The following are typical scenarios encountered by common carriers by customers who wish to ship a package. They are affectionately known as the "Cardinal Sins of Shipping." Find out what you should and should not do when preparing your packages for shipping.

Q) Should I wrap my package in brown paper before bringing it to the store to ship?

A) NO, NO, NO! Brown paper is cardinal sin #1 in shipping. The ONLY thing on the outside of a box should be the label that is printed with the "ship from" and "ship to" information on it. If you wrap a package in brown paper, and the package goes along the conveyor belt during the sorting process in several sorting facilities, it has the potential to be bumping against packages that are much heavier next to it. All of this bumping tends to tear the brown paper. By the time your package arrives at the end of the assembly line, it has no paper on it and therefore no label. Now there is a box at the end of the line and the carrier has no idea to where it should be shipped.

Q) Should I place string around the box to keep it sealed tightly?

A) NO, NO, NO! Tying packages with string is cardinal sin #2 in shipping. There should be a corrugated box on the outside of the items being shipped and nothing else but the shipping label. Cross out the bar codes on any other labels on the outside of the box (no need to remove them - it hurts the integrity of the corrugate when you pull labels off the box).

Q) Can I use a shirt box or shoe box for shipping?

A) NO, NO, NO! Shirt boxes and shoes boxes, although they fit the shirt or shoes that are inside perfectly, are NOT for shipping. The ONLY type of box for shipping is a corrugated box with a certification seal on the bottom of the box (see one of my other articles about the corrugate seal).

Q) Can I send wrapped presents?

A) YES and NO. If you package the wrapped presents in a corrugated box, they are fine for shipping. If you bring a wrapped present for shipping and the shipper offers packaging service to have the item shipped, don't be offended... see answer #1 for an explanation.

Q) Can I ship the product back in the envelope in which it was shipped to me?

A) YES, if you seal the envelope tightly and there are no tears in the envelope, feel free to reuse it.

Q) Do carriers provide FREE supplies for shipping items?

A) YES, but generally only if you are sending the items via AIR service (Next Day Air or Second Day Air). Free supplies include letter size envelopes, legal size envelopes, bubble mailers, and small, medium, or large boxes.

Follow these guidelines and your package is likely going to arrive in good condition at its final destination.