Packing & Shipping advice

WingKing

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I have a few PCBs I'm going to be selling sometime in the near future. I've actually never bought or sold a PCB before so I've got 2 questions for the experienced buyers/seller.

1) How should I pack it to make sure it's secure and there will be no complaints by the recipient?

2) What is the most cost effective method of shipping that will give me a tracking number and not make the recipient wait forever to get the package?

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
Some people will bitch even if it's packed OK but you used cheap materials. I once sold a Big Buck PCB as "Not working, for parts" and used about 20+ plastic walmart bags to pack it snug. The guy did not like that I "packed it rough" even though "but I got what I needed".

I've always just used spare boxes laying around rather than buying ones at the post office, but I guess it depends on what you are sending. As far as them not waiting forever, the post office gets stuff from the east coast to the west within 7 days at the standard rate which to me is acceptable.
 
Thanks, guys. I might have some bubble wrap, but I'm thinking it's the kind with bigger bubbles. Probably want the smaller bubbles for this stuff I'm guessing. I have a box that my tmolding came in that might be big enough for a PCB, I'm sure I can find something. I might as well get some antistatic bags on Amazon since I really don't have anything else on hand to pack with.

Also, does USPS standard mail give you a tracking number? Haven't sent a package through the mail in a long time!
 
I've shipped a few boards with no anti static bag, newspaper does just as good a job.

Unfortunately this isn't true, newspaper doesn't protect against static discharge. Physical damage with electrostatic sensitive devices goes beyond what you can see.

However, the fact remains that most of these boards haven't been treated properly with regard to ESD since they left the factory. It's probably why they fail so often. Will the board survive the trip wrapped in newspaper? Probably. Will it be free from damage, probably not.
 
Thanks, guys. I might have some bubble wrap, but I'm thinking it's the kind with bigger bubbles. Probably want the smaller bubbles for this stuff I'm guessing. I have a box that my tmolding came in that might be big enough for a PCB, I'm sure I can find something. I might as well get some antistatic bags on Amazon since I really don't have anything else on hand to pack with.

Also, does USPS standard mail give you a tracking number? Haven't sent a package through the mail in a long time!

Big vs small bubble wrap probably isn't going to matter. If you pack it snugly it will be protected from the mechanical issues involved in shipping.

Yes, USPS does give you a tracking number by default nowadays. If you pay a few dollars more you can set it up to require a signature to guarantee delivery to someone.
 
I've shipped a few boards with no anti static bag, newspaper does just as good a job.

bunch of layers of newspaper taped together with masking tape
few layers of bubble wrap
put in a snug box using balled up newspaper to fill voids

For the love of all things arcade related, please do NOTHING that is suggested above.

I have a few PCBs I'm going to be selling sometime in the near future. I've actually never bought or sold a PCB before so I've got 2 questions for the experienced buyers/seller.

1) How should I pack it to make sure it's secure and there will be no complaints by the recipient?

2) What is the most cost effective method of shipping that will give me a tracking number and not make the recipient wait forever to get the package?

Thanks in advance for the help!

1. Impossible. There's always a chance of damage and/or complaint.
2. Cost should be a secondary consideration to packing a pcb. Pack well first, save on materials when/where you can.

Use an anti-static bag to prevent ESD. To be 100% sure, use the foil bags, not the pink ones. Yes, they are not cheap. You can also wrap in aluminum foil.

After the pcb is bagged/wrapped, support it. Best option is a pcb shippper box. PC Motherboards are found in these types of boxes. They can also be purchased in various sizes from places like U-Line. Next best option is to sandwich the pcb between pieces of cardboard.

Then wrap the works in bubble wrap.

Then place the entire wrapped blob inside a SECOND BOX, large enough to hold the wrapped pcb. Large enough means air gaps of a couple inches around all sides. Fill in the gaps with the filler of your choice. It's very impoartant to double box - packages often bind up on conveyor belts at the shippers' distribution centers and when they do, punctures occur. If your precious cargo is close to an edge or corner, you're fucked.

Rule of thumb is this: If you dropped your package from a 2 story building, would the contents survive? If you can't answer that question with a definitive "YES" then you are at risk of shipping damage.

Most major shipping services offer free tracking these days. There's no one service that's better than another. They all damage packages, and they all cost too much.

Honestly, your best option is to personally hand the pcb to the buyer in a face-to-face meetup. Preferably at a location where the buyer can witness the pcb working before they take possession. This is why the great majority of my pcb sales are local, or hand-delivered. I don't like dealing with eBay shipping bullshit. As is, where is, right here. Tail-light warranty.
 
I don't remember the last time I bought a pcb from Ebay or a member of this forum that was packaged with an ESD bag. I'm lucky that I work for an electronics company that I get free used ESD bags. I may also be the luckiest guy at work but I have never zapped or seen someone zap a board from handling a board without grounding themselves. Now it doesn't mean it doesn't happen but I've never seen it.

I hate getting packages with peanuts but I do appreciate it that someone took the time to use it.
 
i always use the silver static bags then wrap in large bubble wrap tape it up.
then either fill the box with more bubble wrap or white foam packing sheets.
box is normally 3 inches larger than pcb on all sides and slapped full of fragile stickers and handle with care stickers. and always take pics of every step.
ive even gone as far as taking video from removing from the game working to fully packed so there can be no argument.
 
I may also be the luckiest guy at work but I have never zapped or seen someone zap a board from handling a board without grounding themselves. Now it doesn't mean it doesn't happen but I've never seen it.

Um well, I hate to burst your bubble but you are not the luckiest guy at work. Because it does happen, and in most cases you don't actually see it, or even know it happened. But it did. I suppose I could post up the hundreds of links a simple google search for "is ESD really a problem" turns up but sadly, with as frequently as the subject comes up, it doesn't seem to do any good. :(
 
I pack boards by first putting them in a static free bag, then I wrap the outside with bubble wrap, then I put that in the box and fill the empty space with crumpled paper. This ensures the board has good padding directly around it, and a little bit of breathing space but not so much that it's just shaking around in a box.

It's not good to pack things too loose or too tight. You want it right in the middle. If you seal the box and shake it, the PCB should not be moving around inside. If you press down on the box, it shouldn't be pressing directly into the PCB either.

I use this method to pack pretty much anything. You give a couple of inches of space around the item, you wrap the item in bubble wrap, and you fill the empty space with crumpled paper.

Crumpled paper is great because for one, it's free... you can use magazines, newspapers or the free job listings you can pick up on most street corners. It fills any shape, it prevents items from moving around, and it's less messy to deal with than peanuts.
 
Um well, I hate to burst your bubble but you are not the luckiest guy at work. Because it does happen, and in most cases you don't actually see it, or even know it happened. But it did. I suppose I could post up the hundreds of links a simple google search for "is ESD really a problem" turns up but sadly, with as frequently as the subject comes up, it doesn't seem to do any good. :(

When my employer used to be an electronics components manufacturer - they used to do failure analysis of dead ICs sent in by customers. Frequently the part was zapped. Real easy to spot - once you popped the lid, it looked like somebody did some micro arc welding on the die.

Part zapping does happen quite often especially for the more susceptible parts such as MOSFETs. Also happens frequently to the super fine architecture ICs such as todays memories, CPUs, peripherals, etc. Frequently the damage doesn't result in complete failure of the part, sometimes it just hiccups from time to time.

To add to what another poster said -- make sure to use a static SHIELDING bag and not just an antistatic bag. An antistatic bag is typically a pink bag. It doesn't generate a static charge but doesn't protect against one, either. A static shielding bag is just that -- it doesn't generate a static charge and will also shield against a static discharge.
 
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