Pak Mail Colorado Springs
4419 Centennial Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Tel: 719-593-1212
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Call: 719-593-1212
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Packing and Shipping Collectibles

March 8th, 2016 by
packing and shipping collectibles - Yoda

Jim with Yoda

A breakfast networking meeting with folks from the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce was the beginning of a delightful day. Upon my return home, my husband Jim invited me to stay home for the day. Perfect!

First on the agenda was clearing my mind. A brisk two-mile walk and then fiber spinning did the trick. Spinning tends to empty my mind of clutter and focus it on a specific task. Today the rhythm of the wheel and the creation of yarn from fluff – llama, wool, and mohair – pushed me to look around at the collections acquired throughout a 40-plus-year-and-counting marriage. Then I started thinking about some of the treasures we ship for our customers – assortments of sentimental photos, stamps, coins, antique dolls, porcelain figurines, and a high-value Star Wars® prop.

This reverie brought to mind packing and shipping collectibles in our Pak Mail store. Books, photos, letters, and other non-fragile items may only need protection with acid-proof paper or simple poly bags. Kachina dolls are packed with lots of packing peanuts and then double boxed. Lladro® or Hummel® figurines and pottery are wrapped in bubble wrap, floated in peanuts, and boxed or double boxed, depending on the value and/or sentimentality. Intricate and very fragile porcelain pieces are floated in mini-peanuts surrounded with bubble wrap and then floated in standard packing peanuts and double boxed. High-value collectibles like Yoda are secured in custom crates.

The shipping method is based on package size and weight, fragility of the item, total number of boxes, value, and destination. Smaller items ship with UPS, FedEx, US Priority Mail, or DHL (international only).

Simpich Dolls

Simpich Doll Collection

Larger items or larger quantities of boxes ship with various freight carriers. The small move of household goods that included Yoda was shipped to Hawaii via ocean freight.

It was nice to have a day to reflect and create, and see how it all ties together. See you in the store.

 


Packing Peanuts for Container Gardening

April 28th, 2015 by
Styrofoam packing peanuts

Packing Peanuts for Container Gardening

Are you planting this Spring — flowers, vegetables and herbs? Tight on space and using containers for your gardening? You can save your back and reduce the weight of the containers with Styrofoam packing peanuts. Make sure you use the pesky plastic peanuts and not cornstarch ones. Cornstarch peanuts might be better for the environment, but when wet will dissolve into a gooey mess. How-to resources abound on the Internet. Simply search “using packing peanuts for container gardening” and you’ll have plenty of advice. Here are two that might be of interest: Garden Artistics or eHow Home. Instructions vary, but the basics are:

  • Replace half to two-thirds of the potting soil with packing peanuts.
  • Place the peanuts in the bottom of the container.
  • Fill the rest of the container with potting soil.
  • Add the plants and some water.

Pak Mail sells packing peanuts for container gardening. They are a lightweight solution to patio container gardening and provide excellent drainage. If you have an overabundance of peanuts from shipments, bring them to the store and we’ll recycle them for you.


Pack and Ship a Valentine to Your Sweetheart

February 4th, 2014 by

Wikipedia has an interesting history about Valentine’s Day. It might spark some unique Valentine ideas for your sweetheart. What’s your favorite? A store-bought greeting card? Homemade Valentine? Chocolate? Handcrafted item? Jewelry?

What if your sweetheart romance is long distance? If your budget is tight, think small and light weight so the item can be packed in a bubble mailer or small box. And ship early – at least five to six days ahead to most US locations. Stores like Pak Mail offer packing and shipping services for items big or small, fluffy or fragile. Professional shipping staff can help you choose the most cost-effective method to ensure your Valentine arrives safely and on time.

Quick tips for Valentine shipping:

  • Keep all receipts for gifts purchased.
  • Come prepared. Information includes:
    • Ship-to name, address, & phone number;valentine heart
    • Contents of the package being shipped;
    • Which items are fragile;
    • Value of the item(s) being shipped; and
    • When you would like the package to arrive.
  • Ship a week ahead of Valentine’s Day.
  • Perfume, wine, and liquor cannot be shipped.
  • International & APO shipments require an itemized contents list for customs.

Shipping guarantees can be interrupted by inclement weather, so ship as early as possible to allow for possible delays.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Pak Mail!

 


Bubble Wrap® − History, Uses & Appreciation

January 5th, 2014 by

New Year’s morning my husband Jim and I trekked to Bon Ton’s Café in Old Colorado City. Perusing the menu – the centerfold of a small “newspaper” created and written by Artist Bill Crowley of Caricatures America – is as much a treat as the food! After ordering our favorite breakfast items, we started reading the tabloid filled with local small business advertising, fun stories, jokes, and tidbits. The article Bubble Wrap Wallpaper??? caught my eye.

Bubble Wrap® had its beginnings in 1957 when two young New Jersey engineers tried to invent textured wallpaper. The invention bombed as wallpaper. Sealed Air Corporation later branded bubble wrap as protective packaging, something Pak Mail uses daily for wrapping fragile items.

Pak Mail’s corporate office celebrated the New Year by donating 10 miles of bubble wrap for the Children’s Museum of Denver’s annual Noon Year’s Eve event.

The success and popularity of bubble wrap has gotten so large that the last Monday of every January is dubbed Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day. Search “bubble wrap fun” on the Internet for some great ideas and stop by our store for a stress buster.


Balancing Creativity for Your Business with Making Your Art

July 10th, 2013 by

Ownership and continued growth of a packing and shipping business keep my creative juices flowing. In addition to daily operations, I often ask myself: Should I create new pages for our website? What form of online advertising should I use? Should I start a packing and shipping blog? What will I write about? Which meetings will I attend this month? What will I say in my 30- or 60-second speech? These are all legitimate questions. With the response to each comes a resourceful plan of action. Results? New faces appear in the store.

But what about my vision outside of my business? How do I find – or is that “make” – time for my artwork? How do I bring a similar creative focus to my yarn spinning, knitting, and weaving? It’s a constant battle… sometimes a battle cry. Some of my inspiration comes from Cass Mullane, a business coach and owner of Prosper Creatively. She has a passion for teaching business plans for right-brained people. She has an equal passion for her fiber artwork. And now she’s sharing studio space at Cottonwood Center for the Arts and is the owner of Planet Cass.

With Cass’ lessons in mind, on the July 4th holiday Sunday I awoke with a plan for the day. Note I said “the day.” Baby steps are good. The plan? Exercise, eat breakfast, and wash the three small bags of Merino wool (some in my closet for a year). So I walked, enjoyed eggs and waffles with my husband, and spent the next five hours washing the wool. It worked! Now I’m prepping the wool further for spinning a fine lace-weight yarn.

My list – scan family photos and Dad’s WWII letters, spin yarn, create and knit sons’ sweaters, design small nature tapestries, reupholster chairs in our fifth wheel, finish needlepoint – can be overwhelming when placed on top of what I do for Pak Mail. Perhaps “alongside” with small planned steps is the way to go. I’m still learning.

How do you balance your business and personal creativity?merino wool




Why Choose Pak Mail

Pak Mail Colorado Springs is a full service shipping store located in Colorado Springs that specilaizes in custom packing, custom crating, and specialty freight shipping. Request a Free Online Estimate or call us at 719-593-1212.

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