“I moved out of my sister’s place and forgot my Chromebook. She said she’d mail it to me. Which she did,” Fran said, rolling her eyes, “by shoving it into a padded envelope and dropping it in the corner mailbox. By the time it got to me – and it took like a week! – it looked like it had been run over by a truck. The case is cracked in 3 places. She’s lucky the screen didn’t break. I’m really not happy with her. Who does that?”
Sometimes people make mistakes when they ship computers. Fran’s sister is a good example of what not to do when you ship a computer. Padded envelopes aren’t strong enough to protect fragile electronics from the rigors of shipping, where packages can be dropped, kicked, and stepped on. A better choice is to use strong cardboard shipping boxes with protective padding and anti-shock foam.
Here are some of the other do’s and don’ts of shipping a computer:
Do: Use original packaging if you have it available
Lots of tech-savvy people know to hold onto the original packaging their technology came in. These custom designed cartons are great – but they’re really designed to be used only once. As a best practice, package your tech in the original packaging and then package that in a cardboard shipping carton. This way your item has an extra level of protection.
Don’t: Guess the Address
The number one reason people have when they ship items is they get the destination address wrong. Freight carriers and delivery services are limited in their abilities. They can only deliver items where they’re told to deliver them – they don’t know where you meant to send them. When laptops, smart phones, game systems and other expensive items are delivered to an incorrect address, recovery is not not always possible. Don’t take chances! Confirm you have the right address before you ship your computer.