Another tip from Mark Jenison!

Editors Note: For shipping PCB's Mark recommends using Pizza Boxes. However, there is a good source of FREE boxes that work great for shipping PCB's in. The post office has Priority Mail boxes (Get the Medium and Large) and FedEx has boxes that work very well too (Medium and Large). Most boards require a Large from either the Post office or FedEx. The FedEx boxes are larger than the Post office's boxes and will accommodate 90% of the boards out there. ( I know, I just put 280+ PCB's in these boxes for Al Gross ). These boxes are FREE from the Post Office and from FedEx, all you have to do is ask for them. The post office even has an 800 number where you can order large quantities of them.

BONUS TIP! If you're trying to figure out how to store your boards, then go get a bunch of these boxes and put each board in its own box, then use a sharpie to write on the box what it is. You can also date the box, write if its working or not, etc... Then you can stack them anyway you want and you don't have to worry about damaging the boards. If you ever sell the boards, they are already packed to be shipped!

Here is his Tip:

I was doing some packaging last night and it reminded me of some good and bad experiences that I've had with shipping, and it occurred to me what my next article should be about....

The References section is kind of weak, so if anyone has some good references for places to get packaging materials, please append them to this thread.

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Small Tip #8

A lot of sales take place on the newsgroup, and in most cases, the person you're dealing with is far away. Other than the typical problems, like arranging the sale, how to send the money/item, trusting the other person will do the same, etc, chances are an item of some sort is factored into the transaction, and that item will need to be shipped. Here's a few shipping tips from me, and a compilation of most of the shipping tips that I found in Deja News.

Things you'll most likely need:

Bubble wrap: Bubble wrap comes in several varieties, from small bubbles (thin) to large, 1" bubbles (thick). For shipping, I almost always use the thick stuff. Also, for electronics, you'll want to use anti-static bubble wrap, which is in either pink or green (green signifies that it is also bio-degradable).

Tape: Packaging or mailing tape. Most packaging tapes you see in the stores are going to be able to do the job. Just make sure you use a sufficient amount.

Boxes and cardboard: These can be either difficult or easy to obtain, based on the item you are shipping. The larger and more awkward the item, the harder it is to find these. Scrounge whatever and whenever you can.

Filler: Filler can be anything from newspaper to packing peanuts. However, know when you use what type. Styrofoam packing peanuts are an electro-static hazard, while newspaper is not. Whatever you do, if you use packing peanuts, make sure whatever you're sending is wrapped up first.

Anti-Static bags: These are not entirely necessary, but it is nice to be able to ship PCBs and chips in these if available.

Ok, on to the packing tips:

Chips: EPROMS, RAMS, etc. are simple enough. Just remember, DO NOT protect the legs by putting them in Styrofoam; static electricity can damage chips. Use the anti-static black foam if you have to protect the legs. For larger quantities, you can use long plastic chip holders (I don't know the technical name for them) and cork the ends. Or you can just put them in an anti-static bag and put them in a padded envelope.

Marquees: Wrap the marquee in thick bubble wrap. A relatively large (maybe 16" x 30") piece of cardboard should suffice. If you have an even larger sheet of cardboard, you can simply place the marquee (wrapped in bubble wrap), and fold and cut the cardboard around it. Wrap tightly. Make sure the corners are sufficiently protected if it's a glass item.

Monitor bezels: You'll need large pieces of cardboard for these. A collapsed box also works well for these. For glass ones, you'll want to triple layer it; bubble wrap it first, then put ridged pieces of cardboard on both sides (slightly larger than the monitor glass). You may want to use multiple sheets of cardboard, or even thin plywood. Tape them in place around the monitor glass, then wrap again in bubble wrap before putting the final cardboard around it. I learned the above lesson the hardway :-(. If you have a short flat box that it will fit in, that should work even better, but line the bottom and top AND sides with multiple layers of bubble wrap if it's a glass monitor bezel.

Control panels: These are awkward beasts sometimes because you've got joysticks and such sticking out everywhere, and finding a box for these is not trivial. Wrap in bubble wrap, and put lots of filler in the box to keep it from shifting during transit.

PCBs: An Anti-Static bag around it would be great; then you can use pretty much anything as filler. If you're not so lucky, wrap it with anti-static bubble wrap. One person on the newsgroup recommended using pizza boxes for shipping PCBs, so I tried it. I went to a nearby pizza place and was able to purchase 25 (cheap), and they worked great for the PCBs I was shipping (I would imagine it might be difficult to locate pizza boxes for classic Atari and Williams boards). Sometimes they would just give them to me for free because it was such a strange request :-). You'll want to turn the boxes inside out for shipping purposes.

Whole games: Pallet, cardboard, ratchet strap it to the pallet, then shrink-wrap it. For cocktails, just ASSUME they are going to load something on top of it, so go overboard on protecting the top glass (plywood, extra thick padding, etc).

Monitors: I've never shipped a monitor, but I'd guess you'd want a sturdy box it would fit into, HEAVILY pad the bottom with a sheet of Styrofoam and bubble wrap, and place the monitor in tube down. However, it would probably be smarter to look for a monitor locally than having someone ship one to you.

Artwork: Control panel overlays and side art are fairly valuable at this stage of the game, so you'll want to avoid ANYTHING which would cause an unwanted wrinkle or fold. For overlays, you can use the same tip used above for glass monitor bezels (minus the bubble wrap). For side art, it's usually best to tube it. A narrow rectangular box should work just as well.

General tips: Anything that needs labeled should be labeled. If it's fragile, mark the package as so. If it's glass, mark the package that way. If it isn't supposed to be crushed, bent, turned upside down, etc, put that on the package in bold letters.

I'll leave the mode of transport as an exercise for the reader.

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