Sending something heavy: the box, the tape, and the bottom that has to hold it
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Shipping books, tools, or a dinner set? With heavy packages, the bottom almost always gives out. Here's how to choose box size, tape, and void fill so your shipment arrives intact.
You've sold a box full of books, a set of cast-iron pans, or you're sending tools to a customer. The box is sealed, you lift it, and at the parcel point, the bottom gives way on the counter. This isn't because the cardboard was bad, but because a heavy box is stressed differently than a light one — and that requires different choices when packing.
Heavy shipments come in waves. After summer, people clear out and resell, in autumn, people move house, and webshops dealing with liquids, books, or metal encounter this all year round. Below is what exactly goes wrong and how to prevent it.
Why a heavy box fails differently than a light one
Corrugated cardboard is strong along the length of the flutes and weak across them. With a light package, you barely notice this difference. With a heavy package, all the mass ends up in two places: the bottom seam, where the flaps meet, and the bottom five centimeters of the side walls, where the box must prevent itself from collapsing like an accordion.
Then there's movement. A package is sorted, stacked, and sometimes tilted during transport. Each time the contents shift a centimeter, the box takes a hit from the inside. With ten kilograms, that's a jolt your cardboard remembers.
Also, check your carrier's terms and conditions before shipping. Carriers have a maximum weight per package and often charge a surcharge above a certain weight; what that limit is varies per carrier and per contract. Check it on the website of the party you are shipping with, and don't rely on what used to apply.
Smaller is stronger: choose by weight, not volume
The biggest misconception with heavy shipments is that everything must go into one large box. A large box filled with something heavy is actually the most vulnerable: the support surface of the bottom doesn't get larger, but the weight does.
The rule of thumb: the heavier the contents per liter, the smaller the box. Books, tiles, tools, and bottles go into a compact box that you fill completely. Light bulky items — pillows, clothing, styrofoam — can go into the large box. For compact heavy shipments, the 15 x 15 x 15 cm cardboard shipping box for €1.99 works well; its cube shape distributes pressure evenly across four walls.
If you need to ship more, divide it among several boxes instead of one giant one. Two packages of ten kilograms are more likely to arrive intact than one of twenty, and they are also easier to lift. For larger, less heavy shipments — consider household goods when moving — the moving box of 480 x 430 x 330 mm for €3.50 with its 50-liter capacity is the logical choice, provided you don't fill it to the brim with books.
The bottom is the culprit nine out of ten times
Never only seal the center seam. Work according to the H-method: one strip over the seam in the middle, and then a strip perpendicular to it at both ends, so that the pattern forms a horizontal H. Let each strip extend at least five centimeters over the side wall; that's where the tear occurs.
For ten kilograms or more, add three more things:
Double tape the bottom. Two strips next to each other over the seam, not just one.
Place an extra sheet of cardboard on the bottom. Cut it from a discarded box, exactly fitting. It distributes point loads from, for example, a book spine.
Also tape the top using the same H method. A box that opens from the top loses its rigidity.
Use packaging tape at least 48 mm wide. For occasional use, a roll of KINZO packaging tape 50 meters for €3.00 is sufficient. If you ship more often, a set of 6 tape rolls 48 x 66 mm for €21.00 is more practical, and those who work with stock can opt for the box with 36 rolls for €108.00 — which comes down to €3.00 per roll. If you use a dispenser, like the Kinzo tape dispenser with 2 rolls for €9.95, you apply the strip more tightly than by hand, and that really makes a difference for heavy boxes.
Fill until nothing moves
With a heavy package, void fill is not a luxury but a structural necessity. Space in the box means the contents can gain momentum during transport, and ten kilograms accelerating by a centimeter hits the wall with considerable force.
Work from the inside out: the heaviest items at the bottom and in the middle, lighter items around them, and fill the remaining space with bubble wrap — a 500 mm wide roll costs €12.95 — or with crumpled paper. Then do the shake test: pick up the sealed box and move it. If you hear or feel anything moving, you need to add more.
Wrap loose components separately before they go into the box. Metal against metal grinds through cardboard; wrap tools or pans individually.
Labeling, lifting, and dropping off
With a thick marker from a set of 4 markers for €4.00, indicate on the side which way is up if it matters. Remove old labels and barcodes from reused boxes or make them unreadable; two barcodes on one box lead to incorrect sorting.
If you're sending something valuable, place a VOID security seal over the bottom seam; 60 pieces cost €9.95. If the box is opened en route, you'll see it. Before sealing, take a photo of the contents and afterwards one of the sealed box with the label — in case of a damage claim, this is the difference between getting paid or not.
Finally, lift the box yourself before dropping it off. If you can't carry it comfortably, neither can the delivery person, and it will end up being dragged along the ground somewhere. For opening and cutting cardboard to size, use a snap-off blade knife from the 8-piece warehouse knife set for €4.95, and cut shallowly so the contents remain intact.
What you better not combine
Heavy and fragile in one box. The heavy always wins. Pack separately or separate with a sturdy divider.
Liquids with paper. If something leaks, the entire shipment is unusable.
A heavy box in a second, much larger box. The inner box will shift and bash open the outer box.
Reused boxes that have been damp. Corrugated cardboard that has been wet loses strength, even if it feels dry again.
What you have lying around saves the most
Most damage is not caused by poor material, but because there is no suitable box available at the time of packing, and then something too large is chosen. Two or three standard sizes in stock solve this. For box sizes and moving boxes, see Boxes and Packing & Shipping, for rolls and dispensers see Tape, and for larger quantities see Bulk Packs for Webshops. If you don't know which size fits what you're sending, email info@verpakkingdeals.nl with the dimensions and weight — we'll help you find out.
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