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How To Ship More Than One Book (Multiple Volumes)

Posted by hughlh

A reader wrote in and asked the following question:I have a set of Harvard Classics I intend to sell soon. It is roughly 50 volumes. When shipping a set, do you follow the same procedure you already discussed for wrapping each individual volume? Is it any more or less safe to wrap the books in small groups? Should I try to ship this many books in one big box, or am I better off shipping in two or three (or more) smaller boxes? For discussion purposes, assume I am sending the set of books within the U.S.

Well, the only way I know to answer this is to tell you what I would do and have done in the past.

First, we want to keep in mind the 4 principles we discussed here regarding shipping books, namely:

1. Protection- The client should receive the book in “as described” condition.
2. Economy- If we shipped everything in boxes made of 3/4“ plywood, the book would be protected, but would cost about $25 each to ship.
3. Convenience to the client- The client wants to be able to open the box, short of using a blowtorch.
4. Professionalism- I am a professional, and I want to act that way, because I wish to be perceived that way. I am not a fan of being cutsie, nor am I a fan of looking like an amateur. I have spent years learning my trade, and to throw all that away by saving $.10 seems a bit asinine.

About 3 or 4 months ago, we bought a 39 volumes set of The Easton Press Shakespeare for a client. We shipped it to him thus:

Each book wrapped in tissue, as normal.

We took a medium sized box (there is a size marketed as a book box, approx 16X12X12), lined it with a layer of bubble wrap on sides and bottom. You want the box small enough that it is not a pain to carry; additionally, smaller boxes get treated better by the shippers.

We placed each book inside, placing each spine down so looking in the top of the box, all you see is the foredge. We do it this way for several reasons; It is the best use of the space, it packs the books a bit tighter than doing it any other way, they are less likely to get spine roll, and it relieves pressure on the hinges.

We then filled in extra space with bubble wrap and pieces of cardboard. You want it quite tight. Make sure to only go 1 layer deep (no books on top of each other), as again, you are asking for spine roll.

Seal the box as normal. This has been discussed, among other places, here.

Place the entire box in a clean black plastic heavy duty bag (33 gallon trash bag is ideal) and seal it securely , folding the bag tight againt the box. This is to keep out moisture.

Then place the whole box/bag combo in yet another, slightly larger box, which has several layers of bubblewrap in the bottom.

Fill the surrounding area (between the boxes) with bubble wrap. Use it as chinking, just as if you were building a log cabin. Take pieces of loose bubblewrap and a yardstick and mash it in anywhere you see air. The goal is for there to be NO movement when you shake the box. If you can hear anything inside the box, it is NOT properly packed.

Seal and mail the box as normal. When shipping multiple boxes to one client, it is helpful to label the individual boxes, in BOLD letters on the outside with something like BOX # 1 of 3 BOXES so if it arrives piecemeal the client won’t think you shorted him. Also, verify with your insurer how multiple boxes are treated when they are part of one shipment.

Now, this may be overkill for the Harvard classics, but I don’t think so. They are just as important to the client who bought them as the Easton set was to my client.

Thanks for the question, and thanks for reading my ramblings here.

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