(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best mailers

If they drink coffee or tea, a mug that would be in their taste can be a cool gift and useful, especially along with some nice tea or coffee. Etsy is a good place to start looking for more unusual or handmade mugs. (Here's the results for "science mug"). Teavana is usually a good store to look for fancy tea ideas.

Or a basket of nicer snacks to keep at the office (or not), like gourmet popcorn, dried fruit, nuts, chocolates, candies, etc. along with maybe some tea or coffee. So long as you're aware of any allergy/dietary restriction, I like consumables as gifts because you don't have to worry about the gift being in their style, etc.

On the more practical side of gift-giving, if any of them travel to a lot of conferences, then something related to making air travel/hotel stays more comfortable - like a fun sleeping mask or neck pillow - or even a colorful poster tube might be good.

If they are also ladies and wear scarves in the office (my office is cold!) that's another good choice, and you can find quirky and science-themed ones on Etsy as well.

A comic shop I used to buy from would give away fold up boxes that are like the BCXW star-folio, but I think better in that they open from the front. I would usually bubble wrap expensive books and then pack that into a backpack. CGCs easily fit in the laptop section of just about any backpack nowadays.

Also, it's best not to roll around with an expensive looking briefcase or roller. Vendors can smell the money from your wallet when they see that. I've literally had a dealer throw me price on a book that was ~2x what it was worth because I was wearing a polo...

An decent backpack is what I would recommend.

Here is a link to a set of the boxes that I was mentioning. They work great, just have something in there to keep them from sliding around.

https://www.amazon.com/Aviditi-MFL1182-Corrugated-Deluxe-Literature/dp/B00BT5J4IO/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1519024727&sr=8-15&keywords=cardboard+box+for+documents

As a seller I make sure I am fully stocked and organized with all the appropriate packaging so when I do make a sale I can quickly wrap it and mail it out. I purchased all of my supplies from Amazon! I use pink tissues paper, patterned poly mailers and thank you cards from Amazon and they basically have paid for themselves. I also purchased a shelving unit from amazon that I have all my tissue and boxes and mailers stocked on to keep everything organized! I just like to have my items folded and wrapped in tissue to keep them protected and I think a thank you note is a very sweet and easy gesture. I also buy on Poshmark and am sometimes a bit grossed out when I receive an item that is not wrapped in tissue or wrapping at all and I receive it all wrinkled. I constantly order clothing online and most retailers always wrap the items inside the poly mailers, I just think of it as standard. Hope this helps!

Tissue- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AMD8TSA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you cards- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0717BGJHJ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_8?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0717BGJHJ

Poly Mailers- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BTKM45M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Shelving Unit-https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0XLTT5/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The last time I bought a hundred mailers of this size on Amazon they were a little bit less than $0.13 each. Extremely good quality too.

They weren't this exact style but here's an example Amazon

When I saw the ones you posted my first thought was that's kind of cute however I personally would never spend so much more money on them. However if you are a low volume seller you may not notice the price difference that much.

The other person bringing up the handles possibly getting caught on conveyor belts is an interesting theory. I wonder if there's truth to that.

If they don't get caught and your volume isn't too high (so you don't notice the cost) these are pretty cute. Although I personally enjoy patterns a little bit more.

But fun find.

Welcome to the party! You can find the Etsy Seller Handbook here: Handbook!

As far as boxes go... I would get USPS Priority Mail (use version 2) FREE boxes for the smaller size clicky but you have to send them priority (always purchase shipping online, it's easy via etsy).

The larger versions could go in something like this: clicky. I've had good luck with Pratt and you could find a size for the smaller woodworking too, I just prefer free boxes if I'm going to be shipping them priority anyways. This allows you to send them through other shipping providers at your leisure.

You are both look down right FABULOUS! And thanks for doing this!!

Gift One: This Cricut mini will help me make professional looking packing for my jewelry at home. I'm trying to startup my business and this would really help show my customers (when I finally get some!) that my commitment to quality started with the jewelry itself, and continues all the way to their door.

Gift 2: C'mon...gimme mailers for mailing out orders!

You guys are the best!

If you’re doing long distance shipping like that, first thing you should look into is probably if the shipper offers insurance, it’s nice to have just in case.

For shipping, if you fit them in a box or a few, I’d recommend alternate between one record and bubble wrap or some other protector, and make sure the protector is also on the bottom of the box and the top before you close it. Amazon also sells these record shipping boxes here and I’m sure there’s a few others you could find there. Or if you have the cardboard to make your own you could do that as well.

Hope that helps you a little :)

First, if you haven't done it already, I would suggest getting some cellophane bags to put the cookies in. Helps keep them fresh. :) You can use ziplock bags, too, if you want.

I've shipped cookies several times without any breakage. I use these boxes, they're very sturdy and good quality.

Also, a lot of bubble wrap. Two layers of bubble wrap on the bottom of the box, a layer of cookies, another layer of bubble wrap, another layer of cookies. Usually I can fit three layers and then a final layer of 2-3 sheets of bubble wrap on top. Then I tape the box with packing tape and write the address directly on the box.

The cookies shouldn't move or slide around when you shake the box. If they do, you need to add more bubble wrap. :)

It usually costs about $16 to ship them USPS Priority 2 Day. I hope that helps.

Thank You cards: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4OUNKB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Mailers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JL8H2H?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

They don’t really match but I’ve received a ton of love notes from buyers who love my packaging. :)

I put it within a cardboard box surrounded by packing foam or tissue paper, then put the box in a black poly mailer sleeve (and put the shipping label on the poly mailer.) The boxes I use are sometimes not large enough for a shipping label, hence the sleeve.

EDIT:
I use cardboard boxes like this and I use these poly mailers. I like the boxes because they are sturdier and have a more quality look/feel, and the poly mailers are unique looking and extremely economical in terms of price. They are thinner than a lot of other poly mailers but since I pack everything in boxes that isn't an issue for me.

I also print out my invoice and put it inside of a decorative #10 envelope with my logo printed on it, and my invoice always has a hand-written note on it. I put that in the poly mailer next to the box. So when my customer opens the mailer, he or she can either open up the invoice and see my note or open up the box to get to the (wrapped) goodies. I also make sure to put a little free gift with a thank you sticker in each order, usually tucked on top of the wrapped up item within the box.

Between shipping, packing, and invoice materials it comes out to about $1.25 an order (I buy in bulk so that helps)...all costs passed along to my customers in the handling and shipping fees.

Almost anything should work. Cheaper but still strong would be fibreboard: amazon link and I'm sure you can get it at any hardware store. Even cheaper/thinner is chipboard which is pressed cardboard.

If you're even more low-commitment than that and don't care what it looks like in the back or how long it would last, I'm pretty sure any cardboard, flat plastic or any other sturdy flat material would work just fine in a pinch too with some glue or screws.

Don't listen to the other person about "markets". There are bathbombs being sold for $17 dollars EACH with free shipping and the seller has 11k sales in less than 2 years.


Etsy isn't about being in a race to the bottom with other sellers. If you want to, make your items more than $10 and add on the shipping into the total OR just do the thing Etsy is promoting where the shipping is free after $35+ and price your items in a way that suits you. I promise you, having free shipping as a option (such as with a set minimum to meet) is tens times more enticing to buyers and benefits you a lot more (especially for lightweight items) than just selling one $6.50 + $4.50 shipping item. I have over 80k sales and make 12k a month out of ONE of my shops. I've never once let my competitors pricing influence how I "value" my work, and when I opened my shop I charged more than most people, and I've surpassed all of them in daily sales (30-60 orders a day) for over 2 years.

Okay, enough of my rant, as for shipping extremely lightweight items (with a focus on bath&beauty), these boxes are fairly popular, and you can find them on uline in larger amounts once you start selling regularly: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M5B91Q3/?coliid=I15B0YY5IERKN5&colid=3LI4KLG3587E8&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it with these bubbles https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Original-Cushioning-Perforated-1061835/dp/B0021L9M1Y/ They come in 12 inches, but you can cut it down so that each 'roll' is only 3 inches across (so it turns into 3" x 60', 4 rolls), that gives you a ton of bubbles to use. Use it to 'wrap' around your product - left to right, top to bottom, like an X sandwich. As for liquids use something like 3M No Residue Duct Tape around the caps to keep it from slipping open while it's being shipped (they have it on Amazon, but it's wayyy cheaper at home depot or lowes) squeeze the lid to make sure the tape is stuck good and then put then in plain generic ziploc bags, such as these https://www.amazon.com/Plymor-Heavy-Plastic-Reclosable-Zipper/dp/B0194CUNCO

They should be relatively safe being shipped this way. I used those boxes for (unrelated to beauty) another product I sell and they are extremely difficult to crush.

Glad you found some savings there!

Yes, I'll cut down boxes to save on shipping pretty often. Check out this box reducer at Amazon. Best $15 I spent!

https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Box-Carton-Reducer-Sizer/dp/B00OI9RO94

I did 8-12 a month for the first nine months or so with revenue after fees between $120-250. June and July were super slow and I was on vacation for a couple of weeks.

Things have really taken off since December for whatever reason, I have been averaging about 20 orders a month and revenue has jumped as I have had 3 orders over $150 (thank you rey's quarterstaff) and two $600 orders, so about $2500 of the $4000 I have made has been since December.

Shipping helps and is super easy and cheap too, I buy these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PE46I8 and can ship most stuff people order within the US for less than $3. A project that takes a whole spool of material and pays $200 ships for about $6

So... I've been to a few shows and I'm pretty deep into the poster game so far. If you are a person who hates holding those cardboard tubes all night, let me suggest https://www.amazon.com/Alvin-MT25-CL-Storage-Transport-inches/dp/B007RFP3PI . These are a great investment and can hold about 3 posters total in them (if you're buying for someone else). Also, you can slap some stickers on them so they look super cool!

Honestly if you ship enough orders, it's going to happen at some point. I wouldn't spend more money on heavier-duty boxes, personally. 1 out of 20 is not bad at all for a fragile item, and that one was likely just a fluke.

I ship mugs in standard cardboard boxes (not smash-proof ones like you use), wrapped securely in a few layers bubble wrap. One key is to use a slightly larger box than you need (I like these 7"x6"x6" boxes), because if it's packed tightly in a box only slightly larger than the mug, it's actually more likely to break. I like to have a little room around the bubble wrapped mug to stuff some kraft paper.

I bought one of those moving boxes from amazon comes with a ton of foam and threw in a bunch more bubble wrap in between and it worked out great.

it was one of these

https://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Box-UBlox-Foam-8449/dp/B01ENR62NY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=DABQ3YAR5OLH&keywords=flat+screen+moving+box+kit&qid=1563245140&s=gateway&sprefix=flat+screen+moving%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-3

I will say that you can get practically the same boxes in a various amount of sizes on Amazon. I got the same size boxes they talk about for much less than ULINE, especially because of Amazon prime (free 2-day shipping).

The trick with amazon is their prices are constantly fluctuating - so what's $15 today could be $22 tomorrow. And when you split that across 50 boxes, that's a $.15 difference in price per box, which is huge.

These are the specific boxes I bought.

I'm super late but they're just from amazon, out of stock right now though. Huns must've bought them all up

I've only had to spend about $3 to ship across the country (not counting envelope, but I bought a set of 100 mailers for like $8 on amazon so I don't have to purchase packaging anymore). Domestic should be about $6 with tracking/insurance. Canada, $10.

You should know better. The Frenchie polymailers are not from the Lularoe brand at all. They're purchased separately by Lula consultants.

I just started looking into flipping. I decided to do Amazon Trade-In for a couple of my old video games. When i send the package through UPS, can I pack it in a mailer envelope bag with bubble wrap or do I have to use a box?

These might not be the right size, but amazon has a lot of boxes for $0.25 to $0.50.

um no, i'm talking about these Poly Mailers you buy in bulk on Amazon. Poly is plastic. They were recommended by /u/FredWampy in his guide to selling on Amazon - on the sidebar.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HG964S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ghg7584jr-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000HG964S

If you want something light and 95% of the way prebuilt, these will work for your rod: https://www.amazon.com/Alvin-Tubes-Storage-Transport-ANMT25-CL/dp/B007RFP3PI/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1474159404&sr=8-15&keywords=plastic+storage+tube

My sister knows I ebay and hooked me up for Christmas last year and it made this type of thing so much easier.

One of these, and one of these will do you wonders

Anyone ever tried one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Box-UBlox-Foam-8449/dp/B01ENR62NY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550121755&sr=8-5&keywords=tv+shipping+box#customerReviews

The questions section even has 3 answers saying it'd work with thin OLEDs.

Bubble Mailer. Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Alvin-Tubes-Storage-Transport-ANMT25-CL/dp/B007RFP3PI

I have one of these and it is excellent. You could probably club someone to death before it would break.