You can ship a laptop safely and securely by following a few simple guidelines for packing and labeling. Ensure your laptop arrives on time and in good condition by avoiding the damage and delays. Damage can occur when a laptop is improperly boxed or insufficiently insured. Delays occur when a laptop is shipped without proper documentation or labeling. Proper packing and labeling guidelines for shipping a laptop are outlined below:
1. Use a Padded Laptop Box
The easiest and most reliable way to package is laptop is with a box specifically designed for laptop shipping. These “laptop boxes” can be found on here on amazon.com for as little as $11.95 with free 2 day Prime shipping. They have built in padding to absorb the impacts incurred during the shipping process. Make sure you purchase a box designed to fit the dimensions of your laptop.
2. Pack Properly
Make sure the laptop is wrapped in plastic before it is placed into the box. This will protect your laptop from damage from liquids from other packages in the shipping network or if it is left out in the rain – believe me, it happens. Also ensure your laptop doesn’t slide around inside the box and if necessary add additional padding to prevent it from moving inside the box. We recommend securely taping all seams in the box and if you have access to tamper evident security tape it’s not a bad idea to use that as well.
3. Obey Battery Regulations
Regulations for shipping lithium ion batteries vary by country and by shipping service but within the United States you can generally ship your personal electronics with one lithium ion battery by including a short note on the outside of the package: “Lithium ion batteries packed with equipment: P.I. 966-II”. We recommend you contact your shipper to double check regulations as they are constantly changing or if you are shipping internationally or if you plan to ship more than one battery. Failure to follow proper regulations can result in search and seizure of you laptop.
4. Choose the right Shipping Carrier
We recommend shipping your laptop with a know carrier such as UPS, DHL or FedEx and using an Air service because it will minimize the amount of time and handling endured by your laptop during shipping. Also, purchase insurance from the shipper but beware that excessive insurance for international shipments can result in high duty and tax charges that will need to be paid before your laptop is delivered. Always include your cell phone number when you generate a shipping label so the shipper can contact you if there is a problem.
Follow these simple steps and you should have no problem shipping your laptop. If this seems too complicated we provide you with shipping labels and documentation for less than going directly to the shipping carriers.
