Since I started building furniture in my garage shop, I've sold and shipped over 2,000 pieces to 17 countries. Dog feeders, laundry hampers, coffee bars, cabinets, and vanities have all gone out through UPS and FedEx.
Along the way I've had my share of damaged shipments and denied insurance claims. When a piece arrives broken, you either build it again and reship it for free, or you hunt down someone local to repair it. Either way, it's a nightmare.
I learned this lesson the hard way, by trial and error: don't build the piece and then go looking for a box. Pick the box first, then build around it.
Why the Box Comes First
Shipping damage, shipping cost, and insurance coverage all come down to the box. The box sets your dimensions, and those set what you pay to ship. How well the piece fits that box decides whether it shows up in one piece. And if it doesn't, how you packed it decides whether the carrier pays your claim.
Both carriers publish packaging guidelines. UPS calls for at least two inches of cushioning between the contents and the sides, top, and bottom of the box. FedEx's guidelines call for wrapping products in at least 2" of air-cellular cushioning or foam so they fit snugly in the box, and using double-wall boxes for heavier items. If you buy insurance and pack with less than that, the carrier can deny your claim. In my experience, they will.
Here's the order I follow now.
Step 1: Shop the Box Suppliers
Start with a box supplier like Uline. Most of us who ship furniture buy our boxes there. Check the additional information on each box for its test rating and what it's rated to carry.
Tip: freight on a big box order can cost almost as much as the boxes. Grainger carries shipping boxes and bubble wrap too, and you can order online and pick up at your local branch to skip the shipping charge.
Step 2: Find a Stock Box in Your Size Range
Look for stock boxes in the general size range of the piece you want to build. That gives you a fixed target to design to.
Step 3: Get Double-Wall Boxes
Get double-wall (double-ply) boxes. A double-wall box is stronger than a single-wall box of the same size, and it stands up better to the beating a box takes in a truck or a sorting facility. I've switched to double-wall boxes since I made the video below.
Step 4: Design the Piece to Fit, With 2" of Padding on Every Side
Now design your product. Take the inside dimensions of the box, subtract 2" of padding on every side, and that's the most your piece can measure. That means 4" off the length, 4" off the width, and 4" off the height.
My Dog Feeder Lesson
Dog feeders were my first best seller, and they taught me this lesson.
When I first designed them, they were 1" too wide for an 18" x 18" x 28" box. One inch doesn't sound like much. But it meant I couldn't use that box. I had to go to a much bigger box and use a lot more packing material to fill it.
So I revised the design to fit the 18 x 18 x 28 box. That one change cut my shipping costs by 18%.
Watch Me Pack One
In this video, Stop Shipping Damages and Pack Like A Pro, I pack a dog feeder order step by step. The feeder in the video is my old design, not the one I build today, but the packing steps haven't changed:
Here's what I cover:
- Choosing the right box and checking its test rating, and why the 2" padding rule matters if you ever need to file an insurance claim.
- Securing moving parts. If a piece fails in shipping, it usually fails at the drawer slides or hinges, so I use every available screw hole.
- The three things I won't pack without: 1/2" bubble wrap, tape, and clear cling wrap.
- Cling wrap first, pulled tight so the drawer and bowls can't move. Damage usually happens when something is moving.
- Corner protectors on pieces that need them.
- Layering the bubble wrap and placing the seams where I need extra thickness to get a snug fit.
- A tight final layer of cling wrap over the bubble wrap, so the bubbles don't pop one by one as the box takes hits.
- Gluing the box flaps instead of using miles of tape.
- One shipping label, on the largest face of the box. In the video I put labels on more than one side, but I've since learned UPS and FedEx don't want more than one label on a box.
Keep a Good Tape Dispenser Handy
As you'll see in the video, tape comes in really handy at every layer of packing. Here's the tape dispenser I recommend for your packing station.
The Bottom Line
To ship without damage, keep shipping costs down, and give yourself the best shot at getting paid on an insurance claim, do it in this order:
- Shop the box suppliers, like Uline.
- Find a stock box in your size range.
- Get double-wall boxes.
- Design the piece to fit with 2" of padding on every side.
Build around the box, not the other way around.
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