Packaging merchandise for shipment.

One of my pet peeves is the packaging that is used bysome sellers. I have recently received several improperly packaged items that were damaged during shipping because of that packaging. I do not think that this was dome intentionally but merely because of the need to be educated about packaging. I have been selling mail-ordersince 1980and do have some good ideas for okay sellers about this topic.
The first bit of advice I can give is to create a mindset for yourselfthat after you have sold an item it no longer belongs to you. Therefore, it should be treated as someone else's property. I also believe that most people would rather pay alittle extra for handling to insure proper packaging, than to receive an item that is damaged.
Here are some tipsabout packaging:

1. Use heavy cardboard when packaging.
2. Do not use Post Office boxes turned inside outfor shipping flat items; the cardboard is not heavy enough and things get bent!U.S.Post Office Boxesareto be used as boxes only not to ship flat! Plus it is against USPS regulations
3.Find a local appliance store, geputer store, bread distribution center, supermarket, or a similar store. Most are willing to let you have cardboard boxes - usually the cardboard is heavy enough for packaging.
4.Spend a few minutes extra with a sharp cutting tool and cut the boxes into the size you need.
5.Make sure that flat items such as various documents, magazines andsheet music are wrapped in plastic before they are placed inside the shipping container (this protects them if the cardboard gets wet). There are wholesalers who sell bags for such purposes - or you can used food storage bags.
6.Make sure you wrap your items tightly - allowing them to shift and move inside the box will damage the corners
7.Make sure you write: "Please Do Not Fold or Bend" on the outside of your package.
8. Do not package flat items with afold in the cardboard at the center of the item unless you re-enforce it. (It usually will bend at that spot and damage the item inside).
9. Be sure the cardboard is larger than the item you are shipping inside the package - corners and edges get damaged easily.
10. Be sure to use bubble wrap whenshippingtoys, glassware, plasticware, anything that can be damaged or is fragile,etc. - bubble wrap gees with large and small bubbles.
11. Fragile bubble-wrappeditems should be then placed in the center of a larger box with crumpled newspaper or foam "peanuts"surrounding them, I have found that plastic grocery store or thank-you bags crumpled to a great job as well.
12.Be sure to write"Fragile" on the outside of these boxes.
I know many of these things are just gemon sense BUT I amsure some of theseideas will help you!
If you start out wrapping properly when you first start selling on okay, you will be ahead of the game and not have customers who are unhappy with merchandise that is damaged during shipping because of poor packaging.