Packing Corrugated Cat Furniture for Retail and E-commerce
Flat or assembled
Flat-pack wins on freight and shelf space, and it suits pieces that snap together without tools. Assembled packing protects the shape and removes a step for the customer, but it costs volume — which is expensive on a container and worse on a parcel.
A useful rule: if the piece is larger than a shoebox and can be assembled in under a minute, ship it flat.
Where cartons fail
Not on the face. Corners and edges take the impact, which is why corner protection and a tight fit matter more than a thicker wall. A carton that rattles is a carton that will arrive damaged.
Retail versus parcel
- Retail: printed outer carton, clear product image, barcode on a flat face, easy-open feature.
- Parcel: plain or branded outer, no fragile claims, internal blocking so the piece cannot shift.
- Marketplace: follow the platform's labelling and carton-mark rules exactly; they change.
Drop testing without a lab
Drop the packed carton from waist height onto a hard floor, on a corner, then on an edge, then flat. Open it. If the product has moved, the blocking is wrong. If the corner has crushed, add a corner insert rather than a thicker wall.
Documents that prevent claims
Photograph the carton before it leaves and again on arrival. Damage claims are decided by what can be shown, not by what is described.
