To help your parcels arrive safely and reduce the risk of damage during international shipping, we’ve introduced a new reinforcement policy for fragile items.
Depending on the category of your items, reinforced packaging may now be mandatory, recommended, or fully optional. This ensures that delicate products receive the protection they need, without you having to guess.
Here’s everything you need to know before creating your next parcel.
What Is Reinforcement?
Reinforcement is an additional protective packaging service we offer to increase your parcel’s durability. It includes extra-strong materials like hard-pressed carton angles fixed with tape, and/or other extra packaging materials as we see fit.
This service is especially useful when shipping fragile, valuable, or heavy items. Reinforcement costs 1000 JPY per box.
When Is Reinforcement Mandatory?
Some item types are too fragile to ship safely without added protection. If your parcel includes any of the items below, reinforcement will be automatically applied and cannot be removed.
Mandatory Reinforcement Applies To:
- Turntables
- Bottled alcoholic beverages
- Ceramics and pottery
- Certain glass products e.g. aquariums
When Is Reinforcement Recommended?
Other items may not require reinforcement, but we strongly suggest it. If your parcel contains any of the categories below, you’ll receive a recommendation at the parcel creation stage encouraging you to add reinforcement. The final choice is up to you.
Reinforcement is Recommended For:
Please be advised
If reinforcement is recommended but not applied, we will consider that you accept the risk of potential damage during transit. While the final decision is up to you, please note that responsibility for the item’s condition upon arrival will rest with you.
Reinforcement significantly increases the safety of your shipment, especially for heavy, vintage, or delicate items that are more vulnerable to shocks during transport. However, strong packaging also adds weight and size to the parcel, which may increase international shipping costs. The actual increase varies depending on the item and box size, so we are unable to provide an exact estimate in advance.
Please keep these factors in mind when deciding whether to apply reinforcement to items that are flagged as “recommended.”
Do I Only Need Reinforcement When It’s Required or Recommended?
Not necessarily. While our system helps flag many items that require or recommend reinforcement, it cannot detect everything.
We encourage you to use your own judgment, especially for items that may not be fragile but are valuable or delicate in nature.
📌 For example:
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A single glass tumbler may automatically trigger a recommendation due to its material.
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However, a Japanese doll enclosed in a glass display case might not be, even though it could be more susceptible to vibration damage depending on the internal support.
Consider reinforcement if you’re shipping:
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Rare collectibles or limited-edition pieces
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Items with sentimental or high monetary value
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Products in fragile or decorative packaging
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Anything delicate that might not fit into a standard category
It's often wise to request reinforcement even if the system doesn’t recommend it.
Conclusion
Reinforcement is one of the best ways to ensure your fragile or valuable items arrive safely. Whether it's automatically applied, recommended, or optional, this service exists to protect your shipment from avoidable damage.
Important Reminders
- Reinforcement is mandatory for certain fragile items like turntables, bottled alcohol, ceramics, and specific glass products.
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It’s strongly recommended for items such as audio equipment, cameras, musical instruments, and other breakables.
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For everything else, reinforcement is optional but always available if you want extra peace of mind.
- The cost is 1000 JPY per box, and it includes industrial-grade protective materials.
If you’re ever unsure about whether your parcel needs reinforcement, it’s always safer to include it. And if you have questions, please check out our shipping FAQs or contact our support team . We are happy to help before you create your parcel!