Selling furniture and having your products delivered safely to your customers can be a struggle, even if you sell your items from a brick-and-mortar location. When you start to sell furniture online, delivering your products to your customers turns into an even bigger challenge.

As an e-commerce business owner, you may desire to deliver products outside of your regional area, or even sell items to potential customers overseas.

While that will help your company to branch out and make more money over time, the dangers associated with shipping your furniture long distances will often cause some businesses to rethink their decision to expand.

One way to guarantee that your furniture shipment will remain safe as it travels from Point A to Point B is to ship furniture using a furniture shipping service. And to further guarantee customer satisfaction, you can also obtain services from a third-party shipping insurance company.

Tips for Shipping Furniture Safety to Your Customers

Furniture can be an expensive investment for many homeowners. As a company owner, you want to guarantee that your customers receive their investment in a safe and timely fashion.

There is nothing worse than receiving an item you paid top-dollar for, only for damage to occur during transit.

Failure to ensure that your furniture delivery arrives as intended could result in your customers leaving negative reviews. And whether you are a well-known brand or a small business, negative reviews can wreak havoc on your brand’s online reputation.

To avoid getting blamed for poor customer service, and to help decrease the cost of paying for a damaged piece of furniture, you should follow these helpful tips for shipping furniture.

Use an Experienced Shipping Company

When you ship furniture with a company that has many years of experience shipping oddly-shaped, large, or expensive items, you have one less concern on your list. These shipping experts will often place similar items together in one shipment to minimize damage and cut down on their shipping costs.

You will benefit from knowing that your products will be secured during transit and experienced reduced movement until they arrive at your customer’s door. Many of these companies will load your furniture the same way moving services would ensure no damage occurs upon arrival.

Weigh and Measure Your Furniture Before Shipping

Always make sure that your oversized furniture items are within the carrier’s size and weight limits. You could endure a fee. If so, it may be better to ship it by freight instead of other means of shipping. Determining what the size and weight of your items are before shipment can help you configure your shipping costs.

Make Sure Your Items are Properly Packaged

It doesn’t matter if you are shipping a single piece of furniture or several dining room sets, if you don’t package your items properly, you will end up paying for the damage.

• Furniture is made from a wide variety of materials, and some are more fragile than others. Materials such as granite are susceptible to damage from vibration. To protect these large and easily-damaged items, you should use thick cardboard, a double box, or a crate.
• Wrap all delicate items such as chair legs with foam or bubble wrap. You can add cushioning material to empty spaces such as between chair or table legs to reduce damage.
• If you are shipping an antique rug, you will want to roll it and secure it in place with twine or rope. Fold rugs and mats that are larger than 6’ x 9’ before rolling.
• Wrap rugs and mats with durable plastic and leave 8” to 10” on each end for added security.

Keep Your Customer Informed

To ensure that your shipping service will deliver your furniture efficiently, you will want to stay in contact with your customer. Doing so will help to guarantee that you will receive the best possible feedback from your customers, even if there is a problem with your shipment.

Offering your customers extras such as a tracking number so that they can see where their package is at any time is an excellent place to start. You can also use a delivery service that allows your customer to schedule a delivery time with some carriers.

The Benefits of Using a Third-Party Shipping Insurance Company

Shipping insurance will cover the cost of damage that occurs from the point your item leaves your store until it is safe with your customer. Because you have no control over what happens to your products once they leave your hands, you need to rely on a shipping insurance provider to protect your customer’s purchases.

To ensure that your customers receive the item that you deliver your service for shipping must be top-notch. A third-party shipping insurance provider like Cabrella can help any e-commerce business stay ahead by providing higher coverages at a fraction of the price common carriers charge. They provide customized eCommerce shipping solutions unlike any other insurer.

Furniture is expensive, and you want to assure your customers that they will receive the products they paid for precisely as described in your listings. With the right shipping service, protected through a reputable insurance provider, you can do just that.

Cabrella Shipping Insurance can save you up to 90% in insurance rates and insure nearly any carrier. Get a quick quote by clicking the link below and see how much you can save.