A big question and concern for most customers when posting a broken piece to me is, will their package arrive with me safe and sound? Despite items being broken already, it’s so disappointing when something arrives with me in many more pieces than when it left its owner.
I’ve received over 250 parcels from customers, and here is my advice for sending them without breaking the bank and saving the environment at the same time.
HOW BROKEN IS YOUR ITEM?
I’ve been there myself, I know how much of a nightmare it is when you drop your favourite item on the floor. It can feel helpless, but after an online search, you might have found my repair service and decided to book. The thing is, your piece does need to be sent to me in Manchester.
It might seem far away, and you’re worried about it being broken further in the post, but there are steps you can take to avoid this. Carefully select each piece and make sure it all fits back together, and you haven’t misplaced any pieces.
A great thing to do was to wrap each piece in fabric. This could be a tea cloth, off-cuts of fabric that you might have lying around, or even scarves that you don’t mind sending away for a few weeks. Some customers use bubble wrap, and this is a good option, but very often I have to throw that away because it’s been taped down. It would obviously be great to never use bubble wrap again, but with some items, it is the best solution, although not ideal.
This plate was sent to me in the post; it started off in two pieces, however, when I opened it, it was in nine! It was wrapped in bubble wrap, but only one was used, and each piece was pushing against the other in the box. When you have wrapped each piece, feel tor edges.
If you can clearly feel the edge of one of the broken pieces, isn’t that enough? Also, put two of the wrapped pieces together. Does it feel like when they connect, there could be a break? If so, wrap each piece again to make sure they can comfortably push against each other, which they will do in the box.
WHICH BOX SHOULD I USE?
Finding a box can take a bit of time. Always go for a double-walled box if you can. This means that if it’s dropped by the shipper, the contents will survive. Accidents do happen, but not all shippers are made equally, and your box needs to be concrete floor proof.
I have had all sorts of boxes sent to me, shoeboxes, veg delivery boxes and wooden boxes. The best thing about these boxes is that they are being reused and recycled. Some boxes arrive quite damaged and have to be thrown into the recycling bin
If you have a strong enough box that will fit your item, please use that, as it will be in good enough condition for me to send it back to you.
WHAT CAN I USE TO FILL THE BOX?
Filling the boxes is as important as wrapping up the ceramics. Because multiple people will be handling your box, it needs to be tilted so the pieces don’t have space to move around inside.
When I’m sending ceramics back to the customers. I use packing peanuts. They are made from potato starch and are fully biodegradable; they can also be dissolved in water, so they are a great, environmentally friendly alternative to extra bubble wrap or plastic filler.
If you don’t have access to packing peanuts, you can use scrunched-up newspaper, put a lot in so the pieces don’t move around. Fabric again, it’s a great alternative. You can use anything you have lying around to make sure the box is tilted. Always send this back to the customer, so no need to worry about it disappearing.
GETTING YOUR BOX READY
Make sure that your box is taped up really well. I recently received one where there were holes in the box, which meant some of the tine broken pieces fell out. I’ve also received a parcel where part of it was open because the tape came away. Luckily, none of the pieces were missing, but it could have been very different.
I use eco tape that is water-activated. This is a professional tape, but you can use alternatives. Wide Washi tape is great, it’s paper-based but strong when used for a parcel. Always use tape that is wider than the gap you’re trying to cover. Some customers have put their parcel in a plastic bag, which again is not environmentally friendly, but it is used when people are worried about the parcel not being sealed properly.
Always make sure you write your return address on the box. If anything happens on the way to me, you want to make sure it can be returned to the sender. Make sure the address is clear and waterproof.
The last thing is to make sure your box can survive a drop to the floor or having other boxes sit on top of it. If you’re happy with that, send it and wait for your repair to arrive home.
