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Some Thoughts on Mailing Packages in the U.S.
After working for the Post Office for over 14 years I know all too well just how badly our mail can be handled, even on a short trip. The lower classes (like parcel post and media mail) are especially at risk.
At a typical Post Office, as parcels are received for mailing they are placed (often tossed) into a large wheeled container roughly 8 feet by 4 feet by about 6 feet tall. At the end of the day these containers are loaded onto a truck and taken to a mail processing center, where they are, literally, picked up and dumped onto the sorting conveyors. Picture one of those big, commercial garbage trucks lifting a dumpster to transfer its contents into the truck. Big parcels, small parcels, heavy, light... they all get dumped together! Pity the small, fragile package that finds itself underneath a 25 pound box of books as they land on the conveyor belt.
My personal rules for mailing: 1. If you don't want it to be bent, make it impossible to bend. Writing 'Do Not Bend' on the envelope is not enough. Use plenty of cardboard or other stiffening materials. 2. If it's fragile, use enough packing so it can be dropped from shoulder height without damaging the contents. Best of all is to wrap your item with bubble-wrap, place it into a box with foam peanuts filling any empty space. Then place this box into an outer box that will allow for at least two inches of peanuts all around the inner box. 3. If it's valuable, insure it. But remember, insurance is NOT a substitute for proper packaging. The Post Office (and UPS) will deny your insurance claim if the package was not properly packed. 4. If it's irreplaceable, send it by Registered Mail. This class of Mail has to be signed for every time it changes hands. It's the safest way to send high-value items through the mail. Even banks use it sometimes for sending cash or negotiable bonds! 5. Lastly, if you just don't trust the Post Office, UPS, FEDEX, etc. then hand-deliver it yourself! |
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