How to Ship Resin Model Horses
How to Ship a Resin
by Jeanne Grunert, President of EquinArt Creations
by Jeanne Grunert, President of EquinArt Creations
Tips for packaging resins properly to avoid
breakages!
breakages!
Here at EquinArt Creations Inc, the model horse company that I founded in 2004, we ship
approximately a dozen or more highly breakable resin model horses each week. And, to date,
we have had NO breakages or damaged paint jobs out of any of the resins that we have
shipped. I'd like to share with you our proven techniques for packaging resins for shipping
in the hopes that as you send your beautiful EquinArt models to be painted, prepped, or to a
new home, you will have just as good a success rate as we have with them.
Although there are many techniques for shipping resin model horses, and collectors swear by
their own unique method of preparing and wrapping horses for shipping, I feel that our
company has really gotten the whole shipping issue down to a science, and a science that
works. We consistently get high marks on our shipping and packaging. Here is our
shipping method.
MATERIALS - This is what we use to ship our resins, and what I recommend:
1. Start with NEW cartons. Don't skimp on this step. I've received returns in cartons that
are so used and so worn it is a miracle that they arrived in one piece. Cardboard loses its
shape after repeated shipping. The outer carton is what protects your fragile resin from hard
blows and from other boxes in the delivery truck.
Where do you find boxes? The US Post Office gives you FREE Priority Mail shipping boxes,
but you must ship them using USPS and Priority Mail (in other words, you can't get their
free boxes and then ship it first class or via UPS). Mailing and packaging stores also carry
boxes. Staples direct online, Viking office products, and other office supply stores also carry
boxes. If you ship a lot of resins, it is worth while to get a case of boxes in a standard size.
It will save you much grief late r on.
2. Use packing peanuts. DO NOT use shredded newspaper or the 'air bladders' that
companies like Amazon use to ship your books. Peanuts can conform to the shape of your
resin and provide a good deal of shock absorbancy. Shredded newspapers are dreadful for
shipping resins. The only broken resins I've received are ones that were shipped using foam
strips or shredded newspapers. Peanuts can be purchased at Staples, Viking, or through any
shipping service.
3. Use bubble wrap. Get the bubble wrap with small bubbles in it.
4. Toilet paper. We wrap ears, tails and sometimes the entire head in toilet paper. The
plain white kind, like Scott, works best. If you ship painted models you will want to get one
that has a low lint content (rub it against a soft fabric. If it leaves a trail of little white dots
behind, it's high lint.)
HERE'S HOW TO PACKAGE A RESIN FOR SHIPPING
1. First, be sure you have a clean, smooth and soft work space. We wrap resins on a pile of
old blankets folded up to a height that makes it comfortable for John and I (we are both very
tall people!) to work. The soft blankets are great in case we get 'butter fingers' and drop
something.
2. For a Traditional size resin, I count off 5 squares of bubble wrap, rip it off the roll, then
count off 5 more. This is what you will use to wrap the horse.
3. I take my trust roll of toilet paper and rip off a section approximately 2-3 feet long for the
head and 2-3 feet long for the tail.
4. Starting with the head, I wrap the toilet paper around the head, covering the ears in a
figure-eight fashion, and wrapping under the jaw and up and around until the entire head is
swaddled in a turban of toilet paper. I use a tiny bit of tape to secure. I then wrap the tail.
5. Next, take one of your bubble wrap strips (with 5 squares of wrap) and lay it on your
workspace horizontally. Place the resin onto the strip with about four inches sticking out to
the right, beyond the head of the horse. Fold that strip in. Take the long piece and carefully
wrap it around the horse. Secure with tape.
6. Take your next strip of 5 bubble wrap squares and place this vertically on the work area.
Wrap this around the already bubble wrapped horse until he is completely wrapped. Use
big squares of tape to secure the bubble wrap, particularly around the head and tail areas.
7. Make sure your shipping carton is large enough so that there will be a buffer of at least
2-4 inches on all sides of the horse.
8. Fill the box about 1/3 with packing peanuts. NEVER USE NEWSPAPER OR AIR
BLADDERS.
9. Place your now bubble and toilet paper wrapped model in the box. Fill the rest of the
box with packing peanuts, checking to make sure you can close the top. Fill it a little
beyond what you think is right - the more, the better.
10. Place your receipt and box stuffers into the box, secure with tape, tape on the address
label. ALWAYS include "fragile" stickers or hand write "Fragile" on the box.
BOX STUFFERS
What are box stuffers? In direct marketing parlance, these are marketing flyers included in
outbound orders. Clothing companies always include an additional catalog in their boxes.
Use your outbound shipments to include flyers about upcoming releases, information about
other products for sale, etc.
SHIPPING METHODS
The two most popular shipping methods are US Post Office and UPS. Both have pros and
cons. Visit their web sites to compare prices. EquinArt uses only the US Post Office. We
have personally had so many bad experiences with UPS (lost packages, badly damaged boxes
coming in from the casting companies etc) that we will only use US Post Office. I've also
had customers with bad post office experiences, so it's hit or miss. COMPARE PRICES.
Shop around for what works for you.
TAKE THIS ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK. And enjoy your beautiful new resins!
approximately a dozen or more highly breakable resin model horses each week. And, to date,
we have had NO breakages or damaged paint jobs out of any of the resins that we have
shipped. I'd like to share with you our proven techniques for packaging resins for shipping
in the hopes that as you send your beautiful EquinArt models to be painted, prepped, or to a
new home, you will have just as good a success rate as we have with them.
Although there are many techniques for shipping resin model horses, and collectors swear by
their own unique method of preparing and wrapping horses for shipping, I feel that our
company has really gotten the whole shipping issue down to a science, and a science that
works. We consistently get high marks on our shipping and packaging. Here is our
shipping method.
MATERIALS - This is what we use to ship our resins, and what I recommend:
1. Start with NEW cartons. Don't skimp on this step. I've received returns in cartons that
are so used and so worn it is a miracle that they arrived in one piece. Cardboard loses its
shape after repeated shipping. The outer carton is what protects your fragile resin from hard
blows and from other boxes in the delivery truck.
Where do you find boxes? The US Post Office gives you FREE Priority Mail shipping boxes,
but you must ship them using USPS and Priority Mail (in other words, you can't get their
free boxes and then ship it first class or via UPS). Mailing and packaging stores also carry
boxes. Staples direct online, Viking office products, and other office supply stores also carry
boxes. If you ship a lot of resins, it is worth while to get a case of boxes in a standard size.
It will save you much grief late r on.
2. Use packing peanuts. DO NOT use shredded newspaper or the 'air bladders' that
companies like Amazon use to ship your books. Peanuts can conform to the shape of your
resin and provide a good deal of shock absorbancy. Shredded newspapers are dreadful for
shipping resins. The only broken resins I've received are ones that were shipped using foam
strips or shredded newspapers. Peanuts can be purchased at Staples, Viking, or through any
shipping service.
3. Use bubble wrap. Get the bubble wrap with small bubbles in it.
4. Toilet paper. We wrap ears, tails and sometimes the entire head in toilet paper. The
plain white kind, like Scott, works best. If you ship painted models you will want to get one
that has a low lint content (rub it against a soft fabric. If it leaves a trail of little white dots
behind, it's high lint.)
HERE'S HOW TO PACKAGE A RESIN FOR SHIPPING
1. First, be sure you have a clean, smooth and soft work space. We wrap resins on a pile of
old blankets folded up to a height that makes it comfortable for John and I (we are both very
tall people!) to work. The soft blankets are great in case we get 'butter fingers' and drop
something.
2. For a Traditional size resin, I count off 5 squares of bubble wrap, rip it off the roll, then
count off 5 more. This is what you will use to wrap the horse.
3. I take my trust roll of toilet paper and rip off a section approximately 2-3 feet long for the
head and 2-3 feet long for the tail.
4. Starting with the head, I wrap the toilet paper around the head, covering the ears in a
figure-eight fashion, and wrapping under the jaw and up and around until the entire head is
swaddled in a turban of toilet paper. I use a tiny bit of tape to secure. I then wrap the tail.
5. Next, take one of your bubble wrap strips (with 5 squares of wrap) and lay it on your
workspace horizontally. Place the resin onto the strip with about four inches sticking out to
the right, beyond the head of the horse. Fold that strip in. Take the long piece and carefully
wrap it around the horse. Secure with tape.
6. Take your next strip of 5 bubble wrap squares and place this vertically on the work area.
Wrap this around the already bubble wrapped horse until he is completely wrapped. Use
big squares of tape to secure the bubble wrap, particularly around the head and tail areas.
7. Make sure your shipping carton is large enough so that there will be a buffer of at least
2-4 inches on all sides of the horse.
8. Fill the box about 1/3 with packing peanuts. NEVER USE NEWSPAPER OR AIR
BLADDERS.
9. Place your now bubble and toilet paper wrapped model in the box. Fill the rest of the
box with packing peanuts, checking to make sure you can close the top. Fill it a little
beyond what you think is right - the more, the better.
10. Place your receipt and box stuffers into the box, secure with tape, tape on the address
label. ALWAYS include "fragile" stickers or hand write "Fragile" on the box.
BOX STUFFERS
What are box stuffers? In direct marketing parlance, these are marketing flyers included in
outbound orders. Clothing companies always include an additional catalog in their boxes.
Use your outbound shipments to include flyers about upcoming releases, information about
other products for sale, etc.
SHIPPING METHODS
The two most popular shipping methods are US Post Office and UPS. Both have pros and
cons. Visit their web sites to compare prices. EquinArt uses only the US Post Office. We
have personally had so many bad experiences with UPS (lost packages, badly damaged boxes
coming in from the casting companies etc) that we will only use US Post Office. I've also
had customers with bad post office experiences, so it's hit or miss. COMPARE PRICES.
Shop around for what works for you.
TAKE THIS ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK. And enjoy your beautiful new resins!
This is a typical Friday night at
our house, showing a week's
worth of orders packed and
ready to ship. Aside from the cat
dancing on the boxes (which I
don't recommend, but which I
am sure you will know is
unavoidable if you are a cat
lover!) note the NEW Priority Mail
boxes from the post office.
These are free and can be
ordered over the web sites.
New boxes offer more protection
than reused boxes.
our house, showing a week's
worth of orders packed and
ready to ship. Aside from the cat
dancing on the boxes (which I
don't recommend, but which I
am sure you will know is
unavoidable if you are a cat
lover!) note the NEW Priority Mail
boxes from the post office.
These are free and can be
ordered over the web sites.
New boxes offer more protection
than reused boxes.
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| EquinArt Creations Inc Serving collectors since 2004 NEW ADDRESS AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2007 1220 Hixburg Road (Rt 627), Prospect, VA 23960 General email equinartcreations@yahoo.com Visit us online at www.equinartcreations.com Telephone: NEW PHONE NUMBER 434-574-6253 FAX: 801-331-1432 |