Packing an organiser to ship to a new owner

A lot of our readers are selling or exchanging Filofax Organisers these days. You only have to take a look on our own Ad-spot (readers adverts) page to see the changing 'stock' on there.

We all like a reduced price organiser, but if the seller/sender fails to pack the organiser properly your whoops of joy on unpacking it might turn to tears and moans if it arrives damaged.

What you don't want to see..
Credit: Sandra

Another victim of the post
Credit: Christa

Packing a Filofax organiser so it escapes the worst of the punishment the mail people can throw at it is not difficult or expensive. So here are some tips to help you pack the organiser and to make sure it will arrive in excellent condition at the other end.

• If you have the original box or slip case that will help protect the organiser, but it is not essential.
• If you are sending the organiser with inserts,  remove these so you can pack the inside of the organiser with bubble wrap, or poly peanuts to help protect the rings. The more uniform in shape you can make the organiser the easier it will be to pack. 
• Removing the inserts also places less stress on the rings should the parcel get dropped by the couriers/mail people. 

• Once you have packed the inside of the organiser with poly peanuts, or foam or folded newspaper, put it in the slip case, it should be a very snug fit, if it isn't you need more packing inside it!
  
  If you are using one of the black Filofax boxes, add some padding around the outside of the organiser and make sure once you put it in the box it's not free to move around.





• Now put another layer of padding around the outside of the box/slip case, a single layer should do it. Make sure the corners are well protected 

• Finally drop it in a padded bag and seal it up with tape. Don't skimp on the size of the padded bag, buy a size bigger if it is too tight a fit, you can easily fold it over, they use wide sticky scotch tape to seal it up all around the edges. 
  
  Make sure the address is written in the correct format for the country it is going to. Your own address is on the reverse side. And when you go to the post office make sure you fill in the relevant customs forms for the country it is going to. These will normally be available at the post office.
• Get insurance and a tracking number for your parcel if possible, advise the recipient that you have posted the parcel and what the tracking number is so they can keep a trace on the parcel. 

It might seem like a lot of padding, but the trick is to layer the protection inside and outside the organiser to ensure that any drop the parcel suffers in transit the shock will be absorbed and the parcel should get to the destination intact. 

You can buy specialist mailing boxes like those used by Amazon and similar mail order companies, but I tend to save packing material in a large box for reusing for sending out items.

So next time you send an organiser I'm sure if you follow these simple tips you won't quite so worried once you have handed over your parcel. 

Here's a check list:

• Remove inserts from the rings, pop them in an envelope or wrap them in some plain paper
• Pad the inside of the organiser and the outside, place it in a box if you have one. 
• Make sure the organiser is a snug fit in the box
• Wrap the box with another layer packing before putting it in a padded envelope
• Make sure it's a snug fit in the envelope, tape the envelope securely shut. 
• Write the destination address and sender address on the reverse in clear BLOCK CAPTIALS using a waterproof ink marker pen. 
• Fill in the customs declaration form if required
• Insure the parcel for damage/loss and get a tracking number and pass the details to the recipient