Over the last 10 years we have worked very hard to discourage the use of styrofoam sheet and peanuts when packing clocks to be sent to us. Our message, included in our very carefully crafted packing instructions, has largely fallen on deaf ears.
What’s wrong with styrofoam peanuts? They look so nice and clean when you put them in a box. By the time they get here, they are tiny static-clinging fragments that are nearly impossible to clean up. Once they find their way into the shop, they can be found everywhere. They are very difficult to manage. It costs a great deal to clean this up. We’ve resorted to unpacking outside, but then they find their way back into the shop on our clothes.
Recently we had one customer send a movement previously restored by us (requiring only a maintenance oiling and inspection). The movement was left unwrapped and surrounded with styrofoam peanuts. Fragments of this material were so embedded in the movement that it was necessary to disassemble the movement, fully clean each component, and then meticulously reassemble it. This significantly added to the cost of maintenance on a movement which would otherwise have needed only a few simple adjustments and oiling.
Likewise, styrofoam sheet disintegrates in transit, in much the same way, creating much the same mess.
Some folks have resorted to shredded paper and wood. These are equally troublesome and we kindly ask that you do not use them. While they are somewhat easier to dispose of, they make a huge mess during the unpacking of your piece and often find their way into the movement in transit.
Starting in March, we will charge a $100 cleanup fee for clocks shipped to us where styrofoam or styrofoam peanuts are used. Ignorance of this new rule is no excuse, since we have been asking nicely for 10 years.
For that matter, non-styrofoam peanuts are similarly troublesome as well.
No styrofoam sheet, styrofoam peanuts or any other peanuts please. And please avoid shredded paper or wood. The simple fact is that there are a myriad of preferred alternative materials available today such as bubble wrap and heavy packing paper for backfill. Packing paper and bubble wrap can often be re-used, and paper can be recycled.