The Great Coaster Shipping Fiasco: When Perfect Prep Meets Imperfect Math

There’s something deeply satisfying about preparing handmade items for shipping. The ritual of it all—the careful selection of packaging materials, the methodical wrapping process, the anticipation of your creation arriving safely in someone else’s hands.

As a maker of custom coasters, I’ve developed what I thought was a foolproof system for getting my square beauties ready for their journey to new homes.

Picture this: I had everything laid out like a well-orchestrated shipping station. The twine delicately wrapped around the coasters, creating those perfect little bundles that just scream “handmade with love.” The crinkle paper sat nearby, waiting to become the perfect cushion. And the boxes—oh, those boxes I had so carefully selected online—sat there practically shouting “perfect for coasters!”

I felt like a shipping wizard.
Crinkle paper: ✅
Box assembly: ✅
Coasters twined and admired: ✅
This was it… the moment of packaging glory.

I went to place them in the box… and to my horror, they didn’t fit.

HOW can they not fit?! I made 3.75” coasters. I bought 4” boxes. The math should have math’d. It was supposed to be simple. Foolproof. Unbreakable.

But the math ain’t mathin’ today.

Desperate, I tried rotating them (they’re square, so this was mostly symbolic). I flipped them. I even used the dark magic of mentally willing them to shrink. But they weren’t going in that box unless I buttered the sides and prayed to the USPS gods.

In full denial, I finally grabbed a tape measure. The coasters? NOT 3.75”. Not even close. They were… just under 4.25 inches.

Cue internal screaming.

This wasn’t just one set. It was several. All twined. All perfect. All smirking at me like “we knew this was gonna happen.”

Two hours. I spent TWO HOURS picking those boxes. Reading reviews. Comparing dimensions like a responsible human. And now I get to do it again.... box-hunting like some sort of wounded packaging warrior.

So here I am. Back at the drawing board. Back on the internet. And if anyone needs 4” boxes, I now own plenty.

Calgon, take me away.