We at HessFine sell many delicate items and paintings.  Our shipping staff is roundly praised for thier care in packaging and thier ability to get antique items shipped worldwide intact.  Because saving on shipping means nothing if our antique item or painting arrives damaged or destroyed.

In the world of art, antiques and fine or delicate items shipping is of profound importance.  When you are shopping for a speical item it is imperative for you to understand how the item will be shipped. Remember the the more delicate or fragile the item or vauable the more expensive the shipping will and should be.

Delicate and expensive items must be double boxed and in some cases boxes will have to be specially constructed for the item.  Delicate items should first be have breakable areas secured with cotton, then a soft covering like bubble pack, then placed in a new strong cardboard box, and filled with a soft fill like peanuts or popcorn.  The item should not rattle at this point in its interior box.  This interior box should be placed into a box that is at least 3 inches larger on each side of the interior box and firmly packed with popcorn or peanuts.

Paintings are another area of specilized shipping needs.    Paintings are by definition delicate and take tremendous time and care to pack properly.  You cant simply toss a painting in a box and hope it get there intact.  You must contruct a vechile to transpost it that protects it from pierces and posttible wetting.  This often involves making its own box or purchasing one from airfloat (airfloats are quite expensive).  Mirror boxes from moving companies do not generlly meet the requirments for UPS or FED EX for transporting art, but can be used as an inside box.  If your painting has glass, a glass break shield must be constructed in addition to the double boxing.

It takes a very well trained staff to pack and ship these types of items and they are paid for thier expertise.  It is not unusual for a painting to take 2 to 3 hours to properly construct a set of boxes to ship 1 painting.   And some very delicate Meissen pieces can take 1 our to properly wrap for transport.

If you have any questions about how your item will be packed and handled you should call the seller before you win the item and speak with the individual who will be packing that item.  Once you  understand who and how the item will be handled you can make the decision to continue with the transction.  Good packaging is not inexpensive, but no one heirlooms should be shipped in a manner that wont reasonably guarentee that it will arrive intact for you. There is no sense in finding the perfect item for you home if it arrived broken becasue of inadequate packaging.  But be prepard to pay a fair rate for excellence in packaging.

Katrina Hess