I don’t know about you, but the thing I hate the most when I ship anything overseas is packing. Not waiting at the post office, but packing. the. parcel.

Besides hunting for bubble wrap, I have to worry about many things, such as: (1) getting a good box (2) if I packed the item securely, and… (3) did I already mention getting a good box?

(FYI: The size of your box can INCREASE your shipping costs! Don’t believe me? Read our article on “volumetric weight” to find out how your bill can jump by $60 or more because you bought a bad box)

Fear not – read this article to find out my top three tips!

1. Resize your box with tape

It is a standard practice in the shipping industry to charge higher fees for bigger boxes. Imagine if your item is only 1kg, but it’s huge – you’re gonna need a bigger box. This bigger standard-sized box will unfortunately jack up your parcel’s volumetric weight, leaving you with a higher shipping cost.

We’re not talking a few dollars here – a $23 package can jump to $87!

So what can you do? Well, simply take your standard box, cut it up and custom size it. Use tons of masking tape to stitch up the box. If you need more help, you can check out this handy YouTube tutorial.

Or simply save yourself the fuss and pack it with our all-in-one shipping service!

2. Use crumpled newspapers in the absence of bubble wrap

Bubble-wrap is usually a must for cushioning (and addictive popping sprees), but sometimes you might just be too lazy to get up and buy some. Sometimes, you might not even know where to get a roll!

If you don’t want to go out and buy a roll, you can consider using crumpled newspaper. Yes, take your copy of yesterday’s news and crush it into balls of paper. The structure of crumpled paper creates air pockets in the crumpled ball, giving your items a cushion!

However, we do not advise skimping on the bubble wrap if you can. Ultimately, you want the package to arrive safely anyway. No broken vases!

3. Leave it to an expert

If we’re being honest, many companies actually have full-time personnel dedicated to packing items. It’s just too cumbersome to acquire materials in-between lunch breaks, or learn how to pack something via YouTube tutorials or wikihows.

The simple truth is: some of us aren’t good with our hands. This can result in higher shipping costs and a greater likelihood of our objects breaking during shipping.

For us, our best advice would be to leave it with an expert. Here at JustShip, we have professional in-house packers that can pack your items securely (with tons of bubble-wrap) and ensure the lowest possible shipping costs. Below is a time-lapse of own very own Ramesh professionally and securely packing an item to be shipped! You can expect the same standards as he packs your items as well! Trust us, you don’t even have to move a muscle.