10 Tips for shipping this holiday season

I don't want to see your box like this until it's where it's supposed to be.

The package you ship across the country is important to you. You know what's inside. You know the person it's going to. You know how receiving this will make them feel. You are extremely exited about your package and its arrival at its final destination.

The person handling your package at the shipping service does not know any of those things. To them, that package is one of the thousand other cardboard boxes they will see. They have a hard job that most are only doing while they are in school or looking for something else. No one dreams of being a package handler. Sure, they want your package to arrive safely and as quick as possible, but they want to get home safely and as quick as possible even more.

Right now, I am one of those workers helping to deliver your box. I see the boxes that make it through the shipping system in tact and on time. I also see the boxes that are mangled and have their contents spilled all on the floor of the shipping truck.

There are several things you can do prior to shipping your package that will help your package arrive at its destination as quickly and safely as possible. There are no guarantees, but the packages that do not follow these tips are the ones I regularly see shipped to the wrong location or accidentally busted open.

1. Don't lie about the weight - Nothing is more frustrating for a package handler than reaching down to pick up a box marked "3 lbs" and discovering it weighs more like 30 pounds. Lying about the weight, if you can get away with it, might save you a few bucks in the short term, but it will increase the likelihood that your package is dropped and/or damaged.

2. Extra tape is always a plus - You've already bought some packing tape, why try to scrimp by with as little as possible. Go around a couple extra times. The tape is the weakest part of the package. Trying to get by with using one one piece of tape, is asking for the things inside the box to fall on the ground and become damaged. It is one of the easiest ways you can keep your package safe - add extra tape to any of the weak spots on your box.

3. Use the right box - You might not know this, but your package is not moved from hand to hand until it reaches its delivery point. It moves across conveyor belts, rollers and other mechanical systems that do not care what they tear up. If you use a flimsy box with heavy contents, more than likely they are going to fall out. Use the appropriate box for your shipment - both size and strength. The studier box may cost a little extra, but it will provide better protection.

4. Avoid multiple shipping labels - It can save you money to reuse old boxes, but if you do not cover up the old label somehow, your package may be shipped to the wrong place. Your package may be the only one you see that day. It may be one of 2,000 I see in a night. The loader may have no idea which label is the right one. They'll use the first one they see. If you have two labels on the box, you don't know which one they'll see first. Fix that problem by covering up the old label with the new one or at least with a black marker.

5. Make the label visible - Don't play hide the label on your box. It is very time-consuming, and therefore aggravating, to the box loader to flip the package all around, trying to hunt for the correct address label. For some reason, people often put the label on the smallest, most obscure side of the box. Put the label on the top or the largest side of the box. Those are where we look first. Also, try not to cover the box in white labels similar to the shipping label that we are trying to find and scan.

6. Do not use colorful labels - Sure, a green or red label may look festive, but you may want to think twice about going color crazy on the shipping label. First, package handlers automatically look for white labels (the predominate color). If it's not white, you are making the label less visible (see tip #5). Also, it can make it more difficult to scan. If we don't scan it, the shipping company can't track it and neither can you. White with black bar codes and address is the most visible to our eyes as well as the laser scanners.

7. Avoid handwriting the address - You may have won the handwriting award in the 5th grade and you enjoy showing it off. Save it for something else. Again, it's a matter of what package handlers are accustomed to seeing. The vast majority of the labels use the same font for a reason - it's extremely visible and easily readable. The harder you make it for the handlers to read the label, the more likely it is your package ends up going to the wrong location. Have the label printed out from a computer by the shipping company.

8. Go to the shipping store - There are a lot of things you can do at home. You can prepare your package at home and even print off all the labels you need. More likely than not that will work fine, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, your printer is running out of ink and I can barely read the address or my scanner won't scan the barcode. Yes, it will take a little extra time, but it will be worth it in the long run when your package arrives safely and on schedule.

9. Double check the shipping address - In your mind, you know exactly where this your package is supposed to be shipped. The package handler will have no idea if you do not have all of the details on your shipping address just right. It's not a big deal to you if the zip code has the last two number switched, after all you have the right city and state on there. It should get there. It will probably get there eventually, but those two switched numbers may mean it goes in the wrong direction and causes your package to be late. It cannot hurt to just make sure you have the entire shipping address correct.

10. Make sure the bar code is scannable - That row of lines under the address means absolutely nothing to you, but to me that's how I let you and the shipping company know that your package is in a specific truck. Place the label on a solid piece of cardboard, not across two flaps, as it can cause the label to be folded or torn. If you are shipping a long tube, don't wrap the label around the tube with the bar code running parallel with the tube itself. My scanner cannot wrap around the tube.

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When you ship a gift across the country, you aren't thinking about the persons in between. You are only thinking about the person who is going to be excited to receive and open the box. However, you can help make sure that person is able to excitedly open the package, by spending a few extra moments thinking about the persons in between.