Sunday, October 21, 2012

Packaging and Shipping Tips

Ashley wrote:
packaging and shipping! I am clueless when it comes to this!

I'll give you a brief rundown of my best packing and shipping tips, but then I'll redirect you to the eBay Underground Proboards group, where the discussion topic of the week this week is this exact topic!

Essential Supplies:

  • a wide variety of poly mailers, which I order from eBay
  • tyvek mailers, both generic and Priority Mail
  • a wide variety of boxes (plain, recycled, and priority mail)
  • bubble wrap
  • packing peanuts
  • packing air bags
  • packaging tape
  • tissue paper
I buy almost all of that on eBay. It gets me eBucks, and I'm supporting the selling community. I have tried to beg for packing supplies on my local Facebook yard sale site. I have gotten a handful of responses, but it's not a reliable source. People in bigger towns would probably have more luck with that than I do.

Clothing Shipping Process:

I love shipping clothing! It is fast, easy, and safe. I fold the item neatly and wrap it (with my packaging business card) in tissue paper. Then I drop the bundle into a poly mailer, and that's it! Sometimes this varies. If the item weighs more than 13 oz, I will put it in a flat rate mailer, or of course if it's very bulky, I'll put it in a box. But 98% of my clothing goes first class in a poly mailer.

Plush Shipping Process:

If the plush does not have a sound/voice box, I follow the exact same procedure as my clothing shipping. If it has a voice box, I wrap it in tissue with my card, then I drop it into a shipping box.

Breakables Shipping Process:

This is going to depend on the item, but mostly my breakables get double-wrapped (at least!) in bubble wrap, then packaged in a box that's too big, filled with packing peanuts. My most frequent breakable item is microwave turntables. I used to build boxes for them, but I quickly got tired of the time I was wasting on that and decided it was worth the $2 each to just buy boxes. Sometimes you have to spend money just to keep your sanity.

Shoes Shipping Process:

Shoes also get wrapped in tissue and put in a shoe box. Most of my shoes go domestically, via priority mail. I use the priority mail shoe box for that. The boxes are free and are usually the perfect size. If it is going via international first class mail, I scavenge a plain box or turn a recycled box inside out.


I know this has been a quick post, and that I've only skimmed over how I package, but I wanted to encourage you to participate in this week's eBay Underground thread about packaging tips. If you don't have any packaging tips of your own to offer, that's okay too! Come read other people's tips and LEARN! That's what we are there for!

15 comments:

  1. Great tips, thank you for sharing and very useful tips you've shared to us.




    Packing Boxes Brisbane

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  2. Hi--I was wondering what the difference is between poly & tyvek mailers? Also, I've been having some problem with my address labels not sticking well to my poly mailers--do you have any suggestions? Thanks! :)

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    1. Poly mailers are a thickish plastic. Tyvek mailers are more like a waxy paper. I've never had trouble getting my labels to stick. Maybe try putting the label on BEFORE putting the item in the mailer? That way you can really get good contact by pressing down on it when it's flat.

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    2. Do you use them for different products? Thanks for your reply!

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    3. No, not really. 95% of the time, I use the polymailers. Most of my Tyvek mailers were free from USPS.com, so they are all priority. If it's clothing that has to go priority, I use the priority Tyvek mailers. I also have some First Class tyveks that I got at a thrift store for dirt cheap. I use them for international first class, but I have no real reason for doing that.

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    4. Cool--Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Thx! :)

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  3. great tips! love the poly mailers so EASY and light--glad to see I'm doing it right :)

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  4. Thank you for sharing the packaging and shipping tips. The information is very useful.

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  5. These are some great tips, thanks for the post! The last time I tried shipping a simple lamp across the country, it was received in 13 pieces. That didn't make me happy with the shipping.

    -Panamerican Shipping

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  6. Thanks for sharing those tips, Jessica. Use proper packaging materials and find a trustworthy shipping company, these are some of the best ways to guarantee the safety of your product.

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  7. Thank you for these packing and shipping tips. These are really very useful. We once had to relocate across the state so we had to pack and ship things. One way we did to cut down on our expenses especially for bubble wraps is to use our towels and other linens to cover breakable items. It really works!

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  8. Thank you for this tips. I like that you write down the essential supplies of packing. Surely I will used this tips in shipping goods through a shipping company Philippines. Thanks for sharing!

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