- Joined
- Oct 11, 2003
- Location
- Gainesville, FL
I've read countless rants about how a box got lost by those idiots at UPS or got smashed by the retards at DHL or got left at the wrong house by the tools at FedEx, and I just shake my head every time. I work at UPS, and have for a couple of years, and I've seen so many of these things happen, I admit. But, so many of them are preventable. Here are a couple of tips to prevent the most common screw UPS.
Tape - tape is your friend. Love tape. Use tape. Lots. One stripe of crappy paper tape will last, oh, about 10 minutes in any kind of humidity/heat/load. 3 stripes minimum on any flaps or opening. That's for a 1# package. Use more for heavier stuff. When I personally ship stuff, I cover the entire box with tape. Not only does this serve to keep the box closed and not popping open, it lets it slide down the chutes and belts better (instead of getting stuck and crushed by the 100# mini motor cycle in a box behind it). Use of good clear tape over the label prevents it from being scratched or rubbed off, which means it doesn't get lost or sent to Kalamazoo (or your neighbor).
Crappy tape:
Approved tape:
Tape alternatives
That's all I have for now, but I'll try to add more general tips later.
Tape - tape is your friend. Love tape. Use tape. Lots. One stripe of crappy paper tape will last, oh, about 10 minutes in any kind of humidity/heat/load. 3 stripes minimum on any flaps or opening. That's for a 1# package. Use more for heavier stuff. When I personally ship stuff, I cover the entire box with tape. Not only does this serve to keep the box closed and not popping open, it lets it slide down the chutes and belts better (instead of getting stuck and crushed by the 100# mini motor cycle in a box behind it). Use of good clear tape over the label prevents it from being scratched or rubbed off, which means it doesn't get lost or sent to Kalamazoo (or your neighbor).
Crappy tape:
- White Paper Tape
- High-Performance Filament Tape
This tape has great tensile strength. And also becomes incredibly brittle and loses all adhesive under any amount of heat. I have seen countless boxes that came through open, with one piece of this tape flapping on the side.
- Box Sealing Tape
This tape is stretch resistant. Which means it snaps when under load. Which means open box. Maybe good for sealing a box and putting it in a closet?
- Gummed Kraft Sealing Tape
This is the absolute worst. You are better off licking a piece of ribbon and putting it on the box. Tears easily (wet or dry), doesn't stick well, doesn't slide well. How they call it tape, I do not know.
Approved tape:
- Super Strength Packaging Tape
This stuff is what we use cases of at work fixing other people's shoddy tape jobs. It sticks and stays, stretches enough to not snap, can be used over address labels or tracking labels
Tape alternatives
- metal/plastic straps - if you tape on top of a strapped package, you're probably ok. But nobody does that. Straps are not, nor will ever be, a suitable substitute for good tape. They break frequently. They sometimes simply slide off (packages get smaller in the system, not bigger...). They provide monkey package handlers an opportunity to use only one hand to throw the package instead of properly handling it with two hands at opposite corners
- wooden boxes - these work pretty good when nailed together. They tend to add alot of weight, and you probably have to pay for an Irregular shipment, but they survive pretty well
- rubbermaid containers - these also work well, when the lid is secured with zipties through the edge or a lock. enough give, thick, durable tape-free shipping container
- shrink wrap - comes off, because it's like using a whole roll of clear tape, but without the sticky part. Bad to use as a substitute, probably ok to use as a suppliment over a good taped box
That's all I have for now, but I'll try to add more general tips later.