Don’t you love it when a single customer orders multiple items from your online store? This means that business is booming! However, it can also mean new concerns about packing. After all, keeping one item secure during transit is one thing, but keeping multiple items secure during transit is another! The good news? There are some things you can do to ensure the safe arrival of all the items in your shipment.
Read on for our tips for packing and mailing multiple items into a single mailer box.
1. Have a Packing Plan
Different items have different packing requirements. When you factor in multiple items in a single shipment, the challenges grow. One way to make sure you get the best results in terms of efficient delivery, cost savings, and happy customers: plan ahead!
Spend a few minutes considering how each item needs to be packed, and how you could combine these into a single box. Knowing each item’s needs and creating a plan at the start helps minimize hassle and headaches later.
2. Watch Package Weight for Shipping
Multiple items don’t just take up more space—they also increase the weight of your package. If you’re mailing multiple larger or heavier items, you may need to double-box your items to strengthen your package or place bands around the box to ensure it won’t fall apart. Small, light items can simply be packed snuggly in light-weight cardboard.
Additional items, and additional packing material, can add to shipping costs, too. Make sure you communicate with your customer if shipping costs are higher than anticipated and have a clear policy for shipping costs on your website or in your seller profile on a third party site like Etsy.
3. Pack Items According to Weight & Size
In a perfect world, like items would be packed with like items. However, it’s common to end up with the additional challenge of packing items of different sizes, shapes, and weights in one box. In this situation, packing order plays a huge role in safeguarding the contents of your shipment. Packing items in order of their weight helps decrease the risk of damage. Here are some basic guidelines:
- Heavy and bulky items should always be placed first and at the bottom of the box
- Smaller, lighter goods go on top
- Separate layered items with cardboard dividers or additional packing materials
- Include a label or mark on the box to indicate which side should face up
4. Separate Each Item & Fill Gaps
When you’re shipping multiple items in the same box, each should be packaged and packed as an individual item. This method prevents them from bumping and rubbing against each other in transit.
You should use void fill, such as paper, bubble wrap, foam peanuts, or air pillows, to create cushioning between items as well as fill any gaps in your box—remember, empty space is not your friend! Items should be packed snuggly and not allowed to shift or bump into one another.
Keep in mind that packages aren’t shipped in isolation. They’re handled frequently along their journey: they’ll be packed with other packages, potentially with heavier packages on top of them, shaken or shifted around in transit by the vibrations of shipping vehicles on the road, and moved around by mail carriers between trucks and sorting facilities before making it to your customer’s doorstep.
While your goal is a snug fit, overpacking has its own set of downsides, including compression. If the sides of a box are bulging or if you have to force the contents into a box to make them fit—it’s overpacked. In this case, try removing some void fill, or if all else fails—grab a larger box.
5. Pack One Order at a Time & Double Check the Contents
More items mean more things to keep track of—which increases the chance that your customer will receive the package and find something missing. Avoid this situation by packing one order at a time and double checking the content before you seal your box shut.
Collect all the items for one order and lay them out before you start packing them to ensure you have everything. Compare your laid out items with the customer’s order invoice, and check it twice (even if it’s just for peace of mind!). It may seem like extra work, but it’s definitely worthwhile to prevent missing items or unhappy customers.
From vibration and air pressure to temperature and humidity, many factors can detrimentally impact your package and its contents during shipping. When you’re packing multiple items from one order, you add another obstacle to the list: each other. Use these tips to secure your items and ensure a safe arrival at their destination.
Not sure what size box you need? Check out our size guide to see all of our box styles in different standard sizes (we can also print boxes in custom sizes, too!).