary household produces. Improvising from what is in the recycling is where most of the failures in this section originate.
Common questions
Is it worth paying somebody to pack an awkward item?
For anything where the cost of packing is small relative to the value, yes, and it has a second benefit: a professional packing service leaves a record that the item was packed to standard, which matters if a claim follows. For ordinary goods it is usually money that could stay with the seller, provided the void-filling is done properly.
Does labelling a parcel fragile actually achieve anything?
It is worth doing and it is not a substitute for packing properly. Automated sorting handles most parcels without anybody reading the label, and the carrier standards that govern whether a claim succeeds are about construction rather than markings. Treat it as a courtesy to whoever does handle it manually, and assume the parcel will be dropped regardless.