Part 1
However you define it, torn or crushed packages are a nightmare for both the customer and the seller. There is a immediate feeling of mistrust along with anger from both parties that will require extended dialogue and effort to recover the damages by the loss of merchandise.
As every seller has experienced at one time or another, a customer calls with this scenario about their recent purchase. The behavior of past experiences with scoundrels who claim to have damages, only later to discover you have been the recipient of a scam, creeps into the context of this recent dilemma. Most, (99.9%) rock people are truly honest individuals, let’s not consider the .1% that aren’t for this article.
Where does the problem lie? From speaking with a couple of different Postal Managers I have come to a better understanding on how and why these packages arrive in such poor shape. Of course, often the first response is, the shipper didn’t do enough to safe guard the shipment, I will cover this later in the article as well as any other obviously missed items or explanations. But when I continued to speak with the manager I learned new equipment has been installed to speed up the process of sorting packages. Gone are the days when people sorted the mail. So without getting too technical I will describe the process to the best of my ability.
Similar to how a baggage conveyor works, the packages are loaded onto it from the plane’s cargo hold, the package then travels to another conveyor which sends the item on to the sorting machine. As it passes a scanner, which reads the bar code, the item is then diverted to the appropriate conveyor to be sorted again. This is the second area for potential damage. As it is diverted, the package can become hung up or jammed by another package at the chute and as the force of oncoming packages increases, thereby causing the corner of the package to tear open and possibly spill the contents. Since this is automated, there is no one available to retrieve the goods until someone notices the damaged package and reseals it. At this point that individual does not know where the damage occurred and can only continue to watch for any other abnormalities.
The first reason is really common sense. Most of our packages are heavy, especially if they contain large pieces of rough or many slabs. The parcels can attain weights up to 25 pounds or more. Imagine yourself as a sorter with thousands of pieces of mail or packages coming at you rather quickly, most are a few ounces and at best a couple of pounds, all disguised as the same shape box. Then out of the thousands of items, one weighs 25 pounds and it isn’t balanced weight. The worker looses their grip and the package falls. No label was on the package indicating it is heavy or if it is fragile. The customer ends up with the item damaged.
So far I have talked about mechanical and human error, but what do we really think is going on after the package leaves our control? Most of us, myself included, believe the old luggage commercial from the sixties. You know the one where the gorilla is slinging and jumping on the luggage as it leaves the plane! This may be a part of the problem, but on the scale of the postal system and the number of eyes watching, I don’t believe that type of behavior is widespread.
The question arises, What can we do as shippers to ensure safe delivery of our merchandise to its intended destination? The following diagram and pictures will help each of us to minimize the negative results with a pro-active approach on how we package and label our shipments.
Packing the material for safe arrival is your primary concern. It really doesn’t matter what the outside of the box looks like, but that the contents has survived the ordeal of Postal Handling. Be sure to wrap slabs and rough individually; newspaper does well if you scrunch it up first and then wrap several layers over the padded rock, it actually acts very similar to bubble wrap another favorite packing material. Then there is my all time nemesis, peanuts! Why do we use these little critters? Everyone of us who receives a package with them in it curses them and the shipper while we diligently pick them from all the nooks and crannies, while every time we move they cling somewhere else. What makes this worse is we immediately turn around and do it to someone else feeling a small sense of gratification that someone else will suffer a little. In reality we are only perpetuating the angst associated with these little devils. I suppose they wouldn’t be so bad if they were used correctly, but most shippers only put enough in to fill the voids. This really isn’t enough because as the package travels it will shift, settle, and crumble leaving a gap from the original filling and the items still become damaged. Peanuts must be packed tight enough so that the flaps of the box actually compress them and secure the goods from movement. I have vowed to never use them and I take any I receive to the local Mail Box/UPS store and give them back to them. I may in the future notify sellers that if they use them I will not make any future purchase from them. As for slabs, I have found the best way to pack them is to pack them standing up; separated by cardboard and individually wrapped with small bubble wrap. As an additional precaution I also line the inside of the box with the same type of material, to provide added rigidity to the external shell. I try not to ship slabs and rough together, however, some customers refuse to pay for the additional shipping and want them shipped in the same package. I have found that by making an internal compartment using the same principle as mentioned above, you can safely send a few slabs this way. I still caution the buyer, that if they choose this method, even with insurance, I will not be responsible for damage. I cannot emphasize enough, communicate all of your shipping policies to your customers through your ads as well as when you send an invoice!
Now for the part that will ensure all of what you have done will reach its destination, we will cover the correct method of taping a package. Most of us will secure the flaps really well; once around the middle, joining them together, and twice around each end. We may even tape all of the seams, which really does nothing to keep the package from opening. But if the package is dropped from as short of a height as 3 feet and it lands on the corner, the side will burst open and you stand the chance of losing part or all of the content. A simple way to remedy this is to run a layer or two of your regular tape around the outside perimeter or equator of the box. This will keep the box from opening completely. As of yet I have not lost any material even though the boxes arrived split and damaged. See figure 1 for more detail.
Fig.1
The bottom line is, everyone is happy and no one has to go through the unpleasant task of trying to navigate the waters of Postal Insurance Recovery. We all know they will do everything to not pay a claim.
