There's a very useful post about packing artwork for shipping on the Artist, Emerging blog from yesterday.
Shipping to and from shows is often the most expensive aspect of doing a show, whether wholesale or retail. The past few months have been an education in freight for me, as I work with our show decorator to simplify the charges related to shipping and handling of materials to and from artists' booths (commonly known as drayage).
Some tips for saving money on freight:
- Explore all your options. It takes some time, but you should be aware of the cost difference between driving (gas, tolls, hotels on the road, parking, and labor to load and unload your car, depending on the venue), shipping with the show's freight provider, or using an outside carrier.
- Share storage. Two exhibitors at our show load both their booths into one crate, which then goes to storage until the next show. They split the monthly storage fee, and are only charged handling for one item instead of two.
- Get an accurate weight. Many artists are unpleasantly surprised when they are given a phone estimate for a shipment that they believe weighs "about 400 pounds," only to discover that it actually weighed 600 pounds. Provide your shipper detailed and accurate information about your shipment to avoid sticker shock.
- Combine resources. If you need to ship long distances (west coast to east, for example), inquire whether or not your shipper can consolidate shipping with other exhibitors in your vicinity. For our February show, our freight company will be calling each of our west coast exhibitors to see if they want to participate in a program that will pick up their freight from their studios, bring it to a central consolidation point (probably in Arizona), then combine all that freight onto one truck for the trip to Philadelphia. It requires some coordination and delicate timing on the part of your freight provider, but can save everyone money (and is definitely better for the environment than having ten separate trucks driving cross country).