There is one thing all Etsy sellers have in common, and that we all do differently all at the same time. No, I’m not talking about the way we procrastinate on listings our new products. I mean how we package them once they’ve been sold.
From boxes to padded envelopes to neatly packed bags, each seller put their personal touch on the way their products look when they leave each individual HQ.
Michelle from Stupidcats sells prints of, well, cats! She takes great care with her packaging.
“I’m very paranoid of my pictures getting damaged in the post, after seeing the state of some letters that arrive. My pictures are mounted behind mount board and backed with thick acid-free card. Then I wrap them in clear acid-free cellophane, place another sheet of thick card over the front and wrap the whole lot in brown paper, and send it in a board-backed envelope.”
Beki from RatherUnseamly, maker of cross stitch items and patterns, agrees.
“Bubble wrap is essential for me! Especially for those framed items that have glass. I’d rather go a bit over the top with the bubble wrap and make sure that the item gets there. I also use fragile stickers on the outside of packaging, although whether that works or not I’m not sure!”
Rachel Elliot makes glass sculptures and jewellery under the name Flyingcheesetoastie.
“As you can imagine, glass is very fragile so I invest a lot of time and money researching the best way to package it safely yet economically for postage costs. All my glass creatures are wrapped in bubble wrap and boxed in sturdy cardboard shipping boxes then either placed in padded envelopes or another box with packing peanuts depending on weight. I used foam filled paper boxes for my jewellery with all boxes sized to fit and display nicely without being excessive.”
As you can tell, there is a lot of agreement on packaging fragile items well. But what about the softer items that are sold on Etsy? Liz of Madmumknits says:
“I sell soft knitted items so I usually wrap them in tissue paper, then in polybags to keep things dry with our inclement weather.”
Sally, using the shop name LifeCovers, has a nice little twist in her parcels of Harris Tweed producs:
“I wrap in tissue paper and ribbon. If there’s room in the parcel without taking it into another postal rate, I add a small sachet of lavender. This often gets very positive remarks – especially from my friendly Post Office!”
A lot of people use stickers as part of their branding. They’re easy to stick on boxes, envelopes, anything you desire really. Says Victoria Sol:
“I put stickers on my gift boxes, and I have little tags that I attach to the pieces with baker’s twine which give metal information and cleaning instructions. Both stickers and tags are from DayzeeLoveDesigns on Etsy and have my logo on them.”
Beki and Sally both recycle bubble wrap, although the rest of the packaging is brand new. Sally tells me:
“I only recycle bubble wrap and other padding type materials. I want to keep consistency and that’s not possible if I recycle. However, I do purchase tags which are made from recycled materials.”
Michelle believes packaging is an important part of your branding:
“I strongly believe that creating eye-catching packaging – whether it’s the outside thing it’s posted in, or what’s inside it – brings pleasure to the customer and makes it more likely they’ll use you again, or recommend you to others. Think about when you’ve received a gift that’s beautifully wrapped, or something in the post that has an eye-catching, clean, quirky envelope or box – it makes you feel a bit warm and fluffy, doesn’t it!”
Sally is of the same opinion.
“I often get very positive comments from customers about my packaging. They like that it’s simple yet thoughtful. They say it’s like receiving a gift even though they know what’s inside. I think any extra time spent wrapping up nicely is definitely worth the effort – and I enjoy the process too.”
Rachel even adds a little surprise:
“All my items come with a little story card detailing the making process and a little about the studio and my training. Mostly these fit inside the boxes so can be wrapped up for present giving too!”
Any final thoughts, then, ladies? Beki says,
“Having put off creating stickers for return labels etc forever I can now say I wish I had done that sooner, it really doesn’t cost much to do and it just gives your packaging an extra level of professionalism!”
Do you have any personal touches that you put on or in your packaging? Tell us in the comments.
Craft Britannia 