Best Ways to Prevent Tampering with Your Packages

Regardless of whether you have a business that relies on S or you do it for private reasons, you want them to arrive whole at their destination. Shipment mishaps can turn your clients away, even though you are not the culprit. 

To avoid inconveniences, the best way to prevent tampering with your packages is to use some of the following measures. They may not succeed in stopping the thieves, but your clients will see you as a professional and responsible sender who is not to blame. Moreover, you may be able to get compensation for the stolen and damaged items in the end.

• Choose the right packing method

Everything starts on your end! The way you pack your shipments may determine their fate during transfer to their destination.  Start by assessing the item — its shape, size, frailty, weight, material, and other factors can affect the delivery. Even if you don’t deem the item fragile, you should use a bubble wrap at least, just in case. 

Also, the product should fit in the packaging, meaning you need to use the packing method that won’t require using force that can damage it or change its shape. This also applies to the way you wrap your items since wrapping them too tightly can make them tear, crack, break, or deform.     

• Get insurance for your packages

Shipping insurance is an extra cost that many think they don’t need, but in this case, it can save you a lot of trouble. If you send packages all the time, having insurance can cover the items that are expensive and precious. Shipments get lost or damaged, even stolen, so having this type of financial protection is worth the cost you need to pay to the insurance agency. So, if such an unfortunate event occurs, you won’t have to cover all the costs. 

• Create return-to-sender packaging

If your customers are not satisfied with the product, they may want to return it to you. Chances are they may not know how to pack it up again to prevent tampering, so you need to anticipate this, as well. Packaging solutions that allow unpacking and repacking of the product will improve the customer experience and your image on the market. Furthermore, it will make sure that the product arrives back to you undamaged, so you can send it to another customer and avoid losing money.   

Also Read: Protect Your Products While Transportation Through Shipping Boxes

• Don’t reuse old or worn down packaging materials

You may be tempted to save money by reusing old packing materials, but it can bring more damage to your business than gain. Already used packaging has lost its structural integrity during the previous handling, so it may be too weak to protect your product. This especially applies to carton and paper packing, but other types of packaging can also be a bad idea if reused old or worn down, like rotten wood boxes.

• Ensure the labels are clear

Packing a product won’t work if you don’t attach a clear label with the recipient’s and sender’s addresses. More information you can include is instruction for shipping personnel on how to handle the package, especially if you packed something delicate. You can label it with “handle with extra care”, for example, with stickers or stamps. 

Avoid creating handwritten instructions or taping a piece of paper on the package with addresses and instructions. Your handwriting can be illegible or humidity can damage the paper, so your package can get lost along the way. The best option is to print everything out and place it in protective foil, and then attach it to your shipment. 

• Wrap products separately

When you are sending more than one item, you should wrap them separately. During transport, the items will come in contact with each other and wrapping can protect them from damage. Additionally, use cushioning when you send multiple products, so they don’t move inside the package at all. 

Plastic foil wrapped around liquid items will prevent potential leaks to destroy or damage other products. If you assess that having more items in one package is not a good idea, then don’t hesitate to pack them individually. 

• Require documented accountability

Documented accountability means that your packages’ condition will be recorded each time it is handled during delivery. This allows you to track the shipment and know when it reached its destination and that it’s secured. The latter gives you an option to find out at which point there was a problem with the package and fix it for future deliveries. You have to require documented accountability from your shipping company before you hand them the package or see if they offer one before hiring them.  

• Wrap more for long-distance shipments

Consider this as well — long distances need more secured packaging. During long-distance shipments, the package goes through several delivery points and is handled by a lot of people. It can also be stored in spots that offer unsatisfactory conditions, like high humidity. Use tape, extra wrapping, waterproof packaging, and other means to make sure your item arrives unscathed to its destination.    

• Use security seals

Attaching security seals to your packages is one of the best options to prevent tampering. These devices use locking mechanisms that will make it harder for thieves to get inside of a package. However, they can also tell you whether someone has opened the package. This is a great choice if you can hold liable for the security of the package by a shipping company or storage utility. Security seals are commonly used for wooden crates and shipping containers, but you can use them on other packages that allow this type of sealing.

• Consider tamper-evident tape

Tamper-evident tape is used for carton packaging, which is easy to open with a little bit of force. You won’t be able to miss whether someone tried to open your package or succeeded to do it. When a thief removes the evident tape, it will imprint “void” or “opened” on the carton. This measure can also serve as a warning to thieves and make them give up from tampering with your packages. 

• Cushion fragile items

Fragile items can easily break, crack, reshape, damage, or be destroyed during delivery. You can lower the chances of this happening if you use cushioning — items and materials specifically designed to add another layer of protection, like air pillows and bubble wrap. 

Styrofoam peanuts are also commonly used, but you should wrap fragile items just in case. If you are sending products that need to be kept cool, use gel packs instead of dry ice — it’s cheaper and has better results.  

• Perform a final check

Before you send your package, be sure you did everything possible to protect it from tampering. Perform a visual inspection, see whether tape and seals are in place, and check the recipient’s address once again. Mistakes happen to the best of us so checking one more time you packed it right will lower the risks of your shipment getting damaged or looted.  

In conclusion

A foolproof measure to prevent tampering with your packages doesn’t exist. But, you can do as much as possible to dissuade others from illegally opening the package or protect it from damage during shipment. From bubble wrap and printed shipping information to security seals and tamper-evident tape, you can make sure that recipients receive the package intact. There is no such thing as too much bubble wrap when packing, especially in the case of fragile or valuable items whose damage can cost you a lot.