Sending books abroad – packaging rules

The online sale of books, school books and reading accessories requires packages to be properly prepared. Otherwise, the goods may be damaged during transport by the courier company. For this reason alone, it is useful to know how the shipping of books abroad should take place. We have explained this step by step in our guide for entrepreneurs.

Is it safe to ship books abroad?

National and international laws do not regulate exactly how to send books abroad. This means that e-commerce companies and online bookshops have complete freedom in this matter. The most important thing is to send the goods to the customer in a properly fitted carton. This not only translates into the safety of the goods, but also the level of customer satisfaction when the parcel is received from the courier.

Enclosing the reading in a standard foil pack will not be a good idea. Such packaging does not provide any protection for the edges of the book – at most it protects the product from moisture. To ensure maximum security for your parcel, it is advisable to use RAJA’s proven operational materials. These are not only dedicated book packaging available in several variants, but also bubble envelopes and kraft wrapping paper.

Sending books abroad does not have to be expensive at all. Check out, how to send a package cheaply and reduce your business costs. All you need to do is choose the right courier company, negotiate good shipping terms or use an external courier service.

How do you send books abroad? Step by step

The contents of the parcel have quite an impact on which cardboard box you should use for shipping. Books can be really heavy. For this reason, it is advisable to use the following for the shipping of collective packages of books 7-ply corrugated cardboard boxes. They are robust, convenient to close and great for protecting the contents of the parcel from damage. To make packing and sending books abroad a little easier, we have prepared a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to prepare books for shipment safely and quickly.

1. Determine the dimensions of your package – this is important, if only for reasons of shipping costs and how the goods are packed. Individual reading items can be packed in book wrappers. If the parcel is larger and heavier, it is better to choose a cardboard box with an automatic bottom made of 3 and 5 layer cardboard.
2. Place the book in the cardboard box and protect it from damage – This is the most important step when it comes to shipping books abroad. International transit can take up to several days. Adequate protection of the paper object is essential. For this purpose, it is worth using bubble wrap by the metre or foil envelopes. This will further protect the book from the effects of possible moisture – as you know, paper is highly susceptible to this factor.
3. Seal the cardboard box with the books – Sealing the cardboard packaging tightly is just as important as securing the inside of the parcel. The following are useful for this self-adhesive packing tapes. They enable the cardboard box to be quickly secured against the risk of spontaneous opening during transport.
4. Label the packaging with the appropriate – For this purpose you can use RAJA packaging tape or pre-printed adhesive labels. Books are not a highly sensitive material, so falls from heights are unlikely to pose any danger to them. The problem is damp packaging or unsealing. For this reason, it is a good idea to label the parcel correctly for the courier’s information.
5. Mark the parcel with the courier label – correct parcel labelling is one of the most important elements when it comes to sending books abroad. In an online bookshop, an excellent choice is a thermal printer, for which you need thermal labels. This speeds up the process of packing the parcel considerably and at the same time guarantees that the label will not be damaged even during multi-day transport.

Once the above steps have been followed, shipping books abroad seems much easier. Difficulties usually arise when a customer orders a larger number of books in one parcel. As the weight of the parcel increases, so does the risk of damage, for example during a fall. This is why it is important to protect the parcel properly and use, for example, parcel fillers. For this reason, it is important to protect the parcel properly and to use, for example, parcel fillers.

How much does it cost to send books abroad?

The cost of sending books abroad can be on average from a few zlotys upwards. The discrepancies can be considerable, as each shipping company applies different rates for transporting parcels internationally. To assess, what influences the cost of a courier parcel beyond the country’s borders, several factors need to be taken into account:

• the weight of the package,
• the dimensions of the parcel,
• the content, e.g. books,
• the destination address, i.e. the country of delivery,
• the method of delivery – many courier companies offer express shipping, which is an additional charge.

Based on these few parameters, the average cost of shipping books abroad can be determined. This is essential, especially when selling books online. Potential customers, when finalising an order, should know how much they will pay for packing and shipping the book to the destination country.

What materials should I use to ship my reading abroad?

It is advisable to use only tried and tested operational materials for packing books and stationery. Only in this way will a book prepared for shipment out of the country be perfectly protected, e.g. from the effects of moisture. A few recommended products that should never be missing from an online bookshop’s stock are:

• Cardboard packaging: for shipping books abroad we recommend Rajapost cardboard boxes and economy packaging. It is useful to have several types of packaging of different sizes in your company. This makes it easy to match the dimensions of the cardboard box to the size of the books to be shipped. The better matched the packaging, the less additional filler is used for the empty spaces in the cartons.

• Bubble wrap: This is probably the most popular filler for parcels. Bubble films have many characteristics. They protect the inside of the parcel from impact, moisture and even complete flooding of the parcel.

• Bubble envelopes: cardboard envelopes are a good choice for shipping single items of paper products. This makes it much cheaper and safer to send books abroad. The inner layer of air bubbles perfectly protects the edges of the books and prevents moisture from penetrating the interior.

• Adhesive tape: Without adhesive tape, sealing parcels would be severely hampered. Tested packaging tapes RAJA makes it possible to seal the parcel tightly. This ensures that the cardboard box with the books inside arrives intact.

• Parcel stickers: The shipment of books abroad requires proper parcel marking. In order to inform the courier to be extra careful, it is advisable to use warning tape or ready-made stickers.

• Edge and corner protectors: these are usually foam profiles that are used in industry. However, there is no objection to using them to protect a valuable book from being shipped abroad.

It is also worth knowing, how to pack a large parcel well. This is especially important when shipping a larger book order – even up to a dozen books in one shipment. The only limitation in this case will be the weight of the parcel. Courier companies usually allow international transit of parcels up to about 30 kilograms. Above this weight, transport is not possible or requires an additional charge.

Selling and shipping books abroad – summary

Shipping books abroad is not difficult, especially with the use of tested packing materials. Before starting an online sale with the option of shipping goods out of the country, it is worth checking, which are the largest bubble envelopes and the strongest cardboard packaging. This is essential knowledge that enables you to choose the right stationery store supplies and ship your readings safely to your customers.