Shipping candles can be a nerve-wracking task. Special care must be taken to ensure that they reach their intended customers without any damage, given the fact that they’re so fragile.
Here’s everything you need to know about shipping your candles safely. Also check our flat rate shipping guide to learn more about your cheap shipping options.
Adding enough cushioning and securing the candles
Even though there are tin candles out there, nothing beats the aesthetic vibe that glass candles give, but if you are deterring from selling glass candles because you are afraid of how they might reach the destination, here’s a tip.
The idea is to add enough cushioning per candle and then add cushioning to the entire bundle as a whole. Bubble wraps have always been a popular choice for a reason. Whatever it is, make sure the glasses don’t rub against each other.
Then wrap the entire bundle together and tape the ends. Place it in a cardboard box and fill the rest of the air pockets with filler or cushioning materials. It's that simple! Though it might sound like a lot of packaging, once you get a hang of it, you will figure out the right amount of bubble wrap to use per candle and for the bundle.
Provide protection against temperatures
Candles can melt in the heat. If you specialize in customized scented candles, by the time the candle reaches the end user, the scent will have evaporated. The best way to avoid this is to invest in some good gel or frozen packs.
If you are sure that the bag is going places with probably a hot and humid climate, then placing the wrapped candles in a frozen pack would be your best bet. This will help mitigate the effect thathigh temperatures and humidity have on the candles. Another tip would be to pack similar scents together. This way, even if the scents start coming off, the customer won’t get a cocktail whiff every time they light a candle that came together in the bundle.
Choose the right cardboard box to house the candle bundle
As a rule of thumb, you must buy a box at least two inches bigger than the candle bundle. These two inches on all sides of the bundle must be filled with filler and cushioning materials that act as a shock absorber in case the box accidentally falls.
Pasting the appropriate stickers
Specially inform the courier or fulfillment agencies you work with to paste the appropriate stickers on the boxes. This will ensure that the box is handled with care throughout the journey. You can also request for temperature controlled shipment, if you are sending it off to a really hot place and freezer packs won’t be able to keep the candles warm. However, this can cost a bomb.
With that said, it's necessary to talk about the shipping charges for shipping off the candles. Candles surely weigh a lot, and the best option would be to go for the flat-rate shipping option that is provided by almost all shipping agencies.
Get shipping insurance
If the candles are quite expensive and are of rare fragrances, there’s a chance that they might get stolen. Further, even when you have fragile stickers, you can’t be sure that the candles will reach their end destination in one piece.
You can easily ask for shipping insurance and get your packages insured when you go to drop them off at the courier agency. You definitely have to pay an extra amount, but that’s going to be totally worth it as you can be assured that either the package reaches its destination safely, or you won’t suffer any losses.
To sum up
Well, there you go! We have simplified the complex equation of how to pack and ship your candles safely to your customer. Now all you have to figure out is how to source the right materials for packing. Additionally, find a courier agency that provides some amazing flat-rate prices and get an account started. It's going to be expensive, but if you can build credit with them, then you can get some bulk shipping discounts as well.
