Packaging

An important part of selling things online, is the packaging of your orders. Why is this important?

People LOVE receiving their orders and having that feeling of opening a present when it arrives. They like to feel special and that you spent time and effort on their purchase. People also love freebies and want to feel like they are getting more for their dollar.

How I wrap an order:

1) the item is folded up nicely (this only really applies to some objects)

2) it's wrapped in nice tissue paper then tied with string, rope,  or twine

3) I then include an invoice receipt, and a business card. I also often include a vintage photograph as my thank you to the customer. I do limit the photographs to re-peat customers or orders over a specific price point. It's also nice to have a hand written note that says "Thank You" or at least have it written on the package somewhere!

4) Once your order is packaged up all nicely, it's time to put it in an envelope and send it out. If you're shipping from Canada you will start to get to know these customs forms very well. Top left is within Canada (and not always necessary), bottom left is for air mail to the US or international, and the bottom right is expedited to the USA / there is also the same form for international and similar one for "xpresspost" for those locations as well. 

If you want the expedited options (which is a slightly cheaper option than xpresspost) then you need to get a Venture One card. They are free and save you money at the post office!! 

As far as added "gifts" to your customers, I've known people to add little things of dried flowers, feathers, little mini prints of their art work, and so on.

Here are some great examples of packaging I've gathered up recently:

A gift I received from Machine Dance Vintage yesterday: includes two vintage photographs, one with a note on the back, and a feather, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine! 

 Excellent packaging from Jean Jean Vintage that looks lovely but also does a great job of advertising who they are. Note the little gift of an "R" charm on the box! (this image is from AdoredVintage's instagram)

 I've also noticed that Allen Company has great packaging and tends to post images on their instagram all the time! The following 3 pictures are from them and might be a good site to follow for ideas! 

 This is their packaging for jewelry. Clear boxes and shredded paper to keep the items safe. 

 They also created this great "tootsie-pop" style wrapping! This one might be a little more difficult to package into a mailing envelope but definitely looks amazing! 

 This envelope came from Our Wild Abandon who are travelling gals taking amazing photographs. They sent me the post cards in a cute envelope with a piece of tape with the print of a map, and a thank you post card personalized with my name! How sweet is that? 

Lastly, here is a beautiful example of sending an item in a box from Adored Vintage!

Now I know some of the packaging looks a little intimidating, but the effort and thought is what is truly important. People want to feel like their purchase matters and that they are special! So make them feel special and make sure they know you are thankful for their purchase!