Sending Honey by Post

[RoofTops]

I have a former customer who wants me to send them half a dozen or so jars of honey to them in London.

I don't want to go to the expense of buying loose fill but I have a large roll of bubble wrap. I am currently using 12 oz hexagonal jars, which are pretty strong, so I am planning just to wrap each jar up in several layers of bubble wrap and then put everything in a suitable cardboard box - ideally one box inside another if I can find some of the right size lying around.

Am I missing a better alternative for wrapping jars of honey for sending through the mail?* I know you can get special packaging for pound honey jars but they are expensive.

I am intending to use P4D as the courier - you don't need an account and they will send any package up to about 30kgs for about £7.00 plus VAT so I think they will be cheaper than Royal Mail although I will check them for prices when the package has been made up.

*No, you London beekeepers, I am not going to give you her number!

 

[drstitson]

collect+ even cheaper - will send to local 24hr (south asian) convenience store. there might be the odd one nearby in london!

 

[For want of a better word]

Yodel.... I think they are called.... really quick and not expensive
took vintage motorcycle gearbox to London from Saltash Cornwall) depot for £15 !
and arrived in 6 hours... that is going some!

May charge extra if they know it is honey and not essential & urgent engineering parts!

 

[Erichalfbee]

collect+ even cheaper - will send to local 24hr (south asian) convenience store. there might be the odd one nearby in london!

What a brilliant idea. Thanks DrS I've bookmarked this. My daughter lives in a flat/is never in/ has only a wall mounted post box and never any time to go to sorting office. There are shops near both of us.......great!!!

 

[countryman]

careful because a lot of couriers dont allow glass what about a tupper ware container empty the jars into one container lot safer unbreakable and lighter =less money i use p*rcelmonkey very cheap and next day delivery

 

[Nellie]

Couple of layers of bubble wrap and a jiffy bag have got a couple of jars of honey to the USA for me before now. If you've got a shredder, that makes great filler if you're using a box to send it.

 

[For want of a better word]

Couple of layers of bubble wrap and a jiffy bag have got a couple of jars of honey to the USA for me before now. If you've got a shredder, that makes great filler if you're using a box to send it.

I am surprised they (US CUSTOMS) allowed it in!

 

[RoofTops]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out the links to other couriers.

My wife's suggestion was to use plastic jars for the honey and although these are well established in some other countries, glass does seem to dominate in the UK to the extent honey in a plastic jar would be looked down on here I think.

 

[susbees]

Yodel.... I think they are called.... really quick and not expensive
took vintage motorcycle gearbox to London from Saltash Cornwall) depot for £15 !
and arrived in 6 hours... that is going some!

May charge extra if they know it is honey and not essential & urgent engineering parts!

You must be their ONLY happy bunny! Dire service from them here...lied about trying to deliver an Amazon order with two adults (and dogs) in all that afternoon (no card left and no barking). Finally pitched up three days later after complaining to Amazon...with a different courier?! A quick google will give you a flavour: first up www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/yodel.co.uk something like one star on over 400 reviews and Amazon had a huge thread going end of last year.

 

[susbees]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out the links to other couriers.

My wife's suggestion was to use plastic jars for the honey and although these are well established in some other countries, glass does seem to dominate in the UK to the extent honey in a plastic jar would be looked down on here I think.

No plastic honey bears for you then (which I read topped a survey of American adults for honey packaging recently)....

 

[RoofTops]

Indeed, the US, that beacon of good taste...

 

[alanf]

I have not sent honey in the post, but I have some experience of air cargo.

If this is to be a regular order, you could get some PET jars, same plastic as cola bottles but jar shaped rather than animals. Lighter and less breakable if you're posting. Th0rnes sell them and doubtless others.

If you do use glass, first seal or tie each jar in a freezer bag. If one does break the contents are contained.

The principle of packing heavy fragile items is to cushion them against hitting each other and anything else, such as being dropped on a hard surface. Soft and energy absorbing around the jars, in a rigid container. Loose fill packing could leave heavy items against the box, any impact could be direct to the jar. Rattling around loose inside a box is dangerous, think seat belt.

If you are using bubblewrap, wrap each jar in a double layer. Parcel tape them into formation, 3x2 for 6 jars. Then double wrap that block in bubblewrap. If you are using corrugated cardboard cut down a thick corrugated one or two layers of thinner boxes to tightly fit the wrapped jars. Hold it together with lots of parcel tape. You should have every jar with 4 layers of bubble between each other or the box. Worst case is being dropped on a corner, the pack should be able to absorb enough energy to cope, the rigid box should disperse the impact over the adjacent sides. If the fall is from high enough the corner jar might break but the break will itself absorb some energy.

Over packaged? Maybe, but bubblewrap, parcel tape and corrugated card is light and cheap. If the first pack fails there will not be any others to worry about.

 

[Nellie]

I am surprised they (US CUSTOMS) allowed it in!

No issue with customs, you can send most foodstuffs as gifts without too much trouble, I sent a forum secret santa cheese, honey and even Bovril this year. Postage was eye watering but no issue from customs.

I've sent glass jars, in bubble wrap and jiffy bags over the UK and similarly wrapped in boxes filled with shredded paper with no problems. A glass jar full of honey takes some breaking is the point.

 

[RoofTops]

I have not sent honey in the post, but I have some experience of air cargo.

If this is to be a regular order, you could get some PET jars, same plastic as cola bottles but jar shaped rather than animals. Lighter and less breakable if you're posting. Th0rnes sell them and doubtless others.

If you do use glass, first seal or tie each jar in a freezer bag. If one does break the contents are contained.

The principle of packing heavy fragile items is to cushion them against hitting each other and anything else, such as being dropped on a hard surface. Soft and energy absorbing around the jars, in a rigid container. Loose fill packing could leave heavy items against the box, any impact could be direct to the jar. Rattling around loose inside a box is dangerous, think seat belt.

If you are using bubblewrap, wrap each jar in a double layer. Parcel tape them into formation, 3x2 for 6 jars. Then double wrap that block in bubblewrap. If you are using corrugated cardboard cut down a thick corrugated one or two layers of thinner boxes to tightly fit the wrapped jars. Hold it together with lots of parcel tape. You should have every jar with 4 layers of bubble between each other or the box. Worst case is being dropped on a corner, the pack should be able to absorb enough energy to cope, the rigid box should disperse the impact over the adjacent sides. If the fall is from high enough the corner jar might break but the break will itself absorb some energy.

Over packaged? Maybe, but bubblewrap, parcel tape and corrugated card is light and cheap. If the first pack fails there will not be any others to worry about.

Good advice, more or less what I was planning but the idea of taping say 3 together after initial wrapping sounds a good wheeze.

 

[Tim1606]

Have a look at K.basterfield & son website, where they use recycled plastic jars for sending honey in the post to keep the cost of postage down.

Might be something to think about in the future if you have already jarred it.

 

[susbees]

Have a look at K.basterfield & son website, where they use recycled plastic jars for sending honey in the post to keep the cost of postage down.

Might be something to think about in the future if you have already jarred it.

Except we're not allowed to use recycled jars for packaging honey any more.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Except we're not allowed to use recycled jars for packaging honey any more.

Not even glass? If it is acceptable for milk why not honey?

Incidentally how do you tell if a jar has been recycled?

Or am I getting this wrong and you mean no recycled plastic or recycled glass. That is glass made from old jam jars, whisky bottles etc.

 

[BBG]

We send some free to our troops in Afghanistan from time to time.

Under two kilos goes for free with BFPO.

Least we can do for our men and women out there.

 

[Poggle]

Except we're not allowed to use recycled jars for packaging honey any more.

Really? Wonder why our local bee keeper uses his own recycled jars then?

 

[BBG]

Really? Wonder why our local bee keeper uses his own recycled jars then?

Ermm. Perhaps because he's a half-wit or to be kind, doesn't keep up with the times.