Speak of the devil. Got a small flat rate box today. Squashed.
Why did you squash it?
I didn't have to do anything. The fact that the cardboard is near paper-thin allowed the box to get crushed enough in the course of shipment that it has multiple crease marks and no structural stability.
@airplanenut said:
I didn't have to do anything. The fact that the cardboard is near paper-thin allowed the box to get crushed enough in the course of shipment that it has multiple crease marks and no structural stability.
I was just being sarcastic but, if you're receiving that many smashed boxes it almost sounds intentional. I went out in the garage and did a stress test on a small "flat rate" box and the results were impressive.
This is a 21 pound bucket of copper windings -
This is a 21 pound bucket + a 19 pound bucket - (40 pounds) -
Finally, I added a third bucket. Another 17 pounds (57 pounds) and the integrity of the box is unchanged -
I would not consider the flat rate box flimsy by any standard -
Hugh Wood is a good option costing a lot less than usps insurance. Discretion is the other good way to avoid trouble, double packaging even with bubble wrap. Ebay store owners get a coupon for 100 bubble wrap packages a quarter.
1- What's in the box (how well padded it is inside)?
2- Did you try not evenly distributing the weight?
3- Did you put those buckets down gently or allow any to fall?
A lot of materials can be strong when distributed loads are added in a careful manner, but as soon as a point load is applied, they fall apart. While your lab test is valid on the whole, it doesn't match the real world where heavy packages are moving at high speed. As soon as some part of the box fails (for instance, it buckles and that part of the box gets a crease), any additional loads will only serve to further damage it, as its integrity is ruined forever.
Comments
I didn't have to do anything. The fact that the cardboard is near paper-thin allowed the box to get crushed enough in the course of shipment that it has multiple crease marks and no structural stability.
I was just being sarcastic but, if you're receiving that many smashed boxes it almost sounds intentional. I went out in the garage and did a stress test on a small "flat rate" box and the results were impressive.
This is a 21 pound bucket of copper windings -
This is a 21 pound bucket + a 19 pound bucket - (40 pounds) -
Finally, I added a third bucket. Another 17 pounds (57 pounds) and the integrity of the box is unchanged -
I would not consider the flat rate box flimsy by any standard -
Hugh Wood is a good option costing a lot less than usps insurance. Discretion is the other good way to avoid trouble, double packaging even with bubble wrap. Ebay store owners get a coupon for 100 bubble wrap packages a quarter.
@Leroy : A few thoughts/questions...
1- What's in the box (how well padded it is inside)?
2- Did you try not evenly distributing the weight?
3- Did you put those buckets down gently or allow any to fall?
A lot of materials can be strong when distributed loads are added in a careful manner, but as soon as a point load is applied, they fall apart. While your lab test is valid on the whole, it doesn't match the real world where heavy packages are moving at high speed. As soon as some part of the box fails (for instance, it buckles and that part of the box gets a crease), any additional loads will only serve to further damage it, as its integrity is ruined forever.