4 shipping mistakes you should avoid making

A usual method of saving some money on your moves is to ship your items instead of hiring a moving company to transport them. More and more people choose to go with this option to try and save some money. However, it is not all that simple. There are a few shipping mistakes you should avoid, lest you invite unnecessary stress and complications. The best thing to do, as always, is to entrust your belongings to one of the better international shipping companies NJ, in order to avoid any unnecessary complications. You don’t want to add something like that to the list of possible issues that you might face.

You need to make sure that you understand regulations and freight rates and get adequate insurance. In the case of commercial shipping, you will also need to pay close attention to the timing of your exports and imports. All in all, you need to at least know:

What are the shipping mistakes you should avoid?

Here are the four most common shipping mistakes that you can avoid simply knowing about them and thinking about them before you sign your shipping charters:

1. Not getting proper insurance for your items
2. Do not opt for cheapest freight rates
3. Not understanding regulations
4. One of the most common shipping mistakes you should avoid – Mistiming imports and exports

1. Not getting proper insurance for your items

This is the most commonly made mistake. While, for the most part, your items will arrive safely at their destination, there are times when they will not. Or they can accrue damage in the process which will reduce or remove their value. In these cases, you will need to turn to your insurance provider to try and recoup your losses. For example, almost all art movers NYC suggests that you need to purchase additional insurance for any items that have a lot higher value than their weight would indicate, such as art objects.

You see, the “regular” or standard insurance rates only account for the general value of items, usually based on weight. If your items are worth far more than their weight would say, you will need to purchase additional insurance. If you want the insurance to cover the actual cost, that is. This will definitely dip into your savings or profits but will make the whole process a lot safer. That is why insurance is there for, anyway. To make the unbearable bearable.

2. Do not opt for cheapest freight rates

While you do want to save the maximum amount of your hard-earned money, it is not advisable to do so with freight rates. You definitely do not need to pick the highest ones, do avoid the cheapest ones, as well. The reasoning behind this is that these rates are there for items that are not really important and can be handled without any care. Because to be completely frank, care costs. The more care your items require, the more you will need to pay for the service of freighting them. The best thing to do here is to carefully strike a balance between your budget and freight rates. Never go for the lowest option, unless you have assurances that your items will receive proper care.

Some companies will offer really affordable freight rates with a high degree of service associated with them so it pays off to do your research.

3. Not understanding regulations

If you are shipping your items internationally, you also need to pay close attention to the regulations of the country in question. It is not hard to make a mistake and ship something that will be seized by the customs department. You also need to make sure that your items are not on a prohibited shipping list. This is a simple mistake to make and you can prevent it simply by thinking about it and verifying that any items that might be prohibited are, in fact, not. Simple as that.

Bottom line is that you need to check for any regulations that might impede your items from arriving at your new home.

4. One of the most common shipping mistakes you should avoid – Mistiming imports and exports

If you are using shipping commercially, you will need to pay attention to the timing of your shipments. The best thing is to sort out shipping rates and all other information well in advance and to make sure that your shipments arrive at the right time. Not paying attention to these details may lead to delays and unhappy customers. Which might escalate and create big problems for your company. Overall, make sure to pay close attention to when and where is something supposed to arrive. Don’t simply ship and forget about it.

Other shipping mistakes you should avoid

There are few more mistakes that warrant further explanation, such as:

• Not using proper labels
• Not packing items the right way

These mistakes are mostly made in commercial situations but everyone can learn from them.

Not using proper labels

Labeling is really important. This says, at a glance, what a container contains. If it is done haphazardly, there will be room for miscommunication and some packages might simply be returned, no questions asked. This can be a real problem for both residential and commercial shipping, regardless of whether it is shipped locally or internationally. The best way to label your items is to use simple words for descriptions and highly readable and visible font for addresses. You never know who is supposed to handle these items and you want to make sure that they have the easiest time in the world figuring out what it says on the label.

Not packing items the right way

Finally, you can actually pack your items the wrong way. You need to understand that in the shipping process, there is a high possibility that your items will end up being thrown. Sometimes they might even land on hard surfaces. In order to minimize the risk of damage, you need to pack your items carefully, with some padding and no “wiggle” room inside the packaging. Basically, make it so that even if the item is to fall on a hard surface from a few meters of height, it does not suffer too much damage. Because that is what might happen in the shipping process, from time to time.