Packing so things stop breaking

Something I see over and over: a shop calls to report breakage, I open the photo, and the box is intact. No dents, no tears. The item inside is cracked.

An intact box with a cracked item means the item has been rattling inside that box the whole way. The truck did nothing wrong. The box is two knuckles wider than the product, the truck moves, the product rattles, and a few hundred kilometres is plenty.

Here is the good news: this is fixable, and fixing it is cheap.

Six fixes you can make today

1. Fit the box, do not oversize it. Simple rule: shake the sealed box. If you hear the item move, it is not ready. No right-sized box on hand, then pack the void tight - do not leave gaps.

2. Fill all six sides. Plenty of shops pad the base and the lid, then stop. With four empty sides the item still slams into the walls. Crumpled newspaper is cheaper than foam and pads just as well.

3. Wrap fragile items individually. Two glasses sitting side by side with nothing between them are two glasses hitting each other. A piece of cardboard cut to fit and slotted in between is enough.

4. Tape an H, not a single strip. Run tape along the opening seam, then across both ends. A single strip down the middle still lets both edges pop when the box is crushed.

5. Put the fragile label on at least two faces. One face means nobody sees it when the box ends up upside down. But do not expect the label to save the goods - the label is a reminder, the padding is what actually holds.

6. Photograph the package before handing it over. This does not stop breakage, but it helps when you file a claim. With a photo the conversation is far easier, both with the carrier and with the customer.

Something I got wrong

When I first helped a shop selling ceramics, I advised thick bubble wrap, thinking thicker meant safer. It turned out that type is slippery - the item slid inside the wrap and still reached the box wall. Two weeks and about a dozen broken orders before I worked it out.

What finally worked was crumpled newspaper, much cheaper. Crumpled paper has friction, so it holds the item still. Bubble wrap is good at absorbing impact, but you have to immobilise the item first.

The lesson: absorbing impact and holding position are two different jobs. Skip one and the packing fails.

When things break anyway

However carefully you pack, some orders break. At that point process matters more than feelings:

• Leave everything as found, photograph both the outer box and the item inside.
• Report immediately, do not batch up several orders and report once. Every carrier has its own claim window.
• Check against the compensation policy currently applied to your shop.

People usually ask me here "how much do I get back". I do not answer with a number, because the amount depends on the policy in force and the goods type, and SPX updates that policy over time. Read the original document, or call me and I will check your specific case.

To be clear: the compensation decision belongs to SPX Express, not to me. I help push the case and follow it through, but I do not decide on their behalf.