How to pack a graphics card
Modern cards are heavy, dense, and mostly cooler — protect the PCB from the cooler's own weight.
Before it goes in a box
Anti-static bag, always
The bag it came in or a new metallized one. This is the cheapest step in the whole process, and it prevents the only damage that's invisible from outside.
Remove anything attached
Anti-sag brackets, support stands, and power adapters ship in their own bag — never attached to the card, never loose against it.
Photograph it working
A photo of the card running in a system — or at minimum a clear shot of the board and serial number — is the evidence that it left alive. You'll attach these to the order in a minute.
The original box is the gold standard
GPU retail boxes have molded inserts engineered for exactly this card. If you kept it, use it — inside an outer shipping box with two inches of fill around it.
No original box? Build the support yourself
Wrap the bagged card in two to three inches of foam or bubble wrap, snug enough that nothing shifts. Support the card along its full length — the goal is that it cannot flex or pivot.
Respect the weight
Flagship cards run two to three kilograms, and almost all of it is cooler hanging off a PCB. If the card can bounce inside the box, that mass works the solder joints with every bump. Immobile is the standard.
Protect the bracket and the fans
The PCIe bracket and fan blades take the corner hits. A cardboard sleeve over the bracket end and padding that keeps pressure off the fan blades prevents the two most common cosmetic complaints.
Boxing it
Double-wall box, two-inch rule, shake test
Everything from the basics guide applies, with less margin for error — a GPU is the densest thing most people ever ship.
One card per box is the safe default
Shipping several? Give each its own wrapped cocoon with a rigid divider between them. Cards grinding against each other arrive as one working card and one claim.
Before it leaves your hands
Photograph it
The item with its serial number visible, then the packed box before you seal it.
Attach it to the order
Upload the photos as proof of condition on the order page. The record freezes at handover and counts if anything is disputed.
Keep the receipt
The drop-off receipt proves when the carrier took custody. Tracking takes it from there automatically.