Packing a parcel safely

Packing art so it arrives in the state it left in.

Artmire does not print labels, buy postage or arrange collection. You pack the parcel and you post it, with the carrier you choose — what Artmire gives you is the address, the deadline you promised, and somewhere to put the tracking number afterwards.

Go to Deliveries

Where to find what you need

Deliveries lists every paid order. Opening one shows the buyer's full address — name, street, apartment, city, postal code and country — and the date the delivery was promised for.

That promised date is not a guess. It is worked out from the Business Days on the shipping rate you set, counted from the order. It is what the buyer was told and what your Shipping score is measured against, so read it before you decide when to go to the post office.

Shipping profiles

Pack for the journey, not for the shelf

A parcel is thrown, stacked under heavier parcels, left in a van in the sun and dropped from waist height at least once. Pack as though all of that will happen, because most of it will.

Nothing should move inside the box. Shake it gently before you tape it. If you can hear or feel anything shift, add more padding.
Nothing should touch the outer wall. A few centimetres of give on every side, including top and bottom, is what absorbs a drop.
Wrap first, then cushion. The wrapping protects the surface; the cushioning protects against impact. They are two different jobs and one material rarely does both.

By what you are sending

Anything framed or glazed — tape a cross over the glass so a break holds together instead of travelling through the work, then corner protectors, then a box with room all round. Consider whether the piece needs to travel glazed at all.
Works on paper, unframed — flat between two sheets of stiff board, taped so it cannot slide, or rolled in a tube with a wide diameter. Never roll something that has been flat for years without knowing it will take it.
Canvas — protect the face without pressing on it. Anything resting directly on the surface will leave a mark by the time it arrives.
Ceramics, glass and anything with a thin part — wrap the fragile part separately, then the whole piece, then float it in a box. Handles and spouts break because they were packed as part of the body.
Jewellery and small pieces — a small box inside a larger one. A padded envelope with something hard in it gets folded by a sorting machine.

Choose a box that fits after padding rather than before it. An oversized box needs so much filling that the piece ends up loose in the middle of it, and an undersized one has no give at all.

What to include

Nothing is required, and Artmire prints nothing for you. What is worth adding is small:

A note with the buyer's name and what the piece is, so an opened box can be matched to an order.
Hanging or care instructions, if the piece needs any.
Something handwritten. A line thanking them, when the alternative is a bare box, is the cheapest good review you will ever earn.

Do not put anything in the parcel that invites the next sale off Artmire — a card with your own shop address, a discount for ordering directly. Bypassing Artmire for future orders is against the contractual agreement signed with us and it costs you the protection and the record that come with an order here.

Posting it

Always use a tracked service. A tracking number is what proves you sent it, what lets the buyer stop worrying, and what Artmire needs in order to consider the delivery under way. Untracked postage saves a little and costs you every dispute.
Insure what you cannot afford to replace. Postal compensation for an uninsured parcel is close to nothing.
Keep the receipt until the buyer has confirmed the piece arrived.
Write the address exactly as the buyer entered it, including the apartment line. It is the address their carrier will look for.

For anything going abroad, fill in the customs form honestly. Undervaluing a parcel to reduce the buyer's duty leaves them unable to claim if it is lost, and it is their name on the paperwork, not yours.

Your shop policies

Then tell Artmire it is on its way

Add the tracking number to the delivery as soon as you have it. That is what moves the order along for the buyer, starts the tracking, and — as things stand — is the point from which you are paid.

Adding a tracking number

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