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Friday, April 23, 2010

Wrapping your Wares...

Do you sell your crafts online? How do you wrap your wares? I try to keep it fairly simple and "green" if possible. See also Kat's great post about recycled envelopes on the NaturalKids Blog
http://www.natural-kids.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-day-how-to-make-upcycled-shipping.html

I like to use as little plastic as possible. Ideally I would like to find a way to ship without using plastic at all. At the same time, I want my wares to be protected and look pretty when they arrive at their destination.

If you are mainly an on-line shopper, I would love to hear your opinion. I think my worst experience as a shopper was a package I once received from an etsy seller, who wrapped my item in several layers of cardboard and taped it like a mummy. I loved the item I ordered, but boy, was it a challenge to get it out of it's package. You really don't want to make your customer dripping with sweat - worried sick they will destroy the item in the process of unwrapping it...


So I have come to the conclusion that there are some strategies one should avoid at all cost:


  • Recycling is wonderful, but don't sent your beautiful handmade item in a crummy old cerial box.

  • It's good to protect your goods, but don't turn them into mummies!

  • Don't forget to add a personal note to your order expressing that you care about this sale. I always add a handwritten "Thank You" note card. I, as a customer, really appreciate that personal touch. I feel more obliged to go back to a store when they show me they do care about my purchase.

  • If you sell fabric, please do wrap my yardage in plastic or some protective layer. I know you like to get as much yardage into that free cardboard envelope by the postoffice, but they often get destroyed en route and my fabric may arrive stained =(.

Though they are expensive, I do so love my Moo cards. I started using them about two years ago. They may be small, but they sure add a special touch to my products. I wrap my miniature dolls and doll clothes in a sheet of tissue paper, use a piece of wool yarn, and tie a personal " Thank You" note plus moo card to he package. I often get compliments from people. So I guess I am doing all right. But I'd love to hear from others how they wrap things up. Maybe you would like to share your idea of the perfectly wrapped package?

6 comments:

FairiesNest said...

Hi Ulla, thanks for the comment on my blog! I really like the new colors for your blog and the banner is SO sweet! My one criticism is that it seems really narrow on the page, with lots of empty space on the sides. But perhaps you plan on filling those later? If you decide to go with a larger template there is a great post here on how to make your pictures larger. http://apryldeeterphotography.blogspot.com/2009/05/tutorial-bigger-photos-on-blogger-blogs.html And let me know if I can help in any way! You can convo me through etsy for the fastest reply.

The Sitting Tree said...

I try to use as little paper in my packaging as possible, so I make drawstring bags to send all my orders in. Using old shirts, it costs nothing and takes only a few minutes to make!
ps. I personally love when someone sends me a package in a recycled cereal box:) Being earth friendly is much more important to me than aesthetics. (Just my opinion)

Martha said...

I sell vintage and it can be hard to wrap some items, but I do. I wrap in tissue paper and attach a business card that matches my banner, with a thank you sticker that has my etsy name on it. I cushion my items with newspaper, so far it has worked very well!

Kathryn Dyche said...

I do the same things that you mention, including adding a business card and hand written thank you note with each order. I think it makes that person feel special. Jewelry gets shipped in a cotton filled jewelry box for added protection.

Folky Dots said...

Hello!
I've recently started making envelopes to mail doll clothes, using recycled grocery bags. Katsinthebelfry did a tutorial on her blog and it just fits my style. I went on to ebay and bought some cute Mary Engelbreit stickers to decorate the brown envelope and use fun colored threads to zig zag around the edges.

Inside the envelope I put the doll out fit in a ziplock baggy. Incase the package were to get wet I would not want the doll clothes to arrive wet, damp, musty smelling or worse yet stained.

I enjoy reading your blog. Especially when you share tidbits of your childhood/life in Germany.

germandolls said...

Another thing to consider when wrapping your wares is weight! I like tissue paper and a simple piece of string because my packages are really light. If I wrapped my things in heavy clothbags my package would weigh a lot more and that would lead to more fossil fuels being burned in transport. Just another thing to consider - aside from aesthetics.