More than 80 percent of packages are returned due to the product being damaged or broken. As a seller or business owner all these things are disheartening and discouraging. The overwhelming amount of returned parcels causes a loss for both customer and seller.
If you are someone who is thinking of shipping and supplying delicate and fragile items then you should be aware of all the things like what are considered fragile items and the problems which are faced by the seller and the shipper.
By any chance if you are unaware of the challenges caused while shipping the fragile items.
Then worry not, as we are going to discuss these challenges as well as a lot of new things like what are the things which are considered fragile items.
If that is what you are looking for then stay with us!
Keep reading!
What are fragile items for shipping?
First of all, it is important to know what classifies as fragile items when we talk about shipping. All of us must have seen boxes on which a custom packaging tape of fragile handles with care is written. Now, we know that most items are at risk of damage when we are talking about shipping.
Especially the things which are made from easily breakable material, we will talk about them with some fragile item example.
Vintage items
Vintage items are the old items which have survived the troll of time. Everything deteriorates with time but these items are not only highly prone to damage but are considered high-value items as well.
As damaged high-value items are going to cost more than normal fragile items.
Glassware
As we know that glass is fragile items things like cutlery or decorative items. All these things are high-risk to ship which makes it challenging to ship. Not just that broken or shattered glass pieces can hurt the handler as well as the customer.
Ceramics
Just like glass, ceramics are also quite hard to ship as this material tends to crack even at the slightest force. The thing about ceramic is that a single crack will result in ruining the whole thing.
The most shipped ceramic material item is Clay which itself is a delicate material.
Electronic devices
Electronic devices are one of the most bought items online that being said, it does not make your task any easier as electronic items where shipped carelessly tend to have internal damage.
Many times when a customer gets broken or damaged stuff, 65% chances are that they will return it and will not buy from the same company or brand again which is sad.
As an unboxing experience for the customer who has ordered products or things online look forward to the unboxing experience which is important for bridging the gap between the seller and customer.
What are the problems faced by shipping companies while shipping fragile items?
Till now, we have talked about the impact of shipping damaged products as well as what would qualify as fragile items.
In this section, we will talk about the problems that are faced by shipping companies while shipping fragile items.
We have a list of all the things that can act as a potential threat to our parcels and packages.
Theft
Theft is something that all packages are prone to yet the items which are under the title of being fragile have a high probability of being stolen.
Stolen packages are a total loss to both parties as neither the customer nor the seller can get them back. Such cases of theft are common with high-end and high-value products as well.
If you are shipping these fragile items to an international customer then you should be careful with them as many cases of theft are seen to be around the international border.
Friction
Friction is the enemy of these kinds of shipping items. As continuous friction can lead to the disfigurement of the product or get permanent damage to it.
As customers will not keep a product which is even slightly damaged as they have paid for it.
Friction can be avoided by wrapping it and cushioning the empty space with filler items.
Moisture
As many items are considered as fragile as well as delicate some of them being electronic appliances and we all are well aware of how moisture or humidity affects earbuds smartphones and all the important day-to-day things that we all are used to.
Thou we can easily avoid it by using custom packaging tape which has fragile printed on it. When we pack the parcel properly with a packaging tape that acts as a barrier between the outer environment and the product.
Tampering
Other than theft, the problem of tampering is another thing that is responsible for returning parcels back to the seller which is a losing deal as a seller has to pay for the expense again.
Tampering can go from some minor stealing to some major tampering like mixing harmful substances or other harmful objects that can cause harm to the customer.
We can tackle this problem with the help of the latest packaging solutions that are tamper-evident. Things such as tamperproof courier bags are the best options to prevent such incidents.
Terrain
The longer the distance the product has to travel, the higher its chances to get damaged. No matter, how well you pack a product it is quite understandable that the distance matters a lot in shipping the parcel to the customer.
Terrain as we said plays an important role in deciding what kind of packaging is required for a certain type of product.
As a parcel which is going to be shipped around in dry areas with very little rainfall like deserts, it is important to make sure you use packaging that will prevent the damage caused by the sunlight.
In the same manner, we need to do all kinds of checks and verification before we plan to design or pack our parcel for the project.
A simple wrap-up
We are at the end of the blog where we have talked about the challenges that are faced by the sellers and shippers when they ship delicate and fragile items.
Here, we have talked about what items are considered fragile items for shipping as well as we have tried to give a little solution for these problems as well.
Hope you liked this blog.
Thank you for reading till the end.
