How to pack and label a parcel so it survives the sorting network

A parcel has to survive a conveyor, not a shelf

Automated sorting handles a parcel dozens of times: belts, chutes, tips onto rollers, and stacking under other parcels. The packing criteria below are not carrier fussiness, they are the difference between a parcel that rides that network and one that arrives crushed, delayed, or billed for a size it never needed to be.

The five criteria

1. Choose a box that fits the contents, not the void fill

Use a rigid, single-use corrugated box no more than 5 cm larger than the contents on each axis. An oversized box costs more in volumetric weight and crushes more easily, because the void fill shifts and the walls take the load unsupported.

2. Immobilise the contents

The contents should not move when the box is shaken. Use at least 5 cm of cushioning on every face for fragile goods, and double-box anything glass or ceramic: the item in an inner box with cushioning, suspended inside an outer box with 5 cm of cushioning on all six faces. Single-boxed glassware is the most common damage claim there is.

3. Seal on the H-pattern

Apply packing tape at least 5 cm wide along the centre seam and both edge seams, top and bottom, so the tape lines draw an H. Household or masking tape does not hold under sorting loads, and a seam left unsealed "for inspection" is a seam that opens on the first tip.

4. Apply the label flat, on the largest face

One label, flat, on the largest unbroken surface. Not wrapped around a corner, not over a seam, not under shiny tape a scanner cannot read. An unscannable label is handled manually, which is where delays and address-correction fees come from. On a reused box, remove or completely cover every previous label and barcode: an old barcode will be scanned by an automated sorter and can route the parcel to the wrong hub.

5. Attach the paperwork

For cross-border shipments, place the commercial invoice in a document wallet on the outside of the parcel and keep a copy inside the box. The invoice needs a specific goods description (not "gift" or "samples"), quantity, unit value and currency, HS code, country of origin, reason for export, and full sender and recipient details including a phone number. Three copies is the safe default.

The size and weight limits that get parcels rejected

The exact figures vary by carrier and service, which is one of the things a price comparison surfaces before booking rather than at the depot.

What cannot go in the box at all

Prohibited categories are broadly consistent across carriers: cash and bullion, live animals, perishables without a cold-chain service, illegal goods, and most aerosols and flammables. Lithium batteries, alcohol, cosmetics and food are restricted rather than banned: they ship on specific services with extra declarations. The full criteria, including label placement diagrams and the invoice checklist, are on the labelling and packaging criteria page.