Making sure your shipments are prepared for transit is one of the most important factors in a smooth and successful delivery. Issues with postage can impact delivery speed or can result in a failed delivery, while issues with packaging may result in damaged shipment contents.


Here are a some common packaging mistakes for you to be aware of and to avoid.


Incorrect postage


Prepare your shipment for a successful and speedy delivery by applying the correct postage for your shipments. 



Incorrect or Insufficient packaging


To avoid transit delays and potential damage to content, always take care to properly package your shipments.



  • Avoid packaging shipments in a different carrier’s shipping materials.

  • Take care to include extra padding for fragile items like bubble wrap, packing peanuts, foam inserts, etc.

  • Be sure to adequately secure closures. Use extra tape or adhesive if necessary.

  • Avoid gift wrapping shipments. Shipments may be subject to internal and external inspection.

  • Refrain from reusing boxes, particularly those which might have images or brand names of prohibited items on the outside. (Ex. a box that would have contained alcohol.) Remove any labelling that may indicate the previous contents contained a working battery.

  • Ensure your packaging does not contain excessive writing, old postage or old address labels. 

  • Taping boxes together is not recommended as they may come loose during transit.


Labelling errors


Create clarity by avoiding these labelling mistakes.



  • Make sure your labels are legible. Never send labels that you cannot easily read ex. faded labels, labels printed too small, labels printed in poor quality. Pay special attention to address and bar code information.

  • Incorrect label application. It’s best to place your labels along the long side of your  shipments, taking care to not wrap the label around any corners or edges. Apply labels smoothly and avoid creating folds. Labels should be applied to tubes in a manner which displays all information and the bar code can be scanned.

  • Misaligned labels. The entirety of your postage should be able to fit on one 4 x 6” label. Postage should begin at the top of the label and no information should be cut off.

  • Refrain from taping over the bar code of your labels. This makes it more difficult for bar code scanners to read your labels. Do not tape over thermal labels under any circumstance! This will cause label to fade.

  • Take care to properly secure your labels. Make sure no ends have rolled up as they have the potential to become removed or attached to other shipments. 

  • Ensure your addresses are written in English characters on the label. When sending to international destinations we recommend including a label in addition to this with the alternative address spelling.