Shipping 100 Pounds of Books 0

[Jordysnordy]

1st time shipping such a big number of books with a high weight.

Am I better off breaking this into 2-3 smaller boxes or go with one big sturdy box.

The books will all be in short boxes within the bigger box if I go the one box route.

Fed Ex can handle the 100 pounds but USPS doesn't take this weight.

How does everyone else ship books with a high weight?

The 1 big box will measure 31 x 18 x 18

[Black_Adam]

14 minutes ago, Jordysnordy said:

1st time shipping such a big number of books with a high weight.

Am I better off breaking this into 2-3 smaller boxes or go with one big sturdy box.

The books will all be in short boxes within the bigger box if I go the one box route.

Fed Ex can handle the 100 pounds but USPS doesn't take this weight.

How does everyone else ship books with a high weight?

The 1 big box will measure 31 x 18 x 18

If it was on a small skid you would be fine. If it is just one carton there is too much risk of damage during handling/transit and a smaller number of boxes (less than 50 lbs) would be better.

[kav]

I shipped all my belongings once-cheapest was UPS.

[newshane]

2 hours ago, Jordysnordy said:

1st time shipping such a big number of books with a high weight.

Am I better off breaking this into 2-3 smaller boxes or go with one big sturdy box.

The books will all be in short boxes within the bigger box if I go the one box route.

Fed Ex can handle the 100 pounds but USPS doesn't take this weight.

How does everyone else ship books with a high weight?

The 1 big box will measure 31 x 18 x 18

I would break it down into smaller shipments. 

[Jordysnordy]

2 hours ago, newshane said:

I would break it down into smaller shipments. 

I think that’s what I will do.

[dupont2005]

I shipped one well reinforced magazine sized short box to Arizona from California and the buyer was happy when they arrived. Not sure I’d try to go bigger than that though

[masterlogan2000]

Considering that two shipments will be more expensive, I'd go with one big box containing multiple smaller boxes inside.

I've done this before through UPS Ground.  No issues, but I did make sure to get a sturdy outside box and reinforced the walls and base with extra cardboard.  The buyer said there were no issues on his end when he received the books.

[BAT MAN]

One important consideration is geography. If you are shipping to same coast vs. shipping from NY to CA will make a big difference in terms of do you break it up and/or send it in one shipment.  

[the blob]

I have used ups for stuff like this. I am going to ship like 100 pounds of kids clothing to CA and ups made the most sense.

[JollyComics]

Make sure the box is tough sturdy. Home Depot, Lowe's, Storage boxes or any cheap boxes do not hold well.

Make sure that you tape across the width and length of the box - do same on the top and bottom of the box. I usually tape three to four times across the box then repeat it on the other side.

Nothing will come out of the box.  UPS employees always drop the boxes off the conveyor belt or telescope conveyor.

[the blob]

1 hour ago, JollyComics said:

Make sure the box is tough sturdy. Home Depot, Lowe's, Storage boxes or any cheap boxes do not hold well.

Make sure that you tape across the width and length of the box - do same on the top and bottom of the box. I usually tape three to four times across the box then repeat it on the other side.

Nothing will come out of the box.  UPS employees always drop the boxes off the conveyor belt or telescope conveyor.

Right, you need to assume any box will split in transit so just put so much packing tape on it that it will hold together regardless

 

[JollyComics]

4 hours ago, the blob said:

Right, you need to assume any box will split in transit so just put so much packing tape on it that it will hold together regardless

 

Well...let me telling you what I have seen, I currently work for UPS for over ten years.  Too many boxes were opened with only one tape over two closed flaps even books and DVDs were scattered all over. Amazon and Sam's Club are the worst at packing. I have to tape boxes up after using up one or two full tape rolls. Every 53' trailer, the average is 24 opened/crushed/torn boxes out of 1650+ boxes I have unloaded.  Nearly all UPS employees just tape them once. Most supervisors always complain about me for taping them too much but they never complain about me for causing the spills all over the belt conveyors. The belt conveyors have to be turned off until the belt is secured and then all debris and goods are cleared. For three hours, there were about 15 shutoffs per day because those employees do not tape the packages properly. Tape right or not.  The package will go on through three or four different hubs. See how many beatings the package will take. More tapes is better. The stronger and sturdy boxes are better.

I do same thing with my comic books with extra tapes and tough boxes. Sometimes, I use two USPS Medium boxes together (one slight small box fits inside the large box) to prevent the punctures or cave ins.

Those USPS employees throw and drop all the boxes. No pity or mercy on them. It goes same thing with my fellow employees at UPS.  Sometimes, I have no pity for Amazon or Sam's Club employees for not securing the packages - they haven't changed their old habits. It feeds me up sometimes.

I have four weeks of vacation per year. I will be very happy to be on my next vacation and NOT think of them at all.

Edited February 28, 2019 by JollyComics

[shadroch]

My rule of thumb is nothing over 40 pounds, and I try to keep them under 25.  Been to too many lost package auctions to risk one hundred pounds.