For years I worked as a Designer for the world's largest paper gepany designingthe structural design of packaging for everything from grandfather clocks to ice pack poultry. Then I worked as a Senior Packaging Engineer for a major catalog gepany, traveling abroad to teach manufacturers how to package for mail order. I have been buying on okay for a few years now and have learned that it doesn't hurt to offer the seller some good ideas for protecting your new found treasure!
If you are shipping a Fragile or painted item, know that it will be shaken and vibrated thousands of times. From one place to another it is handled 10 to 50 times. Your package will be dropped, stacked on, thrown, shaken, rubbed, and bumped. The material you use to pack your item can be the biggest cause of damage to it. Always remember:
Paper, tho it feels smooth is VERY abrasive.An item wrapped in paper,in the back of a truck, for hundreds of miles, rocking back and forth can rub the finish off anything. Paper does make a good inexpensive wrapping but use a piece of plastic or Saran Wrap first, before the paper to insure the piece will arrive gepletely intact.
Recycling packaging materials: Use plastic grocery bags, zip lock bags, used cleaners bags, used sheets of poly foam, Saran wrap, stretch wrap, inside out diapers are great for packaging (not used...pleeeze). They have padding built right in. For small items cut up egg cartonscan beused as a protective capsule. I also use styrofoam egg cartons as corner and edge protection. I save almost any clean material as packaging filler. It's fine to use a larger box if you can suspend the item and give it protection on all sides and corners. I save foam of all types but I try to shy away from styrofoam peanuts. Styrofoam peanuts are good shock absorber for the insides of things but in transit tests I saw soooo many times that an item will move through styrofoam peanuts unless they are packed VERY tightly. The side of the box that the item moves to is always the side of the box that sustains a drop. Peanuts also make such a mess when you open a box that has built up some good static electricity over a long ride of shaking and rocking.
The following is a list of some other package fillers and protectors...don't laugh...I believe in recycling not just for profit.
toilet paper tubes...paper towel tubes...wrapping paper tubes...wax paper tubes...poster mailing tubes...any block styrofoam...broken up coolers or the boxes you get from Omaha steaks! (I use the boxes to cover my roses in winter and use the covers as spacers in packaging.) I also save egg cartons...shredded bills...fast food drink holders... small folding cartons... paper cups... old towels... sheets... T-shirts...cookie and cereal boxes...pizza boxes... corrugated pads like the pads under cakes or pizzas... corks from wine or champagne... paper sacks... washed out plastic plant pots...and even washed out aluminum cans ! Basically,I saveanything that can act as space filler to allow me to suspend an item inside another box. Everything gets packaging scrutiny before it hits the trash! I also always include a thank you note thanking the receiver for allowing me to help save the planet by recycling.
A note about stretch wrap...
It's rather expensive to buy a large roll of stretch wrap but if you can find a half used roll or get some from a friend, stretch wrap is the best surface protector because it sticks to itself and not your product. It is very good for protecting but also good to hold protectors in place! When I've moved furniture in the past, I wrapped a piece of stretch wrap around the corners, then wadded paper over the corners and continued the stretch wrap to hold the paper wadded paper in place with anotherlength of stretch wraparound the corners. My furnitue never sustained a scratch!
What it all boils down to is using your imagination. Imagine being shaken in the back of a truck for miles and miles. How would you like to be packaged?
Please also see "A Few Packaging Mistakes and Inexpensive Solutions!" for other pointers.
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