When sending parcels, especially larger ones weighing more than 2-3 kg, we prefer courier companies over the post office. No wonder – these companies specialise in transporting parcels, including very large, oversized, and unusually shaped ones. Courier shipping is also more convenient because the courier can collect the parcel at the sender’s location, so you do not need to take it to the post office or another parcel drop-off point.
When sending parcels, especially larger ones weighing more than 2-3 kg, we prefer courier companies over the post office. No wonder – firmy takie wyspecjalizowały się właśnie w przewozie paczek, nie wyłączając nawet naprawdę dużych, wielkogabarytowych, o nietypowych kształtach itp. Wysyłka kurierem jest przy tym wygodniejsza, bo pracownik może odebrać przesyłkę na miejscu u nadawcy, nie trzeba się więc z nią fatygować na pocztę czy do innego punktu przyjmowania paczek.
However, you should remember that a courier company, which is responsible for the safety of transported goods, will only accept a properly packed shipment. The packaging must effectively protect the contents from any damage, which means both external protection, e.g. through thick cardboard, and protection inside the packaging itself.
Packing tyres for shipping: an international courier advises how to send tyres from abroad
Tyres are among the most frequently shipped items, both domestically and internationally. We send them abroad when, for example, buying them in country A and shipping to country B is cheaper than purchasing them locally at the recipient’s end. However, car tyres are quite large. They weigh a fair amount, and their circular shape can hardly be considered standard. The question therefore arises: how to pack tyres for courier shipping? The answer is not straightforward, as it depends primarily on which courier company will be handling the delivery.
A standard cardboard box is the best solution for shipping tyres
Let us start with ourselves, assuming you are sending tyres from Poland to the British Isles or vice versa. SpeedPack strongly prefers packing shipments in rectangular or cube-shaped cardboard boxes. We therefore recommend finding appropriately sized boxes and packing the tyres in them individually, with or without rims. In the section
„How to Pack” you will find our recommendations.
The most important of these is using boxes of appropriate thickness (minimum three layers), suited to the weight of the contents. We also write about what fillers to use to immobilise the box contents and prevent shifting during loading, reloading, and unloading.
Boxes should not be joined together but shipped as individual parcels. Each box should be carefully wrapped with wide, strong packing tape. Office or school tapes are not suitable for this purpose. The filler should ensure immobilisation and cushioning of the box contents.
Not all companies ship tyres internationally – choose a proven international courier
If you commission us to transport to other countries through our partners, or if you entrust your tyres to another courier company altogether, it is best to familiarise yourself with their packaging requirements. It is worth knowing, for example, that GLS will not accept tyres for international transport at all – in their terms and conditions, tyres are on the list of excluded items.
Shipping tyres by courier naturally means the parcel will contain dry and clean tyres. The number of tyres per parcel depends on the courier company: some allow two tyres in one sturdy box, secured against shifting. Other companies may require individual packaging. This will certainly be the case for large tyres.
If not in a box, how to ship tyres by courier?
However, cardboard is not the only possible packaging. DPD requires individual packaging of each tyre, consisting of tape wrapping and an address label placed so that there are no creases or ripples, especially where the barcode is located. The barcode should be placed on the rim area.
Other companies may require that the tyre (possibly with the rim) has a diameter of no more than 18 inches and is either in a standard box or carefully wrapped in stretch film with circular cardboard covers.
DHL, in turn, allows shipping individual tyres without packaging (with wrapping – as with DPD) or wrapped in cardboard or secured on both sides with circular cardboard covers. DHL will also accept a parcel consisting of one or two tyres in stretch film or packed together using special packing tape and fitted with a wrapper.
Please remember that the procedures in place at individual companies result from, among other things, the design of machines used in their sorting facilities – so this is not arbitrary courier whim. Before shipping tyres, it is best to check the information on the courier company’s website or contact them and ask. This way you will avoid a situation where the courier refuses to accept the parcel, as well as the unpleasantness and losses associated with damage during transport.
