Packing a chipped pot so it does not become a broken pot

Almost every breakage we have handled came from one of two causes, and neither of them is the courier throwing the box.

Mistake one: the box that is too small

An object needs at least two inches of crushable material on every face, including underneath. A box that fits the object snugly transmits every impact straight into it. A box with two inches of clearance turns an impact into a deceleration.

This is why our shipping estimates look high compared to what you paid to send a book. You are paying for volume, not weight.

Mistake two: the double box that is not double boxed

A double box only works if the inner box floats. If the inner box touches the outer box on any face, you have built a single box with an expensive liner. Two inches of clearance on all six faces, or it is not a double box.

What we actually do

• Unbleached tissue directly against the glaze, never bubble wrap — the bubbles print into a matte surface over a long transit.
• Wood wool or crumpled kraft for the crush layer. It fails progressively, which is what you want.
• A float of two inches on all six faces between inner and outer.
• Existing damage is wrapped first and separately, and marked on the outside of the inner box so the buyer unpacks that end last.
• Furniture over 40 lb goes on a blanket-wrapped freight service, not a parcel carrier, and we say so in the estimate.