What are some tips for shipping a bunch of textbooks via USPS media mail?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>What type of packaging should I use and where should I get it? Is it ever advisable to ship 10-15 books in the same package? Or will there be friction between the books that could damage them during transport. Is it possible or advisable to use padding at all?</p>

<p>Ideally I'd like to ship 10 books in the same package b/c it's simply cheaper that way but it could result in damage.</p>

<p>Is it okay if I use an old Amazon box as packaging? Or any other type of old box?</p>

2

<p>Buy a cardboard box. That’s the only way you can ship 10 books in the same package.</p>

3

<p>What type of cardboard box though? Some cardboard boxes are a lot more vulnerable to breaking than others, especially if they carry massive hardcover textbooks.</p>

4

<p>Wrap it in packing tape; it’ll give the cardboard a lot of extra toughness. Also, insure every box for what it’s worth and write down an inventory for each box. I shipped four big boxes filled with books when I moved across the country, and the only box that was damaged and a week later was the one I didn’t insure.</p>

5

<p>Thanks so much for the tips! (and PS: I found your advice in a lot of old threads to be very helpful too). Do you know how much the extra insurance would cost? Could there be a point where insurance would be more expensive than simply switching the shipping over to Fedex/UPS?</p>

<p>PS - I’ll PM you a picture of what my stuff looks like right now.</p>

6

<p>About six years ago it was a total bill of around $100 to mail everything including something like $2k worth of insurance between all of the boxes. It’ll always be cheaper than UPS/FedEx. $100 might sound like a lot, but it’s actually a pretty good deal versus any other shipping method (unless you’re doing a full move with a professional moving company with tons of other stuff).</p>

<p>I would go onto the USPS website and find out what the size and weight limits are for boxes going media mail. I think the weight limit is 50 pounds, and there’s some sort of dimensional limits, as well.</p>

7

<p>Okay thanks! I’m also wondering - if I’m putting an insurance value on the items, should I account for depreciation due to the fact that the value of textbooks often tends to depreciate with time? What if some textbooks already have a bit of damage?</p>

8

<p>There are insurance policies out there that cover the cost you paid for the item, not current market value, so that’s what I’d go with.</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>And for very heavy books, use filament reinforced packing tape that is at least two inches wide:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.self-adhesive-tapes.com/photo/pl225814-strong_adhesive_fiberglass_reinforced_filament_tape_for_wood_materials_furnishings_packing.jpg[/url]”>http://www.self-adhesive-tapes.com/photo/pl225814-strong_adhesive_fiberglass_reinforced_filament_tape_for_wood_materials_furnishings_packing.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;