In today’s globalized world with e-commerce improving by leaps and bounds, the international market can be hugely lucrative, which every business should tap into. The international audience keeps growing as the number of people connected to the internet increases. You have the potential to reach millions of interested customers who just don’t happen to live within your country. This is no reason to ignore them, because the potential is huge. Most successful businesses realize this, and small-businesses and startups can do well to do the same.

When business is transacted over the internet alone, things are simpler. However, in many cases you require physical delivery of products. In such cases, the item you are shipping needs to cross international borders, and you should be careful.

You can either complete all the formalities yourself or simply look for a shipping store that is experienced in international delivery. First off, you need to fill out the required custom forms (such as 2976 and 2976A forms).

Also remember that you are shipping to another country and the journey of your package can be rough. It is a good idea to choose sturdy boxes or padded envelopes, depending of course on what you are shipping.

When it comes to the actual shipping itself, you have several different options from USPS to FedEx. Choosing the best service can be tricky, and once again shipping stores can help you by doing the research for you and recommending the best service that delivers the best value for money. In international shipments, both time and cost are important factors, which you should consider.

For example, first class international shipping is usually the cheapest option for sellers to ship to international customers but it is not well suited for everyone because you cannot track the package. This can be a huge drawback for some companies and it also increases the risk (for instance you don’t want your international customers on eBay to leave you negative feedback and ruin your reputation online).

In addition to the shipping challenges, you should make sure that you know who bears the custom fees. Usually, it is understood that the buyer needs to pay the required custom fees, taxes, and other costs associated with an international purchase. However, it is always good to be explicit and clear in this aspect right from the onset. Depending on which country you are shipping to, the laws will differ. Your customers might need to go to their post office or customs department to pick up the package, which is another reason you want to get all the paperwork done correctly.

The Philadelphia Mailroom is a philadelphia shipping and packaging store that specializes in international shipping. We work with all major carriers including UPS, FedEx, DHL and the USPS. We are conveniently located in NE Philadelphia at 8001 Castor Ave. at Rhawn St. Stop by today!

Shipping and packaging needs of small businesses almost always differ from those of larger corporations. Large corporations, for starters, don’t need to worry too much about waste. Whatever they are shipping, they can standardize the process of packing and shipping. Unfortunately, small businesses seldom have this luxury because their needs and the needs of their customers change frequently. This means small businesses need more flexibility in terms of their shipping and packaging needs.

Depending on the type of business you are in, your packaging needs can differ greatly. As a small business, you need to make sure that your margins are good, so you want the best and cheapest option available at each point of time while simultaneously making sure that all your customers are happy and satisfied.

Shipping stores are always helpful for such situations because they are a one-stop-shop for your shipping and packaging needs and they can help you choose the best option both with respect to packing as well as shipping. You can also buy regular packaging material like packing tape or bubble wrap.

If your business is diverse, make sure you know how to pack delicate items. If you are not going to visit a shipping store, you should also know the limits on boxes, their weights and sizes with different carriers. In the long run, this could potentially save you a lot of money, especially if you are shipping a lot of stuff. Different carriers come out with different shipping plans, so make sure you are well aware of these.

Also, you should think about reusing some packaging material that you receive to use it to ship items. Supplies like boxes are easy to reuse. If you get a lot of deliverable items in boxes, think about the kind of goods that can be shipped back in them. This can save you some money and you are only utilizing your material more efficiently.

As businesses grow, shipping cannot be confined to national boundaries. You should also know about international shipping and the best policies with regard to packing and shipping goods internationally. International markets can be lucrative for small businesses and they can see some significant growth in these markets, but many are intimidated because they do not know and understand how they can fulfill these international orders. Make sure you are prepared and take adequate precautions. You should also make sure you are not violating either your local laws or the laws of the country you are shipping the item to.

Philadelphia Mailroom helps small businesses in the greater Philadelphia area with their shipping and packaging needs. We ship with all major carriers both domestically and internationally and offer a full selection of packing supplies as well. Call 215-745-1100 today!

Fragile items need to be specially packed when they are being shipped. With the growing levels of ecommerce, more and more of these items are being shipped by individuals and small businesses which cannot afford a fortune just for packing. At the same time, delicate items can easily be damaged if they are not packed properly. That said, you should know how to pack your delicate items in the right manner.

The kind of delicate items that you intend to ship depends greatly on your business. These can range from antiques and artwork to jewelry and crystal ware. Your packing needs should thus depend on what exactly you want to ship.

If you wish to pack hollow items, especially crystal ware like glasses, you should stuff the inside with newspaper to provide stability when stressed. This will greatly reduce the chances of cracks appearing on the glass or the item breaking in transit.

If you are shipping delicate electronic items or jewelry or really any small item, bubble wrap should be a great choice to provide the best cushioning to ensure that no damage is caused to the product. While using a bubble wrap, try to get a tight fit with proper packing tape so that movement can be minimized. If instead the product is bigger, you might need additional layers of bubble wrap just to provide adequate cushioning.

Precious jewelry, smaller antiques and coins should always be shipped in their own special packing. Coins come with airtight holders which are ideal for transporting them. Jewelry and smaller antique items should preferably be shipped in special jewelry bags which are designed for these items and thus protect them well. They are also a very good complementary item to the jewelry itself (you can always include it in the product and charge extra for it. People will be happy to pay).

Finally, it is important to minimize the movement of the whole packaging inside the box that you are shipping in. This extra space can be filled with packing peanuts, bubble wrap or newspaper.

While shipping the box, remember to label the boxes with a warning “fragile”. If you are looking for all the supplies for delicate items, consider going to a shipping store which should also help you identify the best packaging needs for delicate and semi-delicate items while also helping you with the shipping process. At shipping stores you can get all your supplies in one place and thus save yourself time and energy.

Philadelphia Mailroom is a Philadelphia shipping and packaging store offering a variety of services to small businesses as consumers. This includes notary, fax, copy, mailbox rental and muich much more. Give us a call at 215-745-1100 or stop by today!

With ecommerce on the march, it is impossible to ignore the power of eBay for sellers. Some big brands names, like HP, have their own eBay store simply because they don’t want to lose a good share of customers that make purchases through eBay. This means sooner or later a lot of smart businesses will find themselves running an eBay store. One of the main challenges in running any online store is with respect to shipping and packaging supplies because different products have different needs.

If you have to run to the post office every time someone places an order on eBay, it would be impossible to grow. Therefore it is important to plan your packing supplies well in advance, so that you can take a number of orders without delays in shipping. Your overall eBay feedback depends a lot on how well and fast you ship, so it is critical to get these right in order to be successful on eBay.

Shipping stores can be a very good place to start because you can find all your supplies and also the best rates for the items that you want to ship. If there isn’t one near you, consider getting the supplies in bulk. If you can get the help of a shipping store, they would be able to help you choose the right kind of packaging and shipping method.

This is convenient because you want to know whether a regular postal delivery in a padded envelope, regular box, flat-rate shipping box or one of the plethora of other options is best suited for your needs to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize shipping costs. This is why it’s important to plan in advance.

If you run a small store and only ship occasionally, you could make do with some homemade supplies or reuse old packing materials to minimize your costs, but this method isn’t suitable for bigger eBay stores. A lot of shipping supplies can be bought online for a cheaper rate, including regular postage stamps. This should help you save some money that you can invest in growing your business. Buying supplies in bulk also helps lower costs. Also, you can get supplies from your local post office for free but you will need to ship through priority mail using those boxes.

Some people also like to use some less traditional methods like looking for boxes that are discarded by stores like Wal-Mart or Target and using bubble wrap or other packing materials that are no longer needed by furniture stores and such which use them. This can be a good strategy to begin with because it helps you keep your costs down, but it consumes more time, time which can be used to grow your business to a larger scale. Thus, the more efficiently your shipping and packaging supply needs are met, the better it would be for your eBay business.

Philadelphia Mailroom is a Philadelphia based shipping and packaging store that has been helping eBay sellers make running their online business as effortless as possible. Call us at 215-745-1100 today to find out how we can help you succeed selling on eBay.

We get inundated with so much packing material today that it is a shame to let it all go to waste. The amount of packing materials that people receive in an era of fast paced shipping is huge and ever increasing. This is mainly because people buy more and more things from the Internet, which might ship from half way across the country. Thus a product that would normally be purchased at the store now ships to you, thus increasing the packaging material that you get.

In addition, a lot of packing material comes through gifts that one receives. This is especially so during the holiday season. Now, you don’t need to throw all of it away because there are plenty of creative ways in which you can reuse packing materials.

The first thing to look at is the diversity of packing materials, from a material and visual point of view. You can collect a lot of colorful packing items, which is made up of many different materials. These can then be used according to their form and function in different projects that you can undertake.

Take cardboard boxes for instance. They come in varying strengths and colors. You can easily cut these apart and use them for craft projects. A lot of decorative material can also be used on any craft projects that you or your kids want to undertake.

Paper is a common component of most packing. You can use wrapping paper in a number of different ways. It is easy to use it as a decorating material. In addition, wrapping paper provides a very attractive way to learn and practice your origami decorations. You can use them for collage or gift tags or even prepare your own greeting card for a dear friend or family member.

With the rise in shipping of electronics, padded packing materials are increasingly becoming common. You shouldn’t throw these away. Instead, cut them to an appropriate size and use them as a protective casing around the electronics that you own, from your laptop to your iPod.

It also goes without saying that it is always possible to reuse a number of packing materials simply as is. These can be used for personal storage for a number of different purposes. You can store things that are precious to you or things that you collect in these packing.

Finally, if you don’t want to reuse your packing materials, make sure that you recycle them whenever possible. Also, a lot of neighborhood organizations like to recycle these for the benefit of everyone, so you can donate these materials to such small non-profit organizations just so you are more environmentally friendly.

It is great fun in thinking of new ways to reuse your packing materials. You should always consider the myriad uses of every packing material before throwing them away.

The Philadelphia Mailroom is your number one source for all your Philadelphia shipping and packaging needs. We’ve been proudly serving the Philadelphia, Bucks County and the Montgomery County community since 1988. We are authorized shippers for FedEx, UPS, DHL & the USPS. Call 215-745-1100 today!

Click here to view the embedded video.

At the Philadelphia Mailroom, we understand the importance of preserving our resources and protecting the environment and we encourage our customers to do the same. Today, we would like to share with you a few quick tips on ways you can go green with your packaging.

You may be surprised by just how many types of packing materials can be recycled these days.  Cardboard boxes and paper packing products are some of the most recycling friendly items when it comes to packing supplies. Even packing peanuts can be recycled these days, so if you have any extra lying around, bring them to a local shipping and packaging center instead of throwing them in the trash.

Reuse is another excellent method of going green by saving your old boxes, bubble wrap and packing peanuts. When you have a personal item to ship, you’ll already have most or everything you need without purchasing additional materials.  Old packaging materials can also be used for a variety of craft projects limited only by your imagination.

You can also make environmentally friendly choices when it comes to choosing packaging materials. Old newspapers can be used to wrap items and shredded paper makes for great filler. You can also purchase paper based protective packaging and cushioning wrap as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic materials such as bubble wrap and air pillows.

If you have any green packaging tips to share, please leave us a comment down below. If you enjoyed our video, please share it with your friends on your favorite social network.

There are plenty of benefits of mobile notary once you understand the concept and begin to use their services. A mobile notary provides all the services that a notary can provide you without you ever having to step out of your business or residence. All traditional notary services that legalize your documents (like a will or oath for instance) are valid with mobile notary as well.

So why would you need mobile notary? Well, the simple answer is speed and convenience. You don’t need to spend your precious time driving to your nearest office of notary. This is especially so for busy professionals who seldom get time during the week for such official work. For a small fee which covers their services and transportation, mobile notary can now provide you all your solutions without you having to plan and spend your time.

Most mobile notaries will arrive at your place for the business to ensure a smooth and easy transaction. During the initial contact, you can explain what your purpose of notary is, and what kind of documentation you are going to need. This will speed things up because the person can then be ready with the documents when she arrives at your place.

Mobile notaries usually contain people who can provide you with basic legal consultation and advice, so you can tell them what you need the documentation for and they can usually assist you in choosing the right course of action along with the relevant documentation. This is another good reason why you should go through a mobile notary – you then know that you are not making a mistake with the documents because there is a fresh pair of eyes looking at your problem.

Mobile notary services are also especially convenient when you are considering sensitive legal matters. Many people would feel much more comfortable doing the paperwork from their home or business rather than from a public office for notarizing a document. Issues like divorce, child custody, etc. can be sensitive for an individual and it is best done without too much public attention through mobile notary services.

Also, people who need a number of different documents frequently can use the services of a mobile notary, which will ensure that they don’t have to waste their time every time they need notary service. For example, real estate agents often use mobile notary services for their transactions.

Most notary services are small firms, entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals. You should make sure that you are in safe hands by doing some research before you hire a mobile notary service. You should look at their credentials and experience before trusting them with your matters. In addition, for mobile notary services, location is also an important factor to consider because they need to be able to arrive at your place quickly.

Philadelphia Mailroom is an established Philadelphia notary offering Mobile Notary services to both residential and business customers. To schedule mobile notary service, simply call 215-745-1100 today to set an appointment!

Click here to view the embedded video.

HAZMAT is short, for hazardous materials, which can be defined as anything that may be considered dangerous. There are different classes of HAZMAT materials, including explosives, gases, poisons, radioactive materials, and any flammable or combustible items.

Shipping these items may pose challenges, especially internationally, so it is important to check with a shipping expert before you try and ship HAZMAT on your own. In fact you may not even know that the item you intend to ship is even considered HAZMAT. If it is, you may not be able to ship it at all.

HAZMAT items must be shipped in special packaging, also know as UN certified packaging. This type of packaging must adhere to the standards set by the United Nations to protect both the environment and the goods themselves.

The packages must then be properly labeled and if shipping out of the country, properly documented, that’s assuming you’re even allowed to send the intended destination. Again, check with a shipping specialist before you ship anything questionable beyond our borders or it may end up being confiscated by customs.

We would love to know your thoughts, so please leave us a comment down below. Also, don’t forget to share this video on your favorite social network.

Any moving can be tiring and overwhelming. However, if you plan your shipping and packaging for a move in advance, you can save a lot of hassle. You should understand your moving needs and plan accordingly. Shipping and packaging, when done correctly, can give you the peace of mind that you need to start afresh in your new place.

The first thing to note is that different items in your house have different shipping and packaging needs. Thus your furniture will have different needs compared to your personal art collection. You should know which items are more precious and which are the “bulk” items. The most important things, like your personal documents should always travel with you.

If you are moving a long distance, you will perhaps need to hire a moving company that will take care of all the items and deliver them to your new place of residence. Alternatively, a lot of people like to move light, so they can pack up their stuff in a number of boxes and ship them to their new place and they buy the bigger items like furniture again. Which method you prefer depends on your personal preference.

In any case, chances are that you will not carry all the things with you and thus you need to ensure that all your items are well packed. You will need strong packing boxes in most cases, which can withstand a good amount of weight in the boxes. If you are traveling a long distance, you might want to ensure that the more precious items are shipped in more durable boxes than cardboard because you don’t want the things inside to break or have them spoilt in the rain. You might want to use waterproof packing materials in that case.

After the packaging is done, you should consider how to ship all the items. The shipping costs are usually determined by the size and weight of the boxes that you want to ship. You might want to strike a balance in this aspect – a box full of books will weigh a lot but occupy less space while a box of clothes will weigh little and probably be bigger. You can either do the research yourself as to which mode of shipment is best for you or simply let a moving company do this job for you.

If you are also moving all your furniture, you will probably hire a truck that carries all your items. Even in this case, you should make sure that all the packaging is done well because a truck can experience varying levels of acceleration and deceleration which can cause the boxes and other items to move around. Since moving can be overwhelming, it is always a good idea to consider a professional moving service who can guide you at every stage of the moving and packaging process.

The Philadelphia Mailroom is a neighborhood shipping and packaging store that has been proudly serving the Philadelphia community and surrounding areas since 1988. Call us at 215-745-1100 today!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Many of the packing peanuts today are eco-friendly made from natural materials such as cornstarch and wheat. These biodegrade quickly, so you can just add them to your compost pile. Shippers will usually put a slip in with your shipment letting you know if they use biodegradable peanuts, so check to make sure.

The traditional Polystyrene packing peanuts take hundreds of years to decompose in nature, so recycling them is key. More and more recycling programs are accepting packing peanuts so check to see if this is an option in your neighborhood.

The easiest way to get ride of your packing peanuts is to simply drop them off to us and we will gladly send them to a recycling center for you. Another solution is to simply save them yourself for future use next time you have a fragile item to ship.

A great way to use packing peanuts is for potted plant drainage. Substituting the non-biodegradable variety of packing peanuts can replace gravel in the base of potted plants. This not only provides good drainage, but it makes the containers much lighter and easier to move.

You can even use packing peanuts to make ice last longer and make everything stay colder. Simply, put packing peanuts in a sealable plastic bag and place them on top of the ice in your cooler or ice chest.

I hope you enjoyed these packing peanut tips. If you did, please share this video with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!