Packaging That Arrives Discreet and Intact

Packaging has two jobs that people tend to merge into one. Discretion is about what the outside says. Protection is about what happens in transit. Getting one right does not get you the other.

The outside says nothing

Plain mailer, plain label, a return name that is a name rather than a brand. Anyone who handles it should be able to form no theory at all about the contents. That includes housemates and anyone who signs for it, not just the postal service.

Seal the item separately from the parcel

A sealed inner bag does two things at once. It keeps scent and condition where they belong, which for worn items is the entire product, and it means opening the outer packaging does not immediately expose anything.

Protect against being crushed, not just wet

Most damage in transit is pressure rather than water. Anything with a shape worth keeping needs something rigid around it or it arrives flattened. Soft items forgive this, structured ones do not.

The note is part of the product

A short handwritten line costs a minute and is remembered longer than the packaging. It does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be in your handwriting, because that is the part that cannot be mass produced.

Photograph the parcel before it goes

One picture of the sealed, labelled parcel. It settles almost every dispute about whether something was sent, what condition it left in, and where it was going, and it takes less time than the message you would otherwise write about it.