So we're looking to ship a whole bunch of gifts to my wife's friends who are expats living in Asia right now. We have a bunch of shipping boxes in the house, but none are quite as big as she'd like. We see the best price is USPS Priority Mail International, which seems to have maximum linear dimensions (H+W+L) of 82 inches and a maximum individual dimension of 42 inches. The box is probably going to weigh about 22-26 lbs, but the additional price for a lb or two more isn't really an issue.
We had a hard time finding boxes. Amazon didn't seem to have boxes for sale that were quite big enough or maybe I had to get a case of 10 or 25 and obviously we couldn't see them. The best we could find were at Home Depot, which calls theirs "moving boxes", although these aren't the kind that lock together and require taped edges just like shipping boxes. They have push in handles, but other than that, they seem to be pretty standard shipping boxes. They had two types - either regular or heavy duty, but I was thinking regular is strong enough for international shipping. We actually got the Extra Large (24"x20"x21") box first but then realized it was way too big. And it was tough getting it in my car, where I had to fold the box just to get it in my car. But HD actually took it back after we figured it was too big, and we just got a "Large"
So anyone have any advice on shipping something that large overseas? The box says something about 32 ECT, whatever that is. I see somewhere that 200 lb burst strength is generally recommended and considered stronger than 32 ECT, which is a stacking standard. I taped and double taped the edges and used tape a couple times inside and out at the seam. I covered the handles (inside and out) with shipping tape. I taped the bottom flap in and taped the inside. We only have some generic clear shipping tape and heavier 3M shipping tape. I made sure to use the 3M tape at the longest edge at the bottom, and have double taped the narrow ends at the bottom. I was thinking maybe reinforced tape, but we don't have any right now. Years ago I had some junk I had picked up on vacation worth about $50 and just bought a $2 box and $1.50 of reinforced, gummed packing tape. That made it through American Airlines with a few bumps, but that was also back when there were two included pieces of check-in.
But I'm not sure if maybe the box is strong enough or if maybe I need to use stronger tape for something that big.
We had a hard time finding boxes. Amazon didn't seem to have boxes for sale that were quite big enough or maybe I had to get a case of 10 or 25 and obviously we couldn't see them. The best we could find were at Home Depot, which calls theirs "moving boxes", although these aren't the kind that lock together and require taped edges just like shipping boxes. They have push in handles, but other than that, they seem to be pretty standard shipping boxes. They had two types - either regular or heavy duty, but I was thinking regular is strong enough for international shipping. We actually got the Extra Large (24"x20"x21") box first but then realized it was way too big. And it was tough getting it in my car, where I had to fold the box just to get it in my car. But HD actually took it back after we figured it was too big, and we just got a "Large"
The Home Depot 27 in. L x 15 in. W x 16 in. D Large Moving Box with Handles LBX - The Home Depot
The Home Depot Large Moving Box is great for moving and storing lightweight and bulky items. Ideal for clothing, lampshades, pillows, stuffed animals, toys, and more. This box is crafted from 100% recycled
www.homedepot.com
So anyone have any advice on shipping something that large overseas? The box says something about 32 ECT, whatever that is. I see somewhere that 200 lb burst strength is generally recommended and considered stronger than 32 ECT, which is a stacking standard. I taped and double taped the edges and used tape a couple times inside and out at the seam. I covered the handles (inside and out) with shipping tape. I taped the bottom flap in and taped the inside. We only have some generic clear shipping tape and heavier 3M shipping tape. I made sure to use the 3M tape at the longest edge at the bottom, and have double taped the narrow ends at the bottom. I was thinking maybe reinforced tape, but we don't have any right now. Years ago I had some junk I had picked up on vacation worth about $50 and just bought a $2 box and $1.50 of reinforced, gummed packing tape. That made it through American Airlines with a few bumps, but that was also back when there were two included pieces of check-in.
But I'm not sure if maybe the box is strong enough or if maybe I need to use stronger tape for something that big.
