Packing an Order So It Arrives as You Sent It

You can do everything right on a listing and still lose a happy buyer at the last step. A crushed box, a leaking bag or an item that arrives damp or creased undoes all of the care that went into the sale. Packing is the part of selling that nobody sees until it goes wrong.

Start with discretion. Plain outer packaging with no product names, no brand marks and a neutral return address protects your buyer, who may share a home or a letterbox with other people. Many buyers will never mention it when this is done well, but they will certainly remember when it is not.

Seal anything worn or scented in its own resealable bag before it goes into the outer packaging. It keeps the item as it was when it left you, stops it picking up smells from the journey and gives the buyer a clean, deliberate first impression when they open it.

Match the packaging to the item. Soft goods travel well in a padded envelope, but anything rigid, fragile or with a shape worth keeping needs a small box and some filling so it cannot move around in transit. A few extra grams of packing is far cheaper than a replacement.

Keep a short note of what went into each parcel and when it was sent, along with any tracking number. If a buyer later says something did not arrive, or arrived damaged, you can answer calmly and with facts rather than trying to remember.

Finally, pack every order as if the buyer were watching you do it. The care you take at this stage is the last thing they experience of your shop, and it is often the thing that brings them back.