Boxed Set and Multi-Book Series Fulfillment

Boxed set fulfillment means getting a multi-book series to the reader as one undamaged piece. The usual method is to shrink-wrap the volumes together and pack them in a rigid carton sized to the set. Choosing between ground and Media Mail for each order can potentially lower what a set costs to send.

By The Fulfillment.com team

Why a boxed set ships differently from a single book

A trade paperback is a light, forgiving parcel. A boxed set is several volumes in a slipcase, heavy for its size, with hard corners and a wide footprint. Two things tend to go wrong with it. The set comes apart or arrives dented, and a premium purchase turns into a return. Or the freight runs higher than planned, because a parcel that heavy costs more to move.

A set needs more care at the packing table than most orders in book publisher fulfillment. The volumes have to travel as one block with their corners covered. The box has to fit the set closely. And someone has to choose the carrier and service on purpose rather than by default.

How a multi-book set is wrapped, boxed and shipped

Each step deals with one of those two problems.

• Shrink-wrap the set as a unit. Wrapping the volumes together keeps them lined up, so they travel as one piece instead of sliding around a box as loose books. For a fixed bundle, the wrap is also what lets the set be picked and shipped under a single SKU.
• Pack it in a rigid carton that fits. The wrapped set goes into a rigid carton sized to it, with void fill tight enough that the block can't flex. That protects the corners and edges. A box pulled from a one-size shelf leaves the set room to shift.
• Pick the smallest box that still protects it. Choosing that box is called cartonization, and it matters for the bill as well as the corners. Our guide to book fulfillment cost goes through the rest of the bill.
• Choose ground or Media Mail. The gap between the two services matters most on a heavy parcel like a set. Media Mail is slower and only qualifying contents can use it, so it suits sets whose readers can wait. We compare the two in Media Mail vs ground for books.

Each book's barcode is scanned in BestOMS as it is picked. When we kit a set, every volume is scanned against the order before the set is packed. Right-sized cartons and the choice of carrier and service are handled through our freight and heavy-unit handling service. How your sets are packed, shrink-wrap included, is something we settle with you for your account. With any warehouse, ask at what point in the build the volumes get scanned.