Your gift says something to its recipient. Maybe it’s “Thank You”. Perhaps “I Miss You”. Or maybe even “I Love You”. No matter what you intend to say, if your gift gets destroyed in transit, it will say, “I didn’t know how to pack this correctly.” At Sierra Courier, we move all kinds of items – from the everyday to the downright unique. We’ve moved live animals, human skeletons, and a planeload of poop. Whatever it is you’re sending, we can help you make sure it gets to the destination intact.

Packaging The key to having your item arrive at its destination is appropriate packaging. While we treat every package like it’s our very own, things happen in transit. The better care you take in wrapping your item, the more likely it is to survive. The choice of an appropriately sized outer box is important. This is the most protective part of the packaging, and it should not be too much larger than your item, but should be large enough to hold some internal packaging material (like rolled or shredded paper, polystyrene packing peanuts, corrugated cardboard, or foam sheets) that will prevent your precious cargo from smashing against the side of the box. You should wrap items that you can in enough paper or foam that you can’t tell what they are by feel, and loosely fill the “air” in the box with cushion to protect the gift in the event of a knock or drop.

Climate Control If you plan your item’s trip, it’s possible to keep the interior of your package at a temperature that will protect perishable goods from freezing or thawing, despite the harsh climate they may experience during transport. Chocolate gifts must be kept cool enough to survive prolonged periods in the hot sun on the tarmac. People successfully ship all kinds of perishable goods, including live seafood products by planning in advance. Make sure that whatever technique you’re using to keep your item cool will last at least 12 hours longer than the trip is planned to take. Some shippers use dry ice for refrigeration, but frozen gel packs are almost as effective, and far less hassle.

Communication Make sure you let us know about special items. We’ve got lots of experience in doing the nearly impossible, and we’ll be happy to share it with you. When you call Sierra Courier for a pickup, let the dispatcher know if your cargo has special handling needs. We’ll do our level best to accommodate and get the job done right, so your gift sends the intended message.