Shipping for an Off-island Competition
by Karen L. Alexander

Don’t let the fear of shipping keep you from entering an off-island or mainland competition.

I’ve done a lot of shipping and receiving on the job as a purchasing agent and there are just a few basic things to keep in mind to avoid problems:

	•	Read and understand the shipping instructions in the prospectus, anything you’re not sure about, make a call or send an email. People love to help!
	•	Send it to the correct address (you may have to send it to a shipping agent).
	•	Make sure you send the correct documents and the work is correctly and securely labeled.
	•	Stay within any size limitations – you don’t want to be disqualified. Also, you may not want to submit your largest piece as the larger it is, the higher the shipping cost.
	•	Here’s the part we pastelists hate the most: do not ship works under glass, use plexiglass – most shows won’t allow glass and you don’t want to risk breakage during shipping. Use an antistatic cleaner on both sides of the plexiglass.
	•	Do not use packing “peanuts”! Styrofoam carries a static charge. Use bubble wrap to be safe. “Peanuts” are messy, they shift during transport and they flatten – you can lose some cushioning.
	•	Do not “build” a box, unless it’s made of lumber. It’s ideal to find an existing cardboard box that fits with room for packing material than to cut and tape one by yourself. Start your box search as soon as you send off your slides – don’t wait for an acceptance notice. Wood is good, but it’s heavy and adds to the shipping rate. (UPS will impose a surcharge for packages that are not made of cardboard.)
	•	Pack it in a way that is easy to remove your work, and can be reused for the return trip home. Go ahead and write instructions on the box “Open Here”, “Top”, etc. If the box has to be damaged to opened, then your work will be returned in a less than secure box.

I prefer to ship via UPS as it includes signature receipts and insurance up to $500. They are fast. The less time your precious work spends traveling the better. But remember, it still needs to be packed correctly.

Do your best work so that it sells and you won’t have to worry about the return shipment!