Shipping seems simple enough, like a slightly more complicated task than wrapping a gift. You put an item in a box, slap some stamps on it and stick it in a mailbox. Or you go into a post office, have it wrapped and that’s that.
But that isn’t always that, depending on your package — and a lot of consumers ship packages. The U.S. Postal Service ships 3.7 billion packages worldwide every year, and UPS Inc. ships 4.6 billion packages and documents around the globe annually.
Plenty can go wrong during all of that shipping. For instance, your package might not be accepted by the Postal Service, especially if it’s leaving the country. If you want to ship a bottle of perfume to your cousin in Peru for her birthday, you can’t — at least via airmail, because there’s alcohol in it, and it’s considered flammable.
In fact, sending something to another country can be especially tricky, says Matthew Davis, an appraiser for Chubb Personal Insurance, based in Chicago. “International shipments have numerous layers of complexity … There are more regulations, procedures, paperwork and costs related to moving goods between countries than across town or between states. Doing it yourself or choosing the wrong company can lead to shipping delays, unsupervised handling and damage,” he says.
What’s an up-and-coming shipping guru to do? Well, as with anything potentially complicated, think through the issues first.
Decide which outfit to ship with. You could go with the tried-and-true USPS, but UPS and FedEx are also solid alternatives. According to Cheapism.com, a website all about finding the least-expensive products and services, USPS generally offers cheaper rates than UPS and FedEx. Still, although the USPS does offer overnight delivery in many cities, the two companies excel when it comes to sending packages via overnight delivery, and in some cases, they even offer same-day delivery.
But you don’t have to go with the big three. If you want to comparison shop, DHL Express is another big name, or you could try Greyhound Package Express. Estafeta U.S.A. specializes in shipping items from the U.S. to Mexico. There are also several regional shipping carriers throughout the country that may (or may not) offer cheaper rates, such as OnTrac, which delivers packages anywhere in California and the major cities in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Idaho. Similarly, Spee-Dee Delivery Service services Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, parts of Missouri and Nebraska.
Do you want someone to package your item for you? The USPS has its post offices. UPS and FedEx have their own stores, where you can walk in and have someone else choose the right box and packaging materials. You might also find a local shipping store in your neighborhood. For instance, Safe Ship, a national franchise, has stores scattered throughout the country, where you can take your packages, have them wrapped and then select your carrier.
What’s more, shipping options just keep evolving. Barak Kassar, who works for a digital and advertising firm in San Francisco, says he’s become a fan of the Shyp app, which his 13-year-old son turned him on to.
Shyp is so far only available in San Francisco, Miami, Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is in beta testing in Los Angeles. Kassar says he began using it, and “now all of our business and a decent amount of our home shipping gets Shypped. Super convenient. You photograph the package with the Shyp app on your phone and enter your address, send in your order and a Shypper shows up.”
That shipper — or Shypper — does all the packing for you and then, assuming you don’t want your item delivered immediately, chooses the cheapest carrier for you.
Details matter. If you’re going to pack your package yourself, think this through carefully, especially if your item is valuable or breakable. A novice move would be to use newspaper.
“Using newspaper to pack a box is one of the biggest mistakes because newspaper will collapse to fill a void in the box, but it won’t rebound. This error can cause severe damage to materials in transit,” says Brian Johnson, senior vice president of logistics for Liquidity Services, a global solution provider in the reverse supply chain based in the District of Columbia. (In other words, the company helps businesses manage, value and sell surplus assets and inventory.)
Instead, Johnson says, you may want to go with biodegradable packing peanuts, or perhaps an air pillow.
Packing peanuts and Bubble Wrap, incidentally, are highly recommended by the website GlassandPotterySellers.org. With peanuts, the website suggests putting them at least 1.5 inches around the item. It also suggests taping items to keep the protective material in place but not to mummify it. Otherwise, the recipient may destroy the item when trying to remove the tape.
As far as taping your package goes, Johnson says, “I strongly recommend using an H-shape when applying tape to seal the box. Not only do you tape the seal parallel to the flaps, but you also form an H by adding two additional strips of tape that are perpendicular to the flaps. This simple step helps contain small items and prevents snagging on the shipping carrier’s automation equipment.”
If you’re sending something truly expensive, insure your package — and you should probably get a professional to pack your item. So much can go wrong, especially if the item is relatively fragile, like artwork.
“For example, commonly used Food and Drug Administration-grade plastic wrap is a very useful solution for enveloping framed, two-dimensional artworks, but that same material can bond to other plastic surfaces, causing irreparable damage,” Davis says.
For instance, you may pack artwork with the aforementioned packing peanuts, but Davis points out that aside from being a mess, “they can produce a static-electrical charge that can alter graphite, charcoal and pastel surfaces even under glass.”
Or consider Styrofoam peanuts. They’re cheap, but “without an inner layer of protective wrapping can create microclimate-related scars on delicate photographs and varnish.”
And the bigger the package, the more likely something will go wrong. It’s four times more likely that a large item — a piece of furniture, say — will be broken than a small package, says Rob Howard, CEO of the San Francisco-based Grand Junction Inc., which offers businesses national, same-day deliveries.
How fast does it need to get there? If you want snappy service, you’ll pay for that. If you just want it there safely and the arrival date doesn’t matter, the rates will be cheaper.
But pay particular attention to postal zones, says Bob Herman, co-founder and president of ShipTropolis, an app that strives to reduce shipping costs for businesses. If you ship a package in your own zone, you’ll pay less, and it’ll get where it needs to go faster. If you ship a package in a zone far, far away … well, you get the idea.
“One of the best secrets is to use the low-cost ground shipping method when shipping within a zone and still get next-day or second-day service,” Herman says.
Of course, you can overdo it and send yourself into a spiral of despair, worrying about whether you’re getting the best deal. In the end, as long as you feel that whatever you’re sending isn’t going to break — or you’re at least insured if it does — look at the bright side. If you’re not driving or flying it there yourself, you’re coming out ahead.
More from U.S. News
8 Ways You Can Prepare Now for Next Year’s Taxes
10 Ways to Stay in Shape on a Budget
8 Hacks to Ease Your Financial Life
The Best Ways to Save on Shipping Costs (and Headaches) originally appeared on usnews.com
