Packaging Beers for Trades/Shipping

Absolute safest method is to deliver them in person. Otherwise, tons of bubble wrap. The method of shipping (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc) depends on both your location and your target's. There are many horror stories in various threads on BA about each shipper - the upshot is the best shipper is target-dependent. I prefer using bubble wrap and wine shipping boxes with styrefoam inserts. At best, consider shipping a crapshoot.

 

http://thebeerexchange.io/how-to-package-and-ship-beer.html

Nothing groundbreaking but a good how to guide

 

My first suggestion, seeing as you are a new member, and live in one of this country's best beer areas, is make sure to enjoy all the greatness that is available to you in NC (which is a lot) before undertaking a very expensive and deceptively time consuming hobby.

That said, I am a long time trader who only trades once a year now, and I will add to that article linked that pieces of cardboard in between wrapped beers helps, and you cannot overwrap. The penalty for not wrapping properly is having to send another box, so my addition to this thread is overwrap with bubble wrap so you can drop box from ten feet onto concrete without a bottle breaking or can exploding.

 

Starts with the proper size box, lean to larger.
Wrap each bottle in Zip lock bags
I wrap each bottle with foam core more than one layer
I use shipping peanuts for the bottom of the box
I lay a bed of additional foam over each layer of beer
I also add additional foam core on the sides as I can
Strong tape to seal the box,

More insulation is more important than one extra beer, extras are nice but your first priority is the primary beers are safe.

I’ve double boxed some beers using an inch or so of peanuts in between boxes. Only for whalish kinda beers that cannot be replaced. It’s overkill, but some beers are worth it.

 

I'm not a trader (I did once to learn how expensive it is to ship beer, especially the weight of bottles vs. cans) but I occasionally ship 'Michigan maple syrup' to family members. Everything above is good advice, and there is further discussion about packing in the Trading forum.

 

If you are doing large trades or very expensive or rare bottles a 3/6/12 bottle wine shipper is about as good as it gets.

 

Came to post this also. Bottle shippers, if available in your area, would be the easiest and fastest way to ship. Cans can just double up in them.

If it's not... You can buy from various places online. Literally search wine shipper box.

 

my favorite 'box within a box' strategy is placing a couple bubble-wrapped can inside a cereal box. makes me feel they're extra safe

 

How much does a 4 or 6 bottle shipper cost? FedEx or UPS? I've been hesitant to ship that way because of cost and time. But theres going to be a time I will need to do it that way especially on a bigger/expensive trade. I can fit 4 500ml bottles or 2 750ml in a lrg flat rate USPS.

 

These are the shippers I usually go with. Haven't done a ton of research into seeing if there are cheaper options, but this should give you an idea of what you're looking at price wise.

https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplie...ing-Kit-Six-Bottles/?mid=169&id=3575&aid=3575

 

Definitely more expensive the USPS flat rate boxes. How much depends on where how far you ship.
I just shipped a 6 bottle box from NJ to California. It was $40 ish via ups. 12 bottle box NJ to Cali was $50 ish via FedEx.

 

1. Bubble wrap
2. Bag
3. Double bag
4. Various layers of packing materials
5. Box
6. Double box
7. Don't forget to tape the bottom of the box as well as the top.

 

All great tips, another one I like is to make sure it's packed super tight. Too much bubble wrap can make the box squishy unless you wad it up. Many times I'll use packing paper, newspaper, or folded up repeatedly bubble wrap all the way around the inside. Then filler in every crack and crevice so nothing moves and nothing smashes the box in. That could potentially damage bottles or cans. Bigger trades, or trades going further (NY to CA for example) then double boxing is never a bad idea.

 

Noise, minimal to no noise. It’s not a busy season don’t give someone a reason to take a peek because their volume is lower than busy seasons. If it’s a sloshy mess your as at much at risk as sloppy packing.