How to pack a box for shipping

Use a strong double-wall box that fits what you are sending. Put the heaviest things at the bottom, fill every gap so nothing moves, tape the top and bottom in an H pattern, take off any old labels, and keep the box under the weight limit for your service, which the price page shows. Pack books and other heavy things in small boxes, never in large ones.

A box you send gets stacked under other boxes, slid along belts and lifted by people who have never seen it before. Each step below is about getting it through that in one piece.

Choose the right box

Double-wall, not single-wall

Look at the cut edge of the cardboard. A single-wall box has one wavy layer between two flat sheets. A double-wall box has two wavy layers and feels much stiffer when you squeeze it. Stacking is what crushes boxes on the way, and double-wall boxes stand up to it far better. Single-wall boxes are fine for a move across town in your own car. They are not built for a journey with other people's boxes on top.

Boxes to avoid

• Supermarket and fruit boxes. They are often thin, with hand holes or open tops. For Australia, the Department of Agriculture advises against reusing boxes that have carried fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs or soil (Department of Agriculture, checked on 3 October 2026).
• Boxes that are soft, damp, torn or already crushed. Cardboard that has been wet or squashed once has lost much of its strength.
• Plastic storage crates. Their lids can pop off under weight, and they are hard to tape shut.
• Boxes far bigger than what goes in them. Empty space lets things move, and the box caves in when something is stacked on it. It also costs you money, as the next section shows.

Match the box to what goes in it

Most door-to-door services charge on the higher of the real weight and the size-based weight: length x width x height in centimetres, divided by 5,000, rounded up to the next 0.5 kg. So a box is charged for its size even when it is half empty. With the ready-made box sizes on our price page:

If your things fit in a smaller box, the smaller box costs less to send and travels better, because there is less empty space to crush. Our guide to size-based weight has the sums for every ready-made item.

How heavy should each box be?

Every service has a limit on how much one item can weigh, and the price page shows the limits for each service and route. Stay comfortably under it. Then think about the people lifting the box: if it is a struggle for you, it will be a struggle for them, and heavy boxes are the ones that get dropped.

The rule that works is heavy things in small boxes, light things in big ones. Books are the classic mistake. A small box full of books is already a heavy lift. A large box full of books would be far too heavy for one person and over the limit on most services. Put books, records, tins and tools in small boxes, and keep the big boxes for duvets, pillows, coats and soft toys.

Pack it, layer by layer

1. Tape the bottom first, before anything goes in. The taping steps are below.
2. Cushion the base with crumpled paper, a towel or soft clothes.
3. Heaviest things at the bottom, spread evenly so the box does not lean to one side.
4. Fragile things wrapped one by one and placed in the middle, away from the sides, with padding all round.
5. Lighter things on top.
6. Fill every gap with paper, clothes or towels. Pack right up to the top, so the lid sits flat: not sagging, not bulging.
7. Keep the wet out. Put clothes, bedding and papers in plastic bags inside the box. Cardboard can get wet between the van and the depot.

The shake test

Before you seal the box, close the flaps and give it a gentle tilt and shake. If you can hear or feel anything move, open it and add more filling. Then press the middle of the lid. It should feel firm. A lid that dips will cave in when something is stacked on it.

Tape it properly

Use strong parcel tape, about 48 to 50 mm wide. Masking tape, clear office tape and string are not strong enough, and string can catch in machinery.

1. The centre seam. Run one strip along the seam where the two long flaps meet, carrying it a hand's width down each end of the box.
2. The two edge seams. Run a strip along each short edge, where the flaps meet the ends of the box, again carrying it down the sides. Seen from above, the three strips make the letter H.
3. Top and bottom. Tape both the same way. The bottom carries the weight, so it matters most.
4. Heavy boxes. Add a band of tape right round the box in each direction.

Should I wrap the box in plastic film?

For heavy boxes and long journeys, a few turns of stretch film over the taped box add strength and keep rain off. Leave the label clear of the film so it can be read and scanned.

Labels and numbers

• Take off or cover old labels, barcodes and hazard symbols, such as battery or flammable warnings from whatever the box held before. A scanner can pick up an old barcode, and an old hazard mark can get a box pulled aside for checks.
• Labels go on the top, the biggest flat face, and not over a seam, where tape or a knife could split them.
• Put the same details inside: a sheet on top of the contents with the recipient's name, address and phone number, plus your own name and phone number.
• Number the boxes "1 of 4", "2 of 4" and so on, and use the same numbers on your packing list. Australia's Department of Agriculture and New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries both tell people moving belongings to number their boxes and list what is in each one (MPI, updated 13 July 2026, checked on 3 October 2026). Our guide to the packing list and customs declaration shows how to write one.

Questions people ask

Can I reuse a box from an online order?

Yes, if it is double-wall, dry and undamaged, and you take off or cover every old label, barcode and hazard mark. Avoid boxes that have held fruit, vegetables, meat or eggs, especially if you are sending to Australia.

Is it cheaper to send one big box or two small ones?

Not usually. Size-based weight works out at the same rate per litre whatever box you use, so splitting a load barely changes the chargeable weight. Packed with light things, two small boxes (94.5 litres between them) count as 19 kg, and one medium box (99 litres) as 20 kg. But each item is priced on its own, so two boxes can cost more than one. Split a load when one box would be too heavy, not to save money, and try both ways on the price page.

What should I fill the gaps with?

Crumpled paper, bubble wrap, towels and soft clothes all work. Using your own clothes and bedding as filling means you are not paying to send packing material. Avoid straw and hay as packing: Australia's biosecurity guidance lists straw among the plant materials it is concerned about.

What to do next

Once your boxes are packed and taped, measure and weigh each one as our guide to measuring and weighing luggage describes, then enter the figures on the price page. When you book, the packing list on the booking form checks each line against what cannot be carried, so have your box numbers and contents to hand. If you are still deciding how to send your things, box or suitcase compares the two with real numbers.