Shipping & Packaging Guide

Practical standards for packing and shipping original artwork safely to Gamvt collectors. Always prioritize safe delivery over minimizing packaging cost. If you aren’t confident you can pack a work safely, use a professional packer or fine-art shipping partner.

Important — please read

These are practical best practices, not a guarantee against loss, damage, or delay — no packaging method eliminates all transit risk. You’re responsible for choosing packaging, insurance, carriers, and professional services appropriate to each artwork’s medium, condition, size, weight, fragility, and value, and for following any stricter carrier or insurer requirement. If you’re unsure whether you can safely pack or ship a piece, don’t improvise — use a qualified professional, or email admin@gamvt.com before shipping. We’d much rather help beforehand than deal with a preventable problem in transit.

What Gamvt expects on every shipment

Ship within seven business days of payment confirmation, unless the listing disclosed a different timeline — and don’t wait for your payout before shipping.
Use packaging appropriate to the artwork’s medium, size, fragility, value, and delivery method.
Photograph the artwork before packing, during packing, and after the package is labeled.
Use valid tracking or equivalent professional chain-of-custody documentation.
Follow the Insurance Guide, including mandatory insurance at a $1,000+ final sale price.
Retain receipts, packing photos, tracking, and insurance documentation until the order is fully resolved.

Why photos are mandatory

Packing evidence establishes the artwork’s pre-shipment condition, how it was protected, and the state of the final package — carriers, insurers, buyers, artists, and Gamvt may all need it to evaluate a loss or damage claim.

Choose your method before you start packing

Artwork / risk	Recommended route	Gamvt guidance
Small, stable, unframed 2D	Self-pack + parcel carrier	Fine when you can confidently meet the packing standard below.
Mid-size 2D, or framed w/ acrylic	Self-pack if experienced; else professional	Double-box when a single box doesn’t give enough structural and impact protection.
Framed under glass	Professional pack strongly preferred	Escalate quickly to professional packing, a crate, or specialist transport as size/value/fragility rises.
Large flat artwork	Professional crate / fine-art handler	Plan on a wood crate or professional solution when any side reaches 48 in.
Sculpture / ceramic / glass	Professional unless small & robust	Fragile 3D: default to crate/professional review at 12 in+ or 5 lb+.
High-value / complex / $5,000+	Gamvt pre-shipment review	Insurance, packaging, carrier, delivery, and signature plan reviewed before shipment.

Build packaging into your listing economics

Don’t discover after a sale that safe packaging wipes out your margin. Estimate packaging, insurance, and any professional handling before listing, and fold those costs into your price and shipping charge. Keep common materials on hand if you ship regularly, and get at least one packing/crating quote before listing anything large or unusual. Never choose inadequate packaging just to protect margin after the sale.

Documentation before handoff

Photograph the artwork (front, back, corners, edges, frame/glazing, any existing condition issue), then each stage of packing (first protective layer, corner/edge protection, rigid boards or inner box, cushioning and void fill, the piece secured inside the final box/crate, the sealed package, and the shipping label). Photographing the final package dimensions with a tape measure also helps resolve carrier dimensional-weight or oversize disputes. Retain all of it with your shipment records.

Before using the packing steps below

These are best-practice starting points, not a guarantee against damage — every artwork is different. If a work’s materials, construction, condition, size, weight, fragility, or value make you uncertain about safe shipment, contact Gamvt or use a qualified professional art shipper before packing.

Packing steps by medium

Paintings under 48 in on every side

Materials: glassine or acid-free tissue (where surface-compatible), poly wrap/heavy plastic for moisture, bubble wrap, ½-in foam board or strong two-ply cardboard, cardboard corner protectors, a strong shipping box, packing tape.

Confirm the painting is completely dry and safe to wrap; if unsure about the surface, get professional advice rather than improvising.
Wrap in an archival barrier appropriate to the surface.
Protect all four corners without taping directly to the artwork.
Add rigid backing so the work can’t bend or puncture.
Add a moisture barrier around the protected work where compatible.
Wrap in at least two layers of bubble wrap — never as the first layer against a vulnerable painted surface.
Add corner protectors over the wrapped piece.
Sandwich between two rigid panels extending past the edges, secured without compressing the canvas.
Place into a sturdy outer box with ~3 in of protective space around it.
Fill remaining space so the artwork can’t shift.
Seal with the H-taping method (or equivalent full-seam sealing).
Photograph the finished package and label before handoff.

Dry means dry

A painting can feel dry on the surface while still vulnerable to pressure, sticking, or abrasion. Don’t ship a wet, tacky, soft, freshly varnished, or otherwise unstable painting — knowingly doing so is inadequate fulfillment.

Paintings 48 in or larger on any side

Gamvt’s standard is a wood crate or professional fine-art solution rather than an ordinary parcel box, unless Gamvt approves another method first.

Use the same artwork-safe inner protection as above.
Use substantial cushioning — a practical baseline is at least three layers of bubble cushioning around the surface-protected work, unless a professional crate uses another engineered system.
Use a custom wood crate sized to the protected artwork.
If you don’t have crate-building experience, hire a professional crating or fine-art logistics provider.
Price the work with expected crating cost in mind.

Framed paintings & framed works

Frames add vulnerable corners; glass adds a second failure mode, since broken glazing can damage the artwork itself.

Framed without glass: rigid corner guards; a smooth barrier so wrap doesn’t abrade the finish; rigid front/back panels; a sturdy box with cushioning on all sides; double-box when the frame is substantial, valuable, or ornate.

Framed with acrylic / Plexiglas: a clean non-abrasive layer against the acrylic; rigid front protection so pressure can’t flex the glazing into the artwork; strong corner protection and substantial cushioning; double-box mid-size/high-value parcels.

Framed with glass — escalate quickly

High-risk category. Small parcel-appropriate pieces should be double-boxed at minimum; larger, higher-value, or especially fragile glazed works should use a parcel crate, custom crate, professional packer, or fine-art handler rather than ordinary self-packed parcel service. Professional packing is strongly recommended, and confirm your insurer accepts the packing method before handoff.

Works on paper & prints

Higher-value originals — ship flat (Gamvt’s default unless the work safely tolerates rolling): enclose in acid-free tissue; restrain with corner protectors, never tape the artwork; secure between rigid supports with firm boards both sides; add a thick cushioning layer; add an outer corrugated cover or shallow rigid box; seal every outer edge so it can’t open, bend, or expose the work.

Rolled prints / flexible works (only if the work tolerates rolling): use a sturdy tube with ≥2 mm wall, longer than the artwork and wide enough not to roll tightly; interleave with a soft protective sheet; prevent lengthwise movement; secure both end caps with strong tape; for valuable work, place the tube inside an outer box against crushing and conveyor risk.

Sculpture, ceramics, glass & fragile 3D

Gamvt escalation rule

For sculptures 12 in or larger, or 5 lb or more, default to a wood crate or professional packing review. Smaller works may still need professional handling based on fragility, material, projections, value, or weight distribution.

Small, robust 3D below that threshold: cushion all surfaces, paying special attention to projections and weak points; add extra cushioning beneath the object (bottom layers compress under weight); leave ~2–3 in of protective space; fill voids so it can’t move; double-box ceramics, glass, and other highly breakable works; mark orientation where it matters, but don’t rely on labels instead of packing that tolerates normal handling.

Crates

Use a crate for large flat works, paintings at/above the 48-in threshold, larger sculpture, highly fragile work, and anything a carrier/insurer/handler says shouldn’t travel in cardboard.

Immobilize the wrapped artwork inside — wood alone is not protection.
Line and cushion the crate so the artwork never contacts hard walls.
Allow enough internal clearance for cushioning and the protected object.
Use removable screws for the access panel so the buyer can open it without destroying it.
Don’t attempt a custom crate for valuable/fragile work without the tools and experience — hire a professional.

Packaging by risk — quick matrix

Category	Small / lower risk	Mid-size	Large / high-risk
Unframed painting / mixed media	Foam-lined rigid box	Double box	Wood/parcel crate; professional help
Framed with acrylic	Foam-lined rigid box	Double box	Crate; professional help
Framed with glass	Double box	Parcel crate / professional pack	No ordinary parcel — specialist solution
Works on paper	Rigid flat package or suitable tube	Rigid flat or tube by medium	Professional flat/rolled transport
Sculpture / ceramic / glass	Double box if truly small/robust	Professional pack / alternate service	Crate + specialist handler

Professional shipping — when it’s worth it

Some artworks shouldn’t move through an ordinary parcel workflow. Gamvt treats professional packing, crating, fine-art transport, and white-glove delivery as normal fulfillment options when the risk warrants — not a last resort. Use them when you don’t feel confident, or for glass-framed, oversized, heavy, highly fragile, high-value, or difficult-to-insure work. Ask whether a provider offers studio pickup, packing/crating, art shuttle, climate-controlled transport, appointment delivery, unpacking, debris removal, and condition documentation. For $5,000+ sales, complete the required pre-shipment review before booking.

Fine-art shipping / packing starting points (by region)

Starting points, not endorsements — you may use any qualified provider. Always request a quote for the actual artwork and verify liability/insurance terms.

Boston / New England: Maquette Fine Art Services; Clark Fine Art Services; Craters & Freighters Boston
New York / Northeast: Atelier 4; UOVO; Crozier Fine Arts; Fine Art Shippers
Washington, DC / Mid-Atlantic: Maquette Fine Art Services; Crozier Fine Arts; Navis Pack & Ship
Chicago / Midwest: Mana Fine Arts; ICON Art Services; The Conservation Center
Miami / South Florida: Atelier 4; Gander & White; Momentum Fine Art Services
Los Angeles / Southern California: Atelier 4; Crozier Fine Arts; Cooke’s Crating & Fine Art Transportation; VIP Transport
San Francisco Bay Area: Norton Fine Art; Navis Pack & Ship
Pacific Northwest: Art Work Fine Art Services
Multi-city / national: Atelier 4; Crozier Fine Arts; UOVO; Navis Pack & Ship

To get a quote, send: pickup/delivery ZIPs; medium; exact unboxed dimensions and approximate weight; framed/unframed and glazing type; final sale value; clear photos; any delicate projections or condition concerns; which services you need (packing, crating, pickup, transport, delivery, unpacking, installation); desired timing; and required insurance or signature conditions.

Tracking, signature & delivery

Use valid tracking for parcel shipments; for fine-art handlers, retain a bill of lading or equivalent chain-of-custody and delivery record.
Use signature confirmation whenever Gamvt or the insurer/carrier requires it.
Never independently reroute a package after purchase without Gamvt involvement.
Monitor tracking until delivery and notify Gamvt of material delays.

Address changes

Address changes after purchase aren’t guaranteed and must go through Gamvt — once packing, labeling, or carrier handoff has begun, a change may be unsafe, impossible, or inconsistent with insurance coverage. Don’t accept an off-platform address-change request from a buyer; contact Gamvt immediately, and don’t reroute a high-value or insured package without confirming the change won’t void coverage.

If a package is delayed or lost

Check tracking or the handler’s status.
Contact the carrier/handler on a delivery exception or prolonged lack of movement.
Notify Gamvt with the current status.
Preserve receipts, tracking, insurance, and packing photos.
If it appears lost, initiate the carrier/insurer claim with Gamvt’s support.

If artwork arrives damaged

Evidence preservation is part of Gamvt’s damage-claim process. The buyer may be asked to keep and photograph the outer box/crate, shipping label, visible package damage, all interior packaging, the full artwork, and close-ups of the damage. You should provide your pre-shipment condition photos, packing-process photos, final package photos, carrier/handler receipt and tracking, and insurance documentation.

Returns

Approved returns are coordinated through Gamvt. Reuse the original packaging when it’s still safe and suitable; otherwise Gamvt may require equivalent or professional repacking. Buyers should never return artwork without Gamvt approval, and $1,000+ return shipments follow the Insurance Guide’s return-insurance requirements — so keep packaging capable of surviving an approved return.

Don’t

Ship a painting before it’s fully dry/stable, or put bubble wrap directly against a vulnerable painted surface, or tape directly to the artwork.
Use a flexible envelope for a valuable original that must stay flat, or roll a work that can’t safely tolerate rolling.
Use a weak/damaged box, or leave empty space that lets the artwork move.
Ship large/high-value glass-framed work by ordinary parcel without professional review, or build a crate for valuable work by guesswork with no crating experience.
Assume a FRAGILE label substitutes for protective packaging, or that declared value automatically means insurance.
Throw away packing/claim records before the order is closed.

Final pre-shipment checklist

Artwork fully dry/stable and fit to ship; delivery address verified; timeline can be met.
Correct shipping route selected; insurance requirement checked.
Artwork photographed before packing; materials appropriate to the medium.
Corners/edges/glazing/projections protected; artwork rigidly protected where appropriate.
Package cushioned and artwork immobilized; double box or crate used when warranted.
Packing process, final dimensions, and label photographed; package securely sealed.
Signature requirement checked; tracking / chain-of-custody obtained.
Proof of required insurance submitted; tracking submitted to Gamvt; receipts and records retained.

When an artwork falls outside these standards or presents unusual risk, email admin@gamvt.com before shipment. Carrier, insurer, and handler requirements can change — the stricter applicable requirement controls.

See also the Insurance Guide, Shipping & Delivery Policy, and the Artist FAQ.