How to pack an order so it arrives in one piece

A parcel that arrives broken costs you twice. You refund or replace it, and you lose the customer who was going to order again. Good packing costs little next to that.

Start with the parcel, not the item

Pick the smallest container the item fits in with room for padding on every side. Too large is as bad as too small: the item slides, and you pay for size you are not using.

A padded mailer is fine for soft goods and anything that cannot snap. A box is for anything rigid, fragile, or with corners that will push through a bag. If you can press the packed parcel and feel the item directly, it needs more between it and the outside.

Protect against drops and stacking

Parcels are not handled gently. They get dropped, and they get stacked under heavier parcels.

For dropping, the item needs to not touch any wall of the box. Wrap it, then fill the gaps so nothing moves when you shake it. If it rattles, it can break.

For stacking, the box needs to hold its shape under weight. A box that flexes when you press the lid can be crushed. Use a sturdier one or pack it fuller.

Anything liquid gets sealed separately before it goes in, because a lid that survives a shelf will not always survive a drop.

The outside

Tape every seam, including the bottom. The bottom seam carries the weight, so tape it properly, more so on a reused box.

Put the label on the largest flat face, flat, with no tape over the barcode. A label that is folded over a corner or wrinkled may not scan, and a parcel that does not scan gets delayed.

Write nothing on the outside about what is inside.

Weigh the packed parcel, and write it down

This step saves time later.

Shipping is priced by weight and size. If a product is listed without its real packed weight, checkout cannot show the buyer a real shipping cost. You end up either guessing at postage and absorbing the difference, or making the buyer wait while you work it out by hand. Either way you lose money or the buyer waits.

So weigh it with the box, the filler and the tape on. A kitchen scale is enough. Note the length, width and height as well, since couriers charge for large light parcels by size. Write them on the product once and you do not have to work out shipping for it again.

Do this for each product the first time you pack one. The second order of the same thing is quicker, because you already know.

A routine that helps later

Keep your packing materials in one place and in enough quantity for a few orders ahead. If you run out mid order, the item goes into whatever box is nearby.

Pack the order the same way every time. Then if something does arrive broken, you know exactly which step to change rather than guessing at it.

Take a photo of the packed parcel before it goes out, label visible, for the first stretch of orders. It takes a second and it shows what was sent and when, if a buyer asks.

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