How to pack a parcel that survives sea freight

A parcel going by sea is not the same as a parcel going across town. It will be lifted, stacked, driven, craned and stored, often under other cargo, for three to four weeks. Most damage we see is not rough handling — it is packing that was never meant to last that long.

Use double-wall cartons. Single-wall boxes from a supermarket are fine for a courier envelope going 20 kilometres; they are not fine for a container. Fill every void so nothing shifts, because a half-empty box collapses under the weight of the one above it.

Wrap anything fragile individually, not as a group. Tape all seams along the length and across both ends. Write the destination on the carton itself as well as on the label, because labels come off.

Declare what is inside honestly. An inaccurate declaration is the single most common reason a consignment gets held at customs, and a held consignment costs more in storage than the duty you were trying to avoid.