More shipping goodness

[galactus]

30" x 40" Foam Core, 3/16 inch thick, $6 a piece

14x19 Paded Mailers, self sealing, $2.25 a piece

Poly Bags for up to 11x19 artwork, $.30 each

So $8.50 will purchase you almost an inch of foam board (30x40 can be cut down to 4 pieces of 11x17 easily), a self sealing padded mailer and a bag to put the artwork into for make sure it's protected from rubbing/moisture in shipping. This is what I do if need be and it's easy and cheap.

If the client/customer isn't willing to throw in an extra $9 to protect their own purchase, they deserve to have it arrive damaged.

[CKinSD]

for high end art I like this idea Sunny.

for everyday stuff I tihnk what Drew has done over the years works well and I what I've done myself over the years, along with some of the express mailer boxes still flat on each side for added protection.

[SunnyLee]

Well I've sent art overseas with an inch of foam board and masonite surrounding the art and the masonite did in fact shatter and ended being the reason the art got damaged as the shards slashed through the foam and art. Which is why I was bring up the wood frame. I can understand everyone's reluctance to over spend on a shipping box, but if you built your own - say out of boards with actual foam in it that would probably be reuseable until the end of time, but cost more in shipping, would that be worth the extra in shipping? Don't get me wrong, all of the ink sketches arrived safely as has most of my commissions (using foam and masonite only) but instead of trusting the artist - wouldn't you rather send him your proven shipping method when ordering a commission? What's the limit? 10% of the commission price? 20%? On my side of it - Outside of the obvious - of course I want the client to get their art in one piece - the small selfish side of me wants it delivered intact so I don't have to redraw it 10 times.

[Mean Green]

But you're now talking $30-40 shipping (to and from) for say a $100-200 commission? If foam boards work 95% of the time without any significant damage, let's say 1 out of 20 become damaged (and that's on the high side I'd say), that's roughly a $350 savings. Wouldn't you rather just insure the piece for $2-3 extra each time you ship?

Regarding high end art (1k+), I'd hope the seller knows to property package art like that.

[SunnyLee]

Well no - I was just saying doing an upfront investment on a shipping box that would be semi-permanent and shipping it out to the artist at the cheapest cost (usually freight) so I don't see it jumping to $30 or $40 - probably $15 - 20 tops.

As for insurance... the gist of my interpretation from opinions and experiences (including here) from other people on both sides (shippers and recipients) is that insurance is difficult at best - in all cases requires a receipt... in some cases, required proof that the specified item was actually worth the cost paid (ie, not just a piece of paper and really art), or that it was damaged during shipment and not afterwards. Like all insurance, it's long and painful...

[Argonus]

Vacuum seal some Alligator jerky and toss that in it; that way, if the piece is damaged, at least... hey.. free jerky!

[SunnyLee]

Originally Posted by Argonus

Vacuum seal some Alligator jerky and toss that in it; that way, if the piece is damaged, at least... hey.. free jerky!

Problem solved!!!!!!!!!

[PureInvasion]

you know...all you sellers can avoid these damages if you just hand deliver the pieces. C'mon, stop being lazy and give me world class customer service!

[madmanny]

Originally Posted by PureInvasion

you know...all you sellers can avoid these damages if you just hand deliver the pieces. C'mon, stop being lazy and give me world class customer service!

Just LOL

[galactus]

Masonite is crap as far as I'm concerned. It's actually too stiff and doesn't have any give. Much like a live tree branch has give (so it won't break) and buildings are built to sway in wind so as not to topple, your packaging should have a little give to as to be able to take a little pounding without breaking.

Thick cardboard and foam core are much better than masonite. They're not only stiff enough to keep the artwork safe but also absorb impact without cracking/breaking themselves.