Packing items for shipping

[sin-n-dex]

I got into a bit of a debate with another seller (in my city) about packaging items for shipping.

I sell coins, tokens and sometimes mint sets. One of my strategies is to put all mint sets and largish items in a clean ziplock bag (which is actually done when I get the item, not when I ship, to keep the dust off the item).

The seller I was arguing with was telling me that costs money, and just throw the items into a bubble mailer and send it.

I'm thinking for the 4 cents I spent on the bag, it has value in making my eBay store look somewhat professional because items are neatly packed.

Thoughts on packing for shipping?

C.

[johnrj1226]

I like  to receive  items that are well protected - it  signals the seller does care  extra 4 cents really isn't too much - can't even  buy bubble gum with that but if you kick in an extra penny you  can get a nickel  cup of  coffee at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota - just off I-90.  Same price as it was in 1976 when I visited there.  It is not far from Sturgis ( big time Bike Week  - actually 10  days - in August)

[upgradedendmills]

Fantastic!!!  I use the poly unpadded sleeves and they work well for most books,

[deech21]

I use a die cut box ,it could be 3x2x2 inches so the item does not get crushed AND no one can tell from feeling it what the item is.

If you sell coin or gold chains,box is always better 

[indiefeels1]

I'm going to have to play devil's advocate here. Buyers want it cheap, fast and in perfect condition. Presentation doesn't really register with today's consumer. It's more about the product and speed.

I remember when every Amazon package came with a little note in it. Now not so much.

Consumers are more knowledgeable than ever nowadays. Not to say that presentation is a way of tricking people, but nobody is going to be fooled into thinking any type of way about what they are getting or expecting based on fancy or extra mile packaging.

[futurespast1113]

I'm going to have to play devil's advocate here. Buyers want it cheap, fast and in perfect condition. Presentation doesn't really register with today's consumer. It's more about the product and speed.

I remember when every Amazon package came with a little note in it. Now not so much.

Consumers are more knowledgeable than ever nowadays. Not to say that presentation is a way of tricking people, but nobody is going to be fooled into thinking any type of way about what they are getting or expecting based on fancy or extra mile packaging.

I understand your point, but most of the items I receive looks like the seller dumped out their garbage pail into the box to use for padding material. A lot of sellers use musty smelling, used plastic grocery bags instead of packing peanuts and it really disgusts me and looks lousy too. Then I see yellowed, used crumpled up newspaper with food stains on it inside the box too and it is really is gross. They don't have to get that fancy. Just put clean packing materials in the box and it won't be so disgusting.

[7606dennis]

I always suggest enclosing any item being shipped in some sort of water resistant packaging, such as seal-able plastic bags, in order to protect it from exposure to moisture.  Living in Florida, where we have two seasons, hurricane and not-hurricane, I know how damaging water can be.

[indiefeels1]

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@futurespast1113 wrote:

I'm going to have to play devil's advocate here. Buyers want it cheap, fast and in perfect condition. Presentation doesn't really register with today's consumer. It's more about the product and speed.

I remember when every Amazon package came with a little note in it. Now not so much.

Consumers are more knowledgeable than ever nowadays. Not to say that presentation is a way of tricking people, but nobody is going to be fooled into thinking any type of way about what they are getting or expecting based on fancy or extra mile packaging.

I understand your point, but most of the items I receive looks like the seller dumped out their garbage pail into the box to use for padding material. A lot of sellers use musty smelling, used plastic grocery bags instead of packing peanuts and it really disgusts me and looks lousy too. Then I see yellowed, used crumpled up newspaper with food stains on it inside the box too and it is really is gross. They don't have to get that fancy. Just put clean packing materials in the box and it won't be so disgusting.

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I agree on the cleanliness factor. The packaging your describing is no way to conduct business.

BUT I will say that, speaking as primarily a consumer, it warms by tree hugging heart to see sellers reusing packaging. I never throw away any type of packaging that comes for me. I always reuse old jiffy envelopes, boxes and dunnage. Consumers are getting to be more and more environmentally conscious today and don't want to see waste be a product of their buying habits.

The trend is clear: simple, efficient, environmentally friendly, frustration free packaging. It's a marketing gimmick at this point and you can sell that concept better than you can sell 'professional' appearing packaging.

Amazon is moving towards doing away with having to package their products, mandating that producers package their items in ready to ship boxes to begin with.

[johnrj1226]

We  wrap everything in a plastic small trash bag no matter where we ship it to - moisture seems to  be an issue at times most anywhere.  The folks along the Mississippi River  in the upper midwest  can vouch for that.  Been is flash floods on the Frio River in the Hill Country of Texas.  A normally dry and hot  area with the Frio gently flowing makes nice cool tubing especially when you are towing a cooler packed with Coor's.  Not a Bud person here.

[upgradedendmills]

The metal cutting tools I sell are always shipped in a factory original cardboard tube or a new reusable plastic tube with my label on it. Every time my customer picks up that tube, they see my name. If they wear out that tool, they will normally use the tube to protect one of their own tools and my name is right in front of them as opposed to a business card.  When I sell larger tools (over 1" diameter) I have enough margin built into them to make a custom PVC or heavy cardboard protective sleeve for them. Costs about a buck, but generates good sales for me.

     If I were to receive a wet book from a seller or a tarnished damp coin, it would be an automatic return and worse yet, I would never consider buying from that seller again.

[upgradedendmills]

I try my best to treat all my customers as if they are first time customers that I want as repeat customers. I don't believe that even they know what they want or expect when they buy something, but they will when they see it.

[futurespast1113]

BUT I will say that, speaking as primarily a consumer, it warms by tree hugging heart to see sellers reusing packaging. I never throw away any type of packaging that comes for me. I always reuse old jiffy envelopes, boxes and dunnage. Consumers are getting to be more and more environmentally conscious today and don't want to see waste be a product of their buying habits.

This I agree with wholeheartedly. I reuse packing materials and boxes too. As long as they are clean, look unused and are not worn and beat, up I save them for later use. The problem I see is many sellers are using yellowed and dirty newspapers and musty smelling beat up plastic grocery bags for padding in about 75% of my orders. Because of all this cheaping out, I have received 4 broken high priced antiques in the past two weeks alone. I am tired of having to file snad claims and when I open up a package I hold my breath because I get worried I will get another broken item poorly packed.

Most of the items I buy are larger sized, expensive and rare antiques. When I open the box it looks really pathetic. I recently opened a package and there was a used tea bag tossed in the box. Another time I got one of my fragile and expensive items packed in a flimsy cereal box. Another seller used new maxi pads to pad one of my fragile items. At least the maxi pads were unused, lol. 

I think a lot of sellers are trying to cut costs which I understand, but when I buy things and open my packages most times it looks like someone dumped their trash in the box it really grosses me out. I make videos on youtube doing ebay unboxings and if you saw how horribly some sellers pack things, you would not believe it.  Even other ebay sellers that watch my videos cringe and say what were these people thinking when they packed your item?