Thousands of items are shipped around the world each day, arriving right on time to the correct destination. Shipping your memories can make some people worried, mostly because there are no replacements for these items. They are truly unique and one of a kind, and once lost, they are gone forever. Some common questions potential shippers typically ask themselves are:
Will my memories be damaged in transit?
How do I ship my tapes effectively?
Some of us have horror stories or bad experiences with different shipping companies. Sometimes items are broken or dead on arrival, or sometimes never arrive at all. However, if you decide to ship your media our through the mail or a shipping company, there are some steps you can take to minimize the instances of damage to your items. The guidelines below don’t necessarily need to be followed 100%, but provides a rough understanding of what you should do to fully protect your video tapes.
Guidelines for Packaging and Shipping Magnetic Tape Recording and Optical Discs
Video Tapes
– Cassette shells should be used –or cassettes should be placed in a cassette box– which have a hub-locking device to prevent the tape in the cassette shell from becoming loose while in transit. If the cassette housing has an adequate hub-locking mechanism, it should be placed in a solid cassette box or housing for shipping. Cardboard containers should not be used as the primary cassette box. The cassette in its cassette box should be packed into rigid containers, such as corrugated board, with bubble wrap assuring that they fit snugly into the outer containers to avoid damage in transit. The outer container may be a padded envelope, or a rigid box.
Optical disks (DVD, CD)
– Optical disks –whether CD-ROM or CD-R recordings– should be securely placed over the fingers of the hub of a good quality CD jewel case. The optical disk in its jewel case should be packed into a rigid container, such as corrugated board, with bubble wrap assuring that the jewel case fits snugly in the outer container to minimize damage in transit. The outer container may be a padded envelope or a rigid box.
If you’re interested in shipping your media to DVD Your Memories, please head on over to our shipping information page.