How to use packaging foam to prevent damage to electronics

Online shopping through channels such as Amazon and eBay has become an increasingly popular avenue for buying electronics. Unfortunately, ordering electronics online doesn’t always pan out, as this buyer learned.

Incidents like this are less rare than you’d think, as 1 in 10 packages ordered online arrive at their destination damaged. With many electronics being expensive and somewhat fragile, what can you do to make sure your electronics packages arrive safe and unharmed?

Cushioning your products with packaging foam is the best option for preventing damage to delicate electronic items. Flat-screen TVs, portable media players, and smartphones might benefit from polyurethane, or polyester cushioning. Polyurethane is a softer kind of foam that protects against scratching and chipping, and it should be used for the electronics with more sensitive surfaces.

If you need something stronger, the type of foam you need is probably polyethylene. It’s thicker and more suited for shielding the product from high impacts and moisture. It’s also a good insulator. Larger products such as appliances or gaming consoles are more suited to polyethylene protection.

In both cases, it’s best to look for the anti-static version of the foams. Foams can be given properties that stop electric charges from building up from inside the package and damaging your electronics from within.

Once you’ve decided which foam you want to use, you can also shape the foam to fit your specific product’s outline. You can either order the foam custom-made from a company like The Foam Factory, or you can do it yourself, if you’re handy with tools.