GAMES TO GO: PACKING AND SHIPPING
by Bruce Whitehill
Toy Shop, June, 1997
Every game collector eventually finds it advantageous to buy games by mail. And soon comes the time when the collector becomes the seller, necessitating that initial foray into packing and shipping. There is always the question of whether it is better to use the post office or UPS, or one of the other ground and air carriers. Maybe this report will help you decide.
The information here has been geared to game collectors in terms only of the sizes of packages used as examples (as well as some packing hints), but the details should be of use to all who need to ship toys and antiques.
The easy way–have someone else do it.
A number of small businesses have appeared offering packing and shipping services, and some local shops will ship UPS for you. Mail Boxes Etc.™ is probably the largest national chain to provide a complete packing and shipping service, and they use various carriers.  Remember, you are paying for their services; the packing and handling fees are built into the total cost of shipping, so you can’t tell how much you’re paying for the service unless you know the rate for shipping the same package on your own.
If you bring in four MONOPOLY-size games to Mail Boxes Etc. and have them packed and shipped in a 23″ x 15″ x 11″ box weighing twelve pounds (see sidebar), the cost will be from three to six dollars more than using the shipper directly, plus an additional eight or nine dollars for the packing and materials; insurance will cost 75¢ per $100 value over the first $100 (compared with 35¢).
If you want assurance, get insurance.
United Parcel Service (UPS) will discourage you from shipping any antiques that cannot be replaced. If you mark the contents of your package “games,” instead of “antique games,” you usually avoid the question about replacement value, and you can insure the games for a “book” value or appraised value; an appraisal (from an established game dealer or expert) may be required if the item is lost or damaged. If you ship a game with loose pawns or marbles rolling around, mark the box “Rattle OK.” Packages sent through the U.S. Post Office may be opened for postal inspection, and UPS says it also has the right to open parcels; this rarely happens unless someone questions the contents or if the declared value is over $1000 and/or the parcel shows a questionable return address or is being sent to an unusual destination–the concern is that the parcel may contain drugs or weapons.
When shipping UPS or RPS, the first $100 insurance is included in the price. Additional insurance costs 35¢ per additional $100 declared value. DHL charges 70¢ over the first $100. The Post Office charges $1.60 for the first $100, and 90¢ for the next $100; you can insure a parcel for up to $600 only. Most air carriers (such as Federal Express and Airborne Express) charge $3.25 for up to $500 insurance, then 65¢ for each additional $100.
Pack it up.
Games don’t break–they get crushed. Or pierced, if packed against the edge of a box that gets punctured. Place bubble pack or butcher paper (no newsprint) between the games, or wrap each game with thin bubblepack. If you use any tape, keep it away from the boxes. Put game pieces (or small card games) in small, plastic bags (Ziploc™ makes a good-sized “snack bag”); if you can, pack games within games (under the build-up). Make sure that small parts will not get overlooked and discarded with the packing material. Use Styrofoam, bubblepack, crumpled paper, or popcorn (wrap each game first) to support the games and separate them from the sides, top, and bottom of the shipping carton; pack tightly so the games don’t move around.
Place a paper with the recipient’s name and address as well as your own inside the package. Seal all openings (including small punctures) and all seams of the carton with package tape; do not use ordinary cellophane tape, masking tape, electrical tape, or duct tape; do not use string, or your parcel will be not be accepted.
If you stacked the games, then turn the box so the games sit in a vertical position, and address the parcel with that side up. Print the recipient’s address and your return address clearly on the package or (preferably) on a white address label, which then can be affixed to the package. Indicate the contents and value, obliterate any extraneous words or letters that appear on the package, and mark it “Fragile” and “Do Not Crush.”
Size vs weight
The maximum size requirements for most shippers is 130″ length plus girth. (Our sample size package cited in the sidebar–the dimensions of a box that will hold four MONOPOLY-sized games–is 25″ x 15″ x 11″, for a total of 77″. Girth is the top and bottom and two sides: two heights and two widths).  For ground packages, if your parcel is over 84″ you will be charged for a weight (usually 30 lbs) that may exceed the weight of your package. For packages going by air, the restrictions are more severe, and your 12-lb. package may be charged as over 20 lbs. Bottom line: keep your packages as small as possible, and find out if it’s cheaper to send two small parcels than one large one.
UPS vs USPS
The two main ways of sending a package by ground service are UPS (United Parcel Service) and USPS (the U.S. Postal Service). (RPS, formerly Roadway Package Service, also offers ground service.) Items that weigh only a few pounds and that are going only a short distance will usually arrive more quickly by UPS. Also, the heavier the weight of the package and the further its destination, the more economical it becomes to use UPS
UPS will pick up at your home for a $5 charge, which covers any number of packages being picked up at the same time. You must call the day before, and have all your packages weighed and measured; when you call on Friday, the packages are picked up Monday. You can leave your parcels outside (on a porch, etc.) with a personal check in the exact amount. You cannot send UPS to a P.O. Box address.
RPS, incidentally, offers a $6 pick-up charge, but that fee pays for as many pick-ups as you require within the same Monday-Friday week.
The maximum weight for a UPS package is 70 lbs; the maximum size is 130 inches (total length and girth).
Someone must sign for the package if it is delivered to a business, an apartment building, or a home in an unsafe neighborhood. The sender can request a signature; if you request delivery confirmation, there is an additional charge of $1.25. You can save about 75¢ ($1 if using RPS) if you ship to a business address rather than a residence.
UPS offers a “Three-day Select” service; items are guaranteed to arrive within three business days (not including the day the parcel is shipped). The maximum delivery time coast to coast in the U.S. is normally seven business days (delivery between New York and Los Angeles is supposed to average five or six days), so the maximum time saved is four days. UPS will not pick up on the weekend, but it will deliver on Saturday for an extra fee.
RPS agents told me more than once they prefer to ship business to business, but will accept calls from people who do not have accounts. Their prices are generally less than UPS for parcels that are more than a few pounds with destinations at least 500 miles away, and they advertise a quicker arrival time than UPS.
Neither rain nor sleet nor dogs nor shootings
Light-weight items going cross-country may arrive more quickly by first class mail than by UPS; first class costs only slightly more than third class on items with little weight. For uninsured items under one or two pounds, shipping first class with the U.S. Post Office is generally best. The Post Office’s Priority Mail Service allows you to send up to two pounds for $3.00, but the service is not guaranteed, and lots of people have found that many items sent Priority do not arrive when expected.
Your mail carrier will pick up packages and Express Mail from your home, provided you have affixed proper postage and have included any necessary forms. The post office is the preferred carrier when mailing something on a Saturday or arranging for delivery on a Saturday; most post offices close noon on Saturday, but major stations are open until 2 P.M. Incidentally, the post office now accepts credit cards, as do all the major shippers.
When it absolutely, positively has to get there quick
The post office and UPS both offer air service, as do Federal Express, Airborne Express and DHL. (RPS offers second-day air service, but requires the shipper to open up an account, and then does a credit check on the shipper.) All offer tracking information available by phone, and some provide computer discs to explain and enhance their services.
DHL (named after its three founders, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn) says its specialty is international shipping. (The founders, all Harvard graduate lawyers, formed the company in 1969 to provide an air service between Honolulu and San Francisco.) Their domestic shipping offers an overnight service only, with delivery by noon; the price is by weight, size, and destination, and there’s a $3 discount if you drop the parcel off at a local DHL facility.
Airborne Express and Federal Express offer a second-day service and an overnight service. All the shippers charge more for morning delivery than afternoon delivery. Large packages are charged by size rather than weight, if the actual weight is less than the dimensional weight (dimensional weight is length x width x height divided by 194). Since these carriers are competing with the post office, you cannot ship to a P.O. Box number but must have a street address. Airborne Express and DHL handle primarily business accounts, and they will try to set up a billing account with you.
For small, rare, and/or expensive goods, there is more security if you send the items by air; second-day air, afternoon delivery, is the most economical. A two-pound package shipped Express Mail through the post office will be delivered the next day or second day, depending on the destination, for $15. Federal Express will charge $18.50 for overnight afternoon delivery, $9.95 for second day delivery. In July, Federal Express is supposed to begin pricing by zip code, and they will also offer a less expensive, three-day service.
An update:
RPS was actually cheaper than (and, allegedly, faster than) UPS. However, RPS, at this time will not accept any packages from shippers who do not have accounts with them, and, therefore, no one-time pick-ups. So it’s back to UPS.
