How to Ship Multiple Devices Safely and Cheaply

The safest way to ship multiple devices is to wipe each one first, pack each in its own padded layer, keep batteries installed and within carrier limits, send everything by ground, and track every box under one shipment record. Whether you are mailing three old phones or forty retired laptops, the same handful of decisions determine whether the devices arrive intact, whether the carrier accepts them, and whether your personal or company data stays private.

This guide walks through those decisions in order, with the rules that apply in the United States and the mistakes that cost people money.

TL;DR

• Factory reset every device, remove SIM and SD cards, and sign out of cloud accounts before packing. The FTC lists these as the basic steps.
• Ship by ground. Used, damaged or defective devices with lithium batteries are restricted from air transport by carriers.
• Pack each device separately, then group them in a sturdy outer box with no empty space. Shifting inside the box is the main cause of damage in bulk shipments.
• Split large batches across several boxes and keep one list of serial numbers, box numbers and tracking numbers.
• If you are selling, a buyback service that sends a prepaid label and a data erasure certificate removes most of the work.

Table of Contents

• Decide first: one box or several?
• Step 1: Protect the data before you protect the hardware
• Step 2: Understand the lithium battery rules
• Step 3: Pack so nothing can move
• Step 4: Label, list and track every box
• Perspective: why we think shipping is the easy part
• Selling instead of just shipping
• Shipping a batch for a business
• Common mistakes when shipping several devices
• A simple workflow you can copy
• Ready to send a batch?
• FAQ
• Sources

Decide first: one box or several?

The temptation with a pile of devices is to fill one big box and be done. That is usually a mistake for three reasons.

Weight and damage. A heavy box gets handled harder and drops harder. Devices at the bottom take the load of everything above them.

Battery limits. Lithium batteries are the regulated part of any phone, tablet or laptop, and carrier rules are written around how many cells or batteries sit in one package. More on that below.

Risk concentration. One lost or crushed box means the whole batch is at risk. Three boxes means a third of it.

A practical rule: keep each box small enough that one person can lift it comfortably, and keep similar devices together. Phones and earbuds can share a box. Laptops are better in their own box, or one or two per box, because of their size and battery capacity.

Step 1: Protect the data before you protect the hardware

A device that arrives in perfect condition but still holds your photos, saved passwords or client files is a failed shipment. Do this before you open a box.

The FTC’s guidance on removing personal information from a phone is to factory reset the device, take out SIM and SD cards, and unlink it from cloud accounts such as Google, Apple and Microsoft. Also check for subscription-based services tied to the device and clear any location or navigation data, since these are easy to overlook.

For a batch, make this a checklist and tick it off per device:

1. Back up anything you want to keep.
2. Sign out of the Apple ID, Google account or Microsoft account and turn off device-locking features such as Find My.
3. Factory reset.
4. Remove SIM and memory cards.
5. Remove cases, screen protectors, stickers and accessories you want back.
6. Note the serial number or IMEI on your list.

Our step-by-step guides cover the details: a five-step phone cleanup before selling and a laptop selling checklist built around NIST 800-88.

When a factory reset is not enough

A consumer reset is fine for a phone you are selling to a reputable buyer. For business equipment, regulated data or older drives, the benchmark is NIST Special Publication 800-88, the federal guideline for media sanitization. NIST treats the choice to clear, purge or destroy as a risk-based decision that depends on how sensitive the information is. If you hold sensitive records, ask whoever receives the devices for proof of sanitization, not a promise. We explain the options in data sanitization methods and why a data erasure certificate matters for audits.

Step 2: Understand the lithium battery rules

Every phone, tablet, laptop and smartwatch contains a lithium-ion battery, and that is what makes shipping several at once more complicated than shipping one.

USPS Publication 52 sets out the mailing standards for lithium batteries. The key points for devices:

• Batteries must not exceed 100 watt-hours each.
• The package cannot contain more batteries than are needed to operate the devices.
• Used, damaged or defective devices are restricted from air transportation.

USPS has also updated its wording to say that mailpieces with no more than four lithium cells or two lithium batteries installed in the equipment they operate are excepted from the heavier hazardous materials requirements. UPS publishes similar guidance, including a ground-only lithium battery document that spells out what applies when a package holds more than four cells or two batteries installed in equipment. UPS’s general guide to shipping batteries explains that batteries are classed as dangerous goods because of the way they store energy.

What this means in practice when you ship several devices:

• Count batteries per box. Four phones in one box is four batteries, not one. Check the carrier’s current thresholds for your exact box before sealing it, and split into more boxes if you are over.
• Choose ground. Do not upgrade to air, and expect Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico destinations to need extra care because they are often served by air.
• Keep batteries installed. Do not pull batteries out and toss them loose into the box. Installed in the device is the lowest-risk way to ship them.
• Do not mix battery types. Keep lithium-ion devices separate from lithium-metal items in the same package.
• Never ship a swollen, leaking or hot device as ordinary mail. Stop and contact the carrier or a local hazardous waste program. A damaged battery is a fire risk, and it is exactly the case the rules restrict.

These rules change, and the details differ between carriers and between domestic and international shipping. Read the current carrier page on the day you ship. For laptops specifically, our guide to shipping a laptop safely under the current lithium rules goes deeper.

Step 3: Pack so nothing can move

Breakage in bulk shipments rarely comes from a single dramatic drop. It comes from devices sliding, rubbing and knocking against each other for several days. Packing is about removing every gap.

Pack each device on its own

1. Power the device off fully. Do not leave it asleep.
2. Wrap the screen side with a sheet of soft material or a thin foam layer.
3. Wrap the whole device in bubble wrap or a padded sleeve and tape it closed.
4. Keep chargers and cables out of the device’s pocket of space, or bag them separately so they cannot scratch screens.

Use a firm outer box

The common practitioner advice, reflected in UPS’s laptop shipping guidance, is to use the right box and to double-box fragile hardware, leaving room all around the inner box for cushioning. Choose a corrugated box with no crushed corners, fill every void with foam, inflated air pillows or tightly crumpled paper, and close the seams with strong tape in an H pattern across top and bottom.

Then test it. Close the box, hold it with both hands and shake it gently. If you feel or hear anything move, add padding.

Keep devices from touching each other

In a multi-device box, use cardboard dividers or place padding between every layer. Put heavier items at the bottom and lighter ones on top, and never stack a laptop under a pile of phones.

Step 4: Label, list and track every box

Once you have more than one box, paperwork matters.

Create a simple spreadsheet with these columns: box number, device model, serial number or IMEI, and tracking number. Photograph the contents of each box before sealing it. If a box is lost or arrives damaged, that record turns a vague complaint into a claim the carrier can process.

Label every box “1 of 3”, “2 of 3” and so on. Keep the return address inside each box on a slip of paper, in case the outer label is torn off.

If you ship many parcels to one recipient, carrier software helps. UPS WorldShip, for example, has a multi-piece shipment command that lets you enter the total number of packages for one consignee and set weights in one pass, so the batch is tracked as a single shipment.

Decide about insurance by value, not by habit. Add up what the devices are worth, compare it with the carrier’s included coverage, and declare the real value if it is higher. Keep your photos and the box list as evidence.

Perspective: why we think shipping is the easy part

Most people who ask us about shipping several devices are really worried about three other things: whether they will get a fair price, whether they will get paid quickly, and whether their data is gone for good. The box is the least of it.

That is why we built our process around removing friction. You get an instant quote online, we send a prepaid label so you are not buying postage, we inspect the devices and confirm the offer, and then we pay. Our commitment is to pay real cash, by PayPal, Venmo, debit card or bank transfer, within 24 hours after inspection. If our offer changes after inspection and you do not like it, we ship the device back free.

We also think data erasure should be proven, not assumed. Every device we receive is wiped to the NIST 800-88 standard and you can get a Certificate of Data Erasure. For a single phone that is peace of mind. For a company retiring a stack of laptops it is the document an auditor asks for.

One piece of advice we repeat often: do your own reset anyway. It costs five minutes, and it means the data is protected the whole time the box is in transit, not only once it arrives.

, Andy

Selling instead of just shipping

If the reason you are sending several devices is to get rid of them, shipping them to a buyer is usually better than shipping them to yourself, to a drawer or to a landfill. The EPA stresses using certified electronics recyclers and notes that two accredited standards exist in the U.S., R2 and e-Stewards, covering environmental management, worker safety and data destruction. Electronics contain materials you do not want in a landfill, such as lead and battery chemicals.

A few things to compare when choosing where to send a batch:

Our own guide to recycling electronics responsibly explains what to demand from any recycler, and what R2v3 certification means is a good primer on the standard. If you are weighing a carrier credit against cash, see trade in versus sell. And if you are wondering about scams, read whether it is safe to sell your phone online.

Shipping a batch for a business

For a company, shipping multiple devices is rarely about the postage. It is about chain of custody, compliance and cost.

Inventory first. Record asset tags and serial numbers before anything is boxed. That list is the baseline against which you will later check the recipient’s report.

Segregate by type and risk. Laptops and phones in separate boxes, with any damaged or swollen units pulled out and handled as damaged batteries, not as ordinary shipments.

Demand documentation. For audits you need a certificate per device or per batch, tied to serial numbers, and a statement of the method used. Our guides to NIST 800-88 documentation for audits and business device disposal cover what to ask for. For large clean-outs, see our notes on bulk electronics disposal.

Ask what happens to the data-bearing media. Some devices can be sanitized in software, while others should be physically destroyed. Our certified data destruction service follows NIST 800-88.

Get paid for what has value. Retired laptops and phones are often worth real money, and a disposal program that recovers that value offsets its own cost. That is the idea behind IT asset recovery and IT equipment disposal.

Common mistakes when shipping several devices

• Skipping the account sign-out. A device still tied to your Apple or Google account can be locked and worth far less, or unsellable.
• Using air service. Faster is not better when the contents are used lithium batteries.
• Packing loose. Foam, paper or air pillows should fill the space completely.
• Mixing everything in one box. A heavy laptop will crush a phone screen.
• Forgetting the record. Without a list and photos, a claim is a guess.
• Sending a swollen battery. Do not mail it. Contact the carrier or your local hazardous waste program.
• Leaving SIM and memory cards in. They are small, easy to forget, and full of personal data.

A simple workflow you can copy

1. List every device with model and serial number.
2. Back up, sign out, factory reset, remove cards.
3. Get quotes for the whole batch and pick your buyer or recycler.
4. Request prepaid labels, one per box.
5. Wrap each device, group by type, add dividers and fill voids.
6. Photograph each box open, then seal, label “1 of N” and note the tracking number.
7. Ship by ground, keep your list, and confirm receipt.
8. Ask for the inspection report, the payment and the erasure certificate.

Ready to send a batch?

If you have devices to sell, get an instant quote on our sell page. We cover phones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, desktops and earbuds in any condition, send free prepaid shipping, and back every quote with our promise to beat any written quote by a competitive amount. Businesses with a larger fleet can start from our ITAD services.

FAQ

Can I ship several phones in one box?

Yes, as long as you stay within the carrier’s lithium battery thresholds for that package. Wrap each phone separately, separate them with padding or dividers, and ship by ground. If you are near the battery limits, use two boxes.

Is it safe to ship broken or cracked devices?

Cracked screens are generally fine if you wrap the device well and tape the glass. Devices with a swollen, leaking or overheating battery are different: carriers restrict damaged and defective devices, so contact the carrier or a hazardous waste program before shipping. Buyback services that accept broken devices usually give instructions for this.

Do I need to wipe devices if the buyer erases them?

We recommend doing both. A factory reset and account sign-out protect your data in transit and prevent activation locks. A buyer’s certified erasure then covers anything a basic reset can miss.

Should I ship each device separately or together?

Together in a few well-packed boxes is usually cheaper and simpler, but keep boxes light, separate laptops from phones, and do not exceed battery limits. Separate shipments make sense for high-value items you want tracked and insured individually.

Sources

• USPS Publication 52, Packaging Instruction 9E (lithium batteries)
• USPS Publication 52 revision, miscellaneous policy updates
• UPS: ground-only lithium battery safety document
• UPS: How to ship batteries
• UPS: How to ship a laptop
• UPS WorldShip: Create a multi-piece shipment
• FTC: How to remove your personal information from a phone
• NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2, Guidelines for Media Sanitization
• NIST CSRC: SP 800-88 Rev. 2 overview
• EPA: Certified electronics recyclers

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