📦 Guide • Packing for Shipping • Excess Luggage Co.

How to Pack Luggage for International Shipping
Suitcases, boxes and bags — done right

Q: How heavy can each box be?

Keep each box to a weight one person can lift comfortably, under about 25kg. Overweight boxes are more likely to be dropped, and harder to stack and protect.

Packing for international freight is different from packing for airline hold. Items go through cargo handlers, forklifts, pallet stacking and temperature variation that airline baggage does not. Here is how to pack your luggage so it arrives intact.

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The golden rule: make a numbered list

Before you tape anything shut, write down what is going in the box — and number it. It takes five minutes and it is the single best thing you can do.

Here is why it is worth it. When your shipment reaches customs at the other end, they may want to see what is inside. With a numbered list, they can simply say “show me item 7” — and you go straight to it and lift that one thing out. No tipping the whole box onto a table, no repacking everything while an officer waits. You look organised, it is obviously honest, and you are done in a minute.

Keep it simple and grouped, and pack roughly in that order:

1. 5 shirts
2. 4 pairs of jeans / trousers
3. 3 pairs of shoes
4. Bedding and towels
5. Textbooks and folders

Tape one copy of the list inside the box and keep a copy for yourself. That inside copy is also your safety net: if the label on the outside ever gets torn off in transit, your name and details are still in there.

Put a value on each item — as used, not new

Next to everything on your list, write what it is actually worth now — not what you paid for it.

This is the bit people get wrong. That shirt you bought for £40 six months ago is now a used shirt. If you tried to sell it, you would get maybe a pound for it — nobody pays £40 for someone’s worn clothes. So on your customs list it is worth about £1, not £40. Its only real value is to you.

That is exactly what “personal effects” means: your own used, owned belongings going with you — not new goods being imported to sell. And it matters at customs, because duty and tax are charged on the value you declare. Put £40 a shirt and you have invited a tax bill on things genuinely worth a fraction of that. Value them honestly as used, and it is clearly what it is: personal effects.

So your list ends up looking like this:

1. 5 shirts — used — £5
2. 4 pairs of jeans / trousers — used — £8
3. 3 pairs of shoes — used — £6
4. Bedding and towels — used — £5
5. Textbooks — used — £10

One honest warning: value it realistically, not at zero. “Worn, so a pound or two” is honest. Declaring everything as worthless, or hiding what is really inside, is the fast way to get a box held and opened — the opposite of what you want. Honest and low beats invented and high, every time.

Wrap the breakables, let your clothes do the cushioning

Anything that can crack — a mug, a photo frame, your speaker, that one thing from home you cannot replace — wrap it in bubble wrap first, then bury it in the middle of the box surrounded by clothes, towels or a hoodie.

The whole trick is simple: nothing hard should touch anything else hard. Your soft stuff is not just clothes, it is free padding — so use it, and keep the fragile things away from the corners and edges, where the knocks happen. Pack for freight, not for the plane: assume the box will be dropped, stacked under heavier boxes, and moved by people who cannot see what is inside.

Boxes and suitcases — the practical bits

Boxes. Use a proper double-wall cardboard box, not a tired supermarket one — the corners take the hits, so the walls need to be rigid. Heavy things go in first, at the bottom and toward the middle, never against the sides. Then fill every gap so nothing shifts when you give it a shake — empty space is what lets a box crush. Tape every seam top and bottom with proper packing tape, and keep each box to a weight one person can lift comfortably: under about 25kg. Make it a back-breaker and it will get dropped.

Heavy or oversized items
Aim to keep each item under 30kg. Heavier items — or anything whose length, width and height added together come to more than 200cm — are still accepted, but they need extra handling, so a heavy-item surcharge applies. Just tell us at the enquiry stage and we’ll confirm the cost before you book.

Suitcases. Hard-shell cases protect best — if you have them, use them. Wrap soft-shell cases, or put them inside an outer box for rigidity, and tape down any wheels, handles or straps that stick out (they are the first things to break). Put heavy items at the wheel end so it stands balanced, cushion everything with soft stuff, and do not overstuff to the point the zips are straining — a burst zip in transit is how things go missing. We can machine-wrap your cases to protect the shell and stop them popping open.

A few things we see go wrong every week: overpacked boxes that bulge and cannot be stacked; loft storage boxes, plastic tubs, canvas bags and bin liners that were never made to fly; and TVs wrapped in a duvet — a screen is a sheet of glass and needs a rigid box or a proper crate. If in doubt, ask us before you pack, not after.

Before you seal the box — the things that are NOT allowed in

Some everyday items are classed as dangerous goods for shipping and cannot go in with your clothes. Leave these out:

Anything with a battery in it — power banks, and loose lithium batteries especially. Batteries cannot travel packed inside a box or case as freight.
Perfume, aftershave and body sprays — they are flammable.
Aerosols of any kind — deodorant sprays, dry shampoo, hairspray.
Nail varnish and nail varnish remover — also flammable.
Lighters, and anything else pressurised or flammable.

It feels over-the-top for a can of deodorant, but these are the airline’s rules and the law, not ours — and one aerosol tucked in a box is enough to get the whole shipment held or refused. So do a final check before you tape up: no batteries, no sprays, no perfume, no varnish. If you are not sure about something, just ask us before you pack it — a two-minute question that saves a two-week delay. See our prohibited items guide for the full list.

FAQs

Common questions

How do I make a packing list for customs?−

Write down what is in each box or case, numbered and grouped — for example “1. 5 shirts, 2. 4 pairs of trousers” — with an honest used value beside each line. Tape a copy inside the box and keep one yourself. If customs want to see item 7, you can find it without unpacking everything.

What value should I put on my used clothes and belongings?+

Value them second-hand, not at what you paid new. A shirt that cost £40 six months ago is a used shirt now worth a pound or two — so declare about £1, not £40. These are personal effects: your own used belongings, not new goods for sale. Keep it honest but low.

Can I pack perfume, deodorant or a power bank?+

No. Perfumes, aftershave, body sprays, aerosols and nail varnish are flammable, and anything with a battery (including power banks) is classed as dangerous goods — none can be packed inside your shipment. Leave them out, and ask us first if you are unsure about an item.

How heavy can each box be?+

Keep each box to a weight one person can lift comfortably — under about 25kg. Overweight boxes are more likely to be dropped, and harder to stack and protect.

What if my luggage or boxes are heavy?+

We can still ship them. Aim to keep each item under 30kg where you can — around 25kg is easiest to handle. Heavier items, or anything where the length, width and height added together come to more than 200cm, are still accepted, but they need extra handling, so a heavy-item surcharge applies. Tell us the rough weight and size at the enquiry stage and we’ll confirm any surcharge before you book.

Do you supply boxes?+

Yes. We can supply strong, double-walled export cartons suitable for shipping personal effects, clothing and household goods internationally. Each carton measures approximately 47 × 47 × 52 cm (H) and can accommodate up to 25 kg, depending on the contents and packing requirements. Boxes are chargeable and subject to a delivery fee. Please contact our Customer Services team for current prices and availability.

If your shipment requires additional protection, we can also manufacture custom-made export shipping crates, built to the exact dimensions of your goods to provide maximum protection during international transit.

Ready to ship?

Get a Quote before you start packing. Call us with your destination, number of items and collection date.

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“I have worked in this industry for more than 40 years, and safety has always been my highest priority. Our responsibility is to protect not only the shipper’s belongings, but also airline staff, carriers, customs authorities, and fellow passengers travelling on the aircraft carrying the shipment.”
Lak Kharod — Director, Excess Luggage Co.

Excess Luggage Co. comply with the UK aviation and maritime security act and regulations, we ship all dangerous goods under IATA and IMDG rules, and all our staff are trained in aviation & maritime security for shipping.

How to Pack Luggage for International ShippingSuitcases, boxes and bags — done right