Hardware packaging

[Champman99]

Hey guys, wasn't really sure where to post this but eventually settled on general hardware, please move if inappropriate.

I have my heart set on a 5850, but finances being what they are I want to sell some old bits of hardware to generate funds. These are a variety of different bits, a couple of hard drives, a graphics card, an X-fi sound card, and a few other bits and bobs.

The trouble I have is that due to storage constraints I havn't kept the original packaging. Basically I want advice from you guys on how to send this stuff, where to get the packaging I need cheaply (if the item is only going to sell for £30, I don't want to be spending a tenner on packaging), and your own experiences of sending components over couriers/the Royal Mail.

My basic idea is slipping them inside an anti-static bag, wrapping in bubble wrap, then putting in a padded envelope. But everywhere I look for that type of packaging seems to need you to buy tonnes at once which would cut into my proceeds. Hope you can help

[jimbouk]

Head down to a supermarket/other retail outlet and get yourself some cardboard boxes they'll have spare. Make appropriately sized boxes out of the boxes and fill any gaps with (a) any spare packing material your have (bubble wrap/air pockets/foam bits) or (b) scrunched up newspaper. Anti static bags would be a bonus for anything more pricey.

I tend to horde packing material, but usually end up having to make a box from other boxes due to everything being the different sizes. Invest in some brown tape though, sellotape just doesn't cut it on parcels.

[Ulti]

One word: WILKINSON!

It contains everything you'll need there. You can get a massive roll of brown tape for 97p, lots of brown paper for 67p and lots of cheap bubble wrap there too. Not sure what to use for the anti static material though but there stuff is just so cheap and the quality is decent enough too.

Incase you dunno where to look (and they do tend to seem to be understaffed half the time) it's usually around the stationary/printing ink/paper section.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

My advice is to wrap all the components in an antistatic bag first. I would wrap the entire component in multiple layers of bubble wrap and make sure that this is surrounded firmly by brown tape so that the component is sort of cocooned in a bubble wrap layer. Then I would make sure I would pace the item in a box slightly larger than the bubble wrap cocoon and use crumpled newspaper to make sure that the package is not moving around in the box. I would then reinforce the box with brown tape along the top of the box and along the seams of the box.

Basically you have to assume that the box maybe dropped during transport and the packaging must be able to take a few knocks as a result.