Why Aren’t Chair Mats Shipped Flat?

One of the most frequent questions we receive is why chair mats are not shipped flat to the customer. Many customers specifically ask us to ship their chair mat flat.

There is a very good reason that chair mats are shipped rolled up. Nearly any chair mat is too large to ship via UPS or FedEx if it is placed flat in a carton. The UPS and FedEx size limit for a package is 130″ in length plus girth. This means that you first measure the longest dimension of a package (the length), and then measure all the way around in the other direction (the girth). The sum of length plus girth must be 130″ or less. If a chair mat is 48″ x 48″ the length is 48″ (actually more when you include the carton). The girth is 48″ + 48″ + the thickness of the chair mat + the thickness of the chair mat (again, even more when the carton is included). The sum in this example is 144″+. So you can see that even with this relatively small chair mat we are well over the size limit and we aren’t even counting the carton.

A rolled up new chair mat can be awkward to deal with as you try to flatten it and place it under your chair. This is particularly true in winter when the vinyl material of the chair mat has encountered cold temperatures on its way to the customer and is very stiff. The good news is that the vinyl wants to eventually assume its natural flat shape. This can be accelerated by giving the chair mat a hot bath or shower, placing it in the warm sunlight, or using a blow dryer to soften it.

Modern Office offers chair mats in many sizes, thickness, and types, as well as custom sized chair mats cut to your specifications. Please contact us at 1-800-443-5117 with any of your chair mat questions.