Packaging panic!

[Former_Member]

Hi to all you lovely people!

Thanks to all of the support I have gained for te Etsy community I have made my first sale! After the excitement and jumping around I have now realised I have a packaging issue. I would really love some advice/ideas about how to package my little teddies for shipment?
They measure around 6 inches long. I wanted to make a nice little box and wrap with some lovely handmade ribbon I have, but dont want a coffin situation lol!
Any ideas are most welcome!

Much love
Xxx

[Former_Member]

Next time your at the grocery store grab a few Donut boxes from the bakery department you know the ones with the clear window on the front of them ( there free ) that way it dont look like a coffin.

[Former_Member]

I think they are only free if you buy doughnuts.... I know the bakery I work at would not be happy if people treated our boxes as free shipping materials.
But if you ask they will probably sell them to you for 50 cents to a dollar ish.

[Former_Member]

You could make an envelope with gift paper and add a nice ribbon.

[Former_Member]

There was a DIY Etsy blog on packaging. One cute re-purpose idea was brown paper lunch bags (unused of course) decorated and sealed with a cute label or decorative stamp.
They looked really nice and I think would nicely fit the theme of your teddy's.

Plus not so bulky as a box, which might increase shipping costs.

I would do a blog search under the Etsy community.

I think it was posted last year around Christmas?

Maybe others remember?

[shopwhimandvigor]

Hi Emma,

Congrats on the sale!

I think you can stick to the box and it would turn out very lovely, but perhaps you can turn it into a bed? :) So, maybe tuck in some tissue paper to make it look like a blanket?

[Former_Member]

Oh I found one!

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/packaging-ideas/

[Former_Member]

Right heading to the bakery now! :) ill upload some pics later?
Thanks everyone! Xx

[Former_Member]

Awww, I don't think a box would look coffin-y. I would just be so excited to see your little creation, that the thought wouldn't even cross my mind.

[StuckOnSilver]

Congratulations, Emma!!

[SanaGem]

Congrats on the first sale, Emma!

I wouldn't think of a box as a coffin, but being a soft toy your teddy wouldnt mind being protected I guess! And you can label it on the smaller side, to indicate the top of the box - this way it would not look like a coffin.

Depends on where you ship, inside your country or overseas, how the weight of the box affects the cost.

[Former_Member]

Congratulations, Emma! Your sock bears (and bunnies!) are so adorable!!

[Former_Member]

Congratulations on your first sale, it's a very exciting time!

Good luck with the packaging I'm sure it will look great - look forward to seeing what you come up with. (And don't forget to include your business card!)

[Former_Member]

I am not sure how big your bears are but for shipping purposes shipping in a box can be as much as double the cost then shipping in a bubble mailer especially if the bear can go first class. I think if you can get him in a bubble mailer with some creative packaging I like the lunch bag idea it would save your buyers some cost on shipping and they would appreciate it.

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

Is the item being shipped overseas? I'd give the little guy some extra protection in a sturdy box (coffin, bed, whatever you want to call it! lol) if he's going on a long journey. :)

[WintergreenDesign]

Bakery boxes are likely to get squashed in the mail as they are quite thin... dollar shops often have nice sturdy shoe box sized gift boxes for a very reasonable price... you just need to make sure that in the future the cost of that box is incoporated into the cost of the bear. Or you could wrap him in some lovely tissue and stick him in a plastic polymailer... envelopes are alway cheaper to mail than boxes.

[Former_Member]

all i went ot the bakery and they failed me! :( no boxes. so i went hunting a found some little boxes. he is going overseas you see, well Gibraltor so I think a box would be better. I have bought some tissue paper and im going to make him a little bed! :D
I will upload pics tonight for you all to see.
Thank you as always! Much love xxxxx

[AnitaSperoDesign]

You can buy the large shrink wrap bags. Add a pretty little cards and pretty ribbon to the end..

[Former_Member]

Congrats on your first order! I like the doughnut box idea.

[BeMyBee]

Can't wait to see photos. I bet pinterest would have some clever ideas. Congrats! :)

[Former_Member]

You can buy some really funky paper bags that always look awesome tied with a little twine!

[MythOfTheWild]

I send my monsters from my second shop, Grumble Cave Monsters, in boxes. Don't think of it as a coffin xD I did to begin with so I sent them in bubble mailers and had a complaint for it. I use boxes now and so far, no complaints. Include lots of colour - tissue papers, ribbon, bakers twine and so on. It'll help :P

[Former_Member]

Since I am mailing fabric items, silk, I seal my items in a ziploc to protect them from moisture damage, then inside a box to protect from crushing damage.

[Former_Member]

Why don't you decorate the box with the words 'fragile' and an arrow saying 'this way up' or 'handle with care'
You could add some 'air holes' so teddy can breathe.

That way it would like a cute new pet box rather than a coffin.

[Former_Member]

Here's a link to Etsy blog posts on packaging

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/packagingideas/