Package completely destroyed by FedEx WTF

Wine shippers noisy? I've found these to be very quiet, the only giveaway that sometimes rouses suspicion is the syro-scratching sound when handling. I've been told on drop off one time that it sounded like a wine shipper. I acted confused...

I've resorted to only using shippers on high value trades. I feel confident I can drop one of those on a sidewalk and the contents will survive.

 

They slosh on bombers you need to pack the cylinder with material to kill it. Better with 12 0z bottles I think. I'll double box like I do so far so good. Styros are more bomb proof though, can't deny that.

 

I had a fedex box with two bottles break as they were loading it on the truck to deliver. They repackaged everything that survived and sent it back to me. I filed a claim with fedex when I got the box back and they refunded me shipping and twenty dollars for the damaged goods. I told them it was two bottles of soda that broke.

 

I lost an incoming box to FedEx some time ago. Once they discovered beer, they said that their policy was to destroy the remaining contents. I pushed for days, but they refused to budge.

Even though this wasn't my packing, the experience made me a more paranoid shipper. I had traded many times with this BA and knew that he packed well. My first major change was that I started double boxing and wrapping the inner box with a plastic bag (as mentioned many times above). A few trades later, I had one outgoing bottle break. The plastic bag saved the day and I only had to make up for the one bottle. That sold me forever on wrapping everything in a plastic bag, but it also showed me that my system still wasn't good enough. I decided that I needed to run some drop tests. So I packed some of the cheapest bottles I could find and saw how they reacted to 6'+ drops on a concrete slab. It was eye opening.

Now my system looks like this: I typically start with a smaller box, preferably a Styro shipper of some sort. I prefer an inner box that gives every bottle its own place so there's no chance of two bottles hitting each other. I make sure each bottle is secure in its position and use packing peanuts and/or bubble wrap as necessary. Then I wrap the smaller box with a plastic bag and place it in a larger box that I reinforce/pad with sheets of Styrofoam. This system has served me well and has protected some pretty heavy & fragile shipments. It definitely adds to my shipping costs, but I'd rather drop an extra $10-$15 in shipping than replace bottles.

 

Isn't it fairly obvious that bottles should be packed such that they can't move?

 

You think that would be obvious. But a couple months ago I got a BCBS Rare and it was wraped in bubble wrap and put in a box only filled half way with packing peanuts and thats it. Not sure how it didnt break.

 

I think that it is obvious, but I didn't appreciate how much the violent handling of a box could move things that I thought were immovable.

 

Yeah, I guess. I don't trade much and have a styro shipper to send to the one person I ship stuff to, but before I had that I always jammed as much bubble wrap and paper into the box such that no bottles could possibly touch. I don't like packing peanuts precisely because bottles can move through them during shipping. On top of making a terrible mess upon delivery, I just don't think they work well.

 

Yeah that seems insane to me. But I bet that dude thinks he packs super well and how could he possibly have a broken bottle ever.

 

For the most part, I'm with you on the packing peanuts. Main main use of them is to jam them around bottles that are smaller than the spaces in the Styro shipper. Bubble wrap works sometimes, but packing peanuts will conform to the space and "lock" the bottles in place.

 

Not going to lie I get pretty annoyed if I receive a trade not shipped in a wine shipper. Especially since every single trade I send out gets shipped in one. If your going to trade just buy shippers it's easier for everyone involved.

 

I'd rather just use packing paper to fill in that space. It won't move and it can be reused. Plus wouldn't packing peanuts against styro squeak really awful?

 

I hardly ever ship with wine shippers. After my incident, I've been following AleWatcher's shipping tips as closely as possible. IMO, this is the best way to ship, not wine shippers.

http://alewatcher.blogspot.com

 

After you stuff enough packing peanuts into the space between the bottle and the shipper, there's no squeak whatsoever. In fact, I'm not satisfied until the shipper comes with when I try to pull the bottle out. My only thing against paper is that it can get smashed flat, whereas Styrofoam packing peanuts have a "sponginess" by design. They, of course, can get smashed completely flat as well... but it seems to take a little more effort.

 

fwiw I think the packing peanuts absorb a lot more shock than paper will. Also if you really fill every nook in the box to the point where you have to squeeze the top flaps shut, there is barely any movement of the bottles inside during shipping.

 

I received a UPS package a few weeks ago that looked like it had been delivered by Ace Ventura. Box was beat to hell, and luckily, only one bottle was broken. So, for all of those who point to poor packing being the culprit, I think my trading partner's good packing job couldn't overcome the abuse of the box he sent.

 

I use wine shippers and pack each compartment with peanuts so the bottles can't move or make any noise. That's the best way IMO. Any of my recipients I'm sure would vouch for this method.

 

I've used both wine shippers and boxes. I prefer to double box, a 14 inch cube into a 16 inch, the bottom of both are lined with peanuts. A firm layer of bubble wrap between the boxes. A trash bag goes into the 14 cube box, and each bottle is baggied and wrapped in dense foam. A layer of bubble wrap in between each layer, and stuffed at the top to help with movement and slosh.

 

My question is, what is the best way to seal the bag lining the inner box? I want to make sure no beer gets out.