How to Ship Boxed Toys

Toy collecting is undeniably one of the most popular hobbies today. For some, trading toys has become a lucrative business with hard-to-find and collectible items fetching for thousands of dollars! Rare and vintage pieces in mint condition that come in their original boxes are most sought after by serious collectors even if they cost an arm and a leg! Because their boxes are considered important as the toys themselves, proper packing must be observed when shipping these valuable items to prevent any unwanted damage on both the toys and their boxes. Here are some tips on how to properly pack and ship boxed toys to ensure that they arrive intact and free from damages.

To ensure that your boxed toy is properly packed for shipping, you will need the following materials:

• Packing Tape – only use tape with excellent adhesive properties to prevent the package from bursting open during transit.
• Bubble Wrap – this comes in a variety of sizes and provides both cushioning and protection from the elements. Bigger bubbles provide more protection and fill more spaces.
• Shipping Box – use a sturdy cardboard shipping box that can snugly accommodate the boxed toy with a bit of extra space for packing materials.
• Scissors – or any other tool for cutting bubble wrap and packing tape.
• Packing Materials – bubble wrap, crumpled paper or shredded paper that will be used as fillers if there are empty spaces between the bubble wrapped toy box and the shipping box to minimize movement.

Check if the toy is well secured in its box. Any moving part should be fastened and there should be no movement when the box is shaken. Bubble wrap can be used to fill spaces within the box to prevent any movement.

Wrap the toy box in generous amounts of bubble wrap as you would wrap a gift. Make sure that all sides and corners of the box are well protected by bubble wrap. Secure the bubble wrap in place with packing tape. Avoid sticking the tape on the surface of the box itself as the adhesive material might cause damage when the tape is removed.

Place the wrapped toy box inside the shipping box. If there are spaces between the shipping box and the wrapped toy box, layer the bottom of the shipping box with packing materials first before laying the wrapped toy box on top. Fill the sides and top with more packing materials such that there will be no movement when the shipping box is closed. No packing materials are necessary when the wrapped toy box fits snugly into the shipping box.

Close and seal the shipping box with packing tape. Make sure to secure the bottom seams as well to prevent the box from bursting open. Address and label the package and take to your local post office or shipping company. You might want to buy insurance when shipping valuable vintage boxed toys.