I have just read a guide relating to insurance claims on fragile (ceramic) items.  This was a well written guide and contained some good advice for sellers.  I was prompted to contribute by way of this guide for 2 reasons:

1.)  I was sent a £300 Lalique glass figure some time back and paid an aditional £5 for insurance.  When the item was received it was very badly chipped with glass splinters in the packaging.  The box it was sent in was crushed on the corners indicating it had been dropped at least once and possiblly the packing material was inadequate as the sharp end of the figure had burst the bubbles in the bubble wrap (see below).  I photographed the item and e-mailed the seller within 30 minutes of receipt.  The seller was very helpful and instigated a claim against Royal Mail and offered me a full refund.  Royal Mail then offered me the chance to purchase the item as salvage.  I offered £20 and they accepted, deducting this from the sellers refund.  All in all not a bad outcome.  I'm very glad to have spent that extra fiver.

2.)  I worked in the past as an export packer for a total of 24 years.  In this time I packed anything and everything to all corners of the Earth.  From Chris Bonnington's suppies to Everest base camps to removing the personal effects from number 10 for a certain Lady Prime Minister (as an aside she gave us what was easily the best tip in 24 years). 

I will pass on a few tips for safe packaging as follows:

Get some good vinyl parcel tape and a sharp stanley knife.  Save all the cardboard and any other packaging you can.  Find a local industrial estate where the skips are full of packaging and a few words in the right ear will get you as much free material as you will ever need.  They have to pay to get rid of it!  If you want specialist items use your imagination - need cardboard tubes for fishing rods? - visit the nearest carpet outlet they will have it by the mile!  

Heavy non-fragile items - make the box fit the item and do not use cushioning material. The following example is for an item such as a heavy metal sign.  Flatten a cardboard box and cut down one side to open out into a sheet.  Place the item in the centre and fold the box around it the way the lines of the box run. Then cut the cardboard to allow it to be folded over the ends scoring with the back of the knife to make a clean fold.  If the item is cast iron or could be chipped you can repeat the process using a sheet of bubble wrap between the 2 layers of cardboard.  Tape all joints and label well.  Use return address labels too.

Fragile items - Use a box suitable for the item.  Remember that the van will be full of other items which may fall and crush your package.  Dont use a lightweight flimsey box just because the item is light.  To be really sure pack the item into one box and then that box into another.  You fill the gap between the two boxes with either scrappy pieces of bubble wrap or scrunched up newspaper, put plenty of air into the newspaper when scrunching it and it is a fantastic shock absorber and the cheapest material available.  Mark as fragile.  Use waterproof marker and drawing a wine glass showing the correct orientation of the box speaks volumes even to the few van drivers that cannot read.

DVDs - Copy the top boys like Play.com or Amazon. Place item into a plastic bag or clingfilm to stop scratches, use a piece of card 2" longer than the dvd or cd and fold it around it, tape the joint and a couple of staples in each end to close and away you go.

Bubble wrap is not the be all and end all for packing.  The bubbles are only working when they have air in them.  Pack something heavy with sharp edges and it will be useless.  It can also mark polished wooden surfaces very quickly, especially in the back of a truck in the summer. For really delicate objects such as figurines fluff up some tissue paper to make a bed, lay the figirine on it and another tissue pad on top. Wrap this in newspaper like a portion of fish & chips and place in box cushioned on all sides with crumpled paper.  If possible use manufacturers original packing.

It's not rocket science but I have received some very poorly wrapped items in the past and if this helps anyone I'm glad to be of service.

If you require any information or advice on packing specific items please contact me.

Oh yes I forgot to mention being in charge of moving thousands of objects from the Tower of London to the new Royal Armouries at Leeds.  A project that took 18 months to complete and the collection worth £MMMMM's

Pack safe out there.

Colin