How to Pack and Ship Signs
There are signs all around us, we’re not just talking about fortune-telling, the spiritual kind. You can find signs on walls, outside coffee shops and clothing stores, and even hanging on your buddies’ headboards. With e-commerce platforms like Etsy, artists can become online sellers and create handmade signs for clients…and that requires shipping knowledge. Packaging and shipping signs can be a tricky business, but luckily, this article covers all the basics you need to get started. let’s start!
Table of contents
Properly packed shipping sign
First things first: let’s talk about packaging. You don’t want to use plastic bags or anything fragile when shipping the sign. Instead, you need to use a brand new corrugated cardboard box, and choosing the right size is critical. You don’t want to use a box that is too small or your logo won’t fit (obviously). On the other hand, you also shouldn’t use a box that leaves too much space inside. If you can help, you don’t want your logo to move in the box at all. If so, there’s a chance it could break, or at least take some damage.
The key is to find a brand new corrugated box, Leave a few inches of space between your logo and the wall of the box. Creating such a large space will give you enough room to put enough cushioning material around your logo, which we’ll discuss next.
If you are in the market for some cartons, ULINE has the widest range of cartons of all sizes.
Consider packaging materials such as bubble wrap, air pillows, and Styrofoam liners
You can never use too much packing material when wrapping your sign the right way. In this case, a bubble wrap that tightly wraps your logo and tape is a good option. The more you can use the better! Once your logo is completely covered with bubble wrap, you can also fill in the empty spaces inside the box with packing peanuts, air pillows, or Styrofoam liner. Of course, nothing is foolproof, but this combination of packaging materials will help prevent signs from cracking or being damaged in transit to customers.
Pro tip: When you browse the boxes on the ULINE website, be sure to check out the packaging! They have it all, including different sizes of bubble wrap, perfect for cushioning and protecting your logo.
Flat cardboard boxes may incur a surcharge for irregular packages
This is a big mistake many inexperienced shippers make: do not Pack your logo in an ultra-thin box!The industry calls these types of packages “cardboard sandwiches,” and each carrier classifies them as irregular package. Therefore, each carrier may charge you a surcharge when sending these types of packages. In our experience, you are better off using a larger cardboard box and filling it with packing material, as we outlined in the previous section. This way, you won’t incur any unexpected surcharges after purchasing postage.
USPS Will Offer Cheapest Shipping Mark Rates
If your sign is smaller in size (like the one pictured above), then USPS offers the best combination of affordable price and fast delivery. USPS is the premier shipping carrier for lightweight, small packages, and they always offer cheaper rates than other competitors for such packages. Since most homemade, handcrafted signs fall into this category, USPS may be your carrier of choice for sending your signs.
Of course, if you’re shipping large signs that don’t meet USPS rates, then UPS or FedEx would be your best option. Both UPS and FedEx allow larger maximum weights (150 lbs per package vs. 70 lbs for USPS)…but these rates will undoubtedly be more expensive than what USPS offers. You can also look for trucking companies that specialize in semi-trucks for oversized shipments.
Protect your package with shipping insurance
When shipping with USPS, you may immediately get some built-in protection. All Priority Mail packages come with $100 of built-in insurance when you purchase postage online through a third-party postage provider. While that’s a decent amount of protection, it’s not enough if your logo happens to be worth over $100. If this happens to you, we recommend that you use shipping insurance to protect your package.
Shipping insurance costs about $1 for every $1 of value declared when purchasing labels, and while these costs add up to a higher value shipment, it’s still totally worth it if anything goes wrong with your package. At the end of the day, if your box is lost, or if your logo is damaged inside your packaging, insurance will cover you in full. Unfortunately, these things do happen, so in our opinion, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Offset any surcharges with discounts on shipping software
Anyone who has ever shipped an item with a similar logo will not be unfamiliar with the reality of exorbitant postage.The truth is that sometimes you cannot Avoid sending cardboard sandwiches or just sending a bigger box than you expect…this will result in a higher-than-normal price on the shipping label. Since this is the case, saving the most on postage is absolutely critical…that’s where online shipping software comes into play.
When you buy postage online with shipping software, you can take advantage of special discount levels reserved by the Postal Service for large commercial shippers. This special level of savings with USPS is called USPS Commercial Pricing.In some cases, these discounts can Save up to 89% The cost of sending the exact same package at the post office…plus, you don’t have to go there in the first place!
In addition to saving money, shipping software lets you print postage at home and skip those long lines that no one likes waiting. You can even schedule a package pickup so you don’t have to leave your home or office if you don’t want to.We will explain it for you simply: By using shipping software, you can save time and money.Since we’re on the topic of signs…if That is Not a logo, we don’t know what it is!
Looking for shipping software that’s right for you?
to Get the biggest discount on USPS shipping labelscheck out our guide:
Choosing the Best Shipping Software
