Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship: Gallery Recommended & Client Reviewed

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Here is a recent review from a client we recently shipped a beautiful piece of art for from a local gallery:

“My husband and I purchased a piece of art from a gallery in Pittsburgh and needed to have it shipped to our home in Boston. The gallery recommended Pak Mail Pittsburgh and put us in touch with Ana Duran. Working with Ana, from start to finish, was a delight. She presented us with our various options and quotes, worked with the gallery on getting specifics about the art, and answered all of our questions clearly and quickly. She stayed in touch during the whole shipping process, from the moment we accepted the quote to the moment the package arrived at our doorstep. We had great confidence that our art would arrive in perfect condition, and it did!! I recommend Pak Mail Pittsburgh and Ana Duran most highly and will definitely use them again.”

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Last Minute Packing & Shipping: Who You Gonna Call?

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Received a call from a client this past Monday asking if we could pack and load 78 pieces (plus multiple sub-assemblies) of fragile laboratory equipment to ship on Friday. Our onsite packing team gathered medium to very large pieces from two building and four floors, packed, containerized, crated, palletized all the equipment, and loaded the 53′ truck on Friday on schedule! Contact us if you have something that needs to be done right and right on time!

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COLLEGE STUDENT SHIPPING DOs AND DON’Ts

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If Spring Break is almost over, can end of term be far behind? Here’s a quick list of our choice “DOs and DON’Ts” when it comes to shipping your stuff.   10609220_ml

DOs

  1. Do your homework – Yup, just like mom always says. Check out the shipping company you are planning on using. Look on the internet for reviews. There are a lot of “actors” out there that may improperly package your stuff and/or lose it in transit. Look for a company that is locally-based.
  2. Do look for a shipping company that has the option of either sending your items via ground (UPS or FedEx) or via motor freight. General rule is that if you have more than seven-eight boxes, your most economical mode will be shipping via freight on a pallet.
  3. If you are flying home to an international destination and have only a few things, do consider packing and checking them as extra luggage. If you have more than 7-8 boxes and you are not in a particular hurry, shipping via ocean is an economical mode.
  4. Do select your boxes well! “Moving boxes” sold by big box retailers and rental agencies are not great for shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground due to their thin-wall construction.  They are okay if shipping via freight.  Do use new boxes – old boxes are significantly less strong because of moisture absorption as well as wear & tear. Do use as many same-sized boxes as possible for easy stacking if shipping via freight and storage.
  5. Do let professionals pack your fragile items and electronics, and remember that the retail packaging (if you still have) your TV or computer came in is not suitable for shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground.

DON’Ts

  1. Don’t over-pack or stuff you boxes.
  2. Don’t ship hazardous and/or flammable materials like alcohol, perfume, nail polish, or bleach. Check with your shipping company if you have any questions. If shipping liquids, make sure they are in break-resistant packaging and sealed in a thick plastic bag (Ziploc Freezer Bags).
  3. If planning on shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground, don’t use plastic totes as they tend to crack and shatter during transit and don’t seal very well. Totes are okay if shipping via freight.
  4. Don’t ask about student discounts until you already have a quoted cost. Some companies (not us) will inflate the cost if you mention student discounts at the beginning and then apply a bogus discount.

     5.  Don’t  wait to the last minute (again as mom always says) to plan your shipping.

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We Pack & Ship Big

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Custom Crates PittsburghGot something heavy, large, fragile, or all three to get from here to there? Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship has all the capabilities to solve your most complex packing and shipping challenges. A recent example is a large (56″ x 56″ x 103″) circuit breaker weighing 3000 lbs and requiring special protection to ship overseas via ocean freight. We started by wrapping  the unit in 6 mil  VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) shrink film to protect from the corrosive effects of salty sea air. The next step was to custom crate the unit in a heavy-duty export compliant crate equipped with high-tech Sorbothane vibration isolating pads that lower the natural frequency of a system (like a container ship engine) to below the excitation (or disturbing) frequency (think: less shake delivers a better cake). Finally, the crate was equipped with shock-watch & tilt indicators, and banded for extra crate strength with high-tensile metal banding.

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