How do you ship your POST EARRINGS?

[ClayTree]

I sold my first pair of post earrings, and I had a lot of trouble with packing them. It normally costs me about $2.50 to ship to the states - this is for a small box that is under 2cm thick. I thought I could ship my earrings attached to a card in one of these boxes, but they don't fit without getting a tiny bit smushed. So I had to take them off the card and put them in a little zip lock bag instead, which is not as pretty as they would be on the card.

So my question is, HOW do all of you ship your post earrings at such low shipping costs? It would cost about $8 for me to attach my earrings to a card and ship to the states (I'm in Canada). Most of the earrings I've seen on here are $3 at the most for shipping and that includes shipping from Canada to the US.

Are your earrings attached to anything, or are they loose in a zip lock or maybe a teeny tiny box??

Any advice would be great, I hope I'm not too confusing! Here's a listing so you can see what I mean -

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87417915/painted-polymer-clay-leaves-post

Thanks in advance ♥

[Former_Member]

Hi Heather,

I use the Tiny Box Company for sending all my jewellery - here's a link to their site.

http://www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk/

Their boxes are all really light and sturdy for shipping, plus they're recycled, so extra good karma! I think they're smallest box would be the right size for your earrings?

Love the little printed card though - it would be a shame to lose that!

Hope that helps!
Shelley

[Former_Member]

We use a box that is almost 1 inch thich, because it looks nice and our post office required a certain thickness in order to get delivery confirmation on packages within the US.

[Former_Member]

That is a GREAT link! Thanks Shelley!

[PiggleAndPop]

Couldn't you trim the card and still put it in a box? Get slightly bigger boxes? i was wondering this too. i pack all my things in little clear zip bags, with pretty scraps of card folder over and stapled. Then i pack it in tissue paper, put it in a handmade box (also from recycled card) and tie it with ribbon and a bizz card. Then i started wrapping those in newspaper, tying with a coupon thank you note, and mailing in a bubble mailer. It still only costs 1.71 first class US.

Is that overkill? My friend said one of his boxes got smushed but the earrings were ok...so now I started using thicker material for the boxes. not sure if the extra newspaper is doing any good. I imagine opening my package is much like a game of "pass the parcel" with all those layers, lol.

[ClayTree]

Thanks for great advice everyone!

Bethan - here's my problem.. It's not that the cute little card is too big, it's that when the earrings are attached to the card, they sit upright. I am only allowed to have a thickness of under 2cm in order to get away with $2.50 shipping. When the earrings sit upright, they sort of fit, but it's way too tight. There's no wiggle room at all for them, they're basically pressed up against the box. This is when I feel like I need to draw you a little diagram so you can actually see what mean :)

So it seems the ONLY solution is to make a slightly "thicker" box, but then I would have to pay about $8 for shipping - OR - I take the earrings off the card.

Sheesh.... I guess Canada Post is my only enemy here!

By the way, I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who makes their own boxes!!

Thanks everyone!

[PiggleAndPop]

Oh I gotcha! That's crazy! Canada post is definitely the enemy. Why does it matter what thickness it is? Is there no shipping option that goes by weight & takes a little bit longer? (like US first class)

[Former_Member]

Hi, Heather! I use gift boxes bought in bulk from NashvilleWraps.com, they have cotton batting inside and are made from recycled materials. I use ribbon purchased by 100 yard spools. This makes my individual packing costs per item negligible compared to the repeat business and good word-of-mouth from the packaging.
The boxes ship Via USPS small box, costs $5. I recently lowered my shipping to $3, I am eating the $2 difference instead of posting sales or coupon codes. I hate discounting my jewelry itself.
My packing is usually the 5th picture in the listing, check it out if you are curious.
Best of luck to you, Heather!!!

[BeadWeaverDesigns]

I too use Nashville Wraps - the cotton batting inside splits in half very easily, if needed, to make the item fit more comfotably. I just measured one of the boxes and it is 2.5 cm - This does not help you. However, there is a packaging product that I've tried to find what it is called so I can perhaps order. It has a plastic feel to it, is white and is the thickness of card stock. Very strong. Maybe someone knows what this is - I think you could use this to "pad" the back of your earring posts. That is what I want to try to do and then put the earrings (keep on the card) into an organza bag.
AprilViolets, I'm going to start including the packaging pic too, it you don't mind - great to let folks know what to expect.

[purplepearl7]

Hi Heather! I don't use boxes at all to ship my items. I wrap the item (usually a bracelet) in bubble wrap (keeping the bubble wrap to a minimum as to avoid bulk). The bubble wrap is ugly, but i slip it into a pretty paper bag which i seal with a sticker, and tie with Baker's Twine. Then i wrap this paper package with the Etsy invoice, and slip it in a bubble mailer. You don't have to print a full-sized invoice. Just big enough to wrap your little package.

What the customer sees upon opening their bubble mailer, is a pretty little package. They know the bubble wrap is to keep the item safe.

I've done the same with the pair of earrings i made. It fits through that annoying slot test at Canada Post!

[AnneLondezGlass]

Hi Heather,
I have the same problem in Switzerland, shipping has to be under 2 cm thick to stay at reasonable costs.
I have sturdy flat plastic boxes that are made for the purpose or I make flat packages with 2 sheets of carboard and tacks something hard in between to keep the package from getting crusehd.
When I ship earrings, I will put them in a nice organza bag before they go into the boxes, which is both pretty and lightweight. I sometimes also attached a little printed label to one of the nuts with a length of ribbon. The pouch can even be little homemade pouches made with nice paper or scrap fabric.

[AnneLondezGlass]

Here's where I get the boxes, sorry it's in German
http://sv.renfer.ch/versandverpackungen/brief-einlegeschachteln/briefeinlegeetuis-mit-rahmen/index.h...

[JewelryByCarlotta]

I ship my earrings attached to small cards that I cut to fit the small cardboard gift box I put them in. Fluffy batting above and below keeps them from rattling around. It goes into a small bubble mailer with an invoice. Most packages cost me $1.71 to ship from Texas.

[ClayTree]

purplepearl17 - yes, the slot test!! That's what gets me... but it's good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem.. Canada post is the problem!

Thank you so much everyone for great advice! I found out that it will actually cost me $5.85 for a small box that's between 2cm and 10cm thick.. So that's not too bad. I'm still working on my packaging. In the mean time, I'm sending the little earring card along with the earrings unattached so the buyer has the option to use it or not. It's nicer to receive a gift that looks more professional, right? This way the buyer can use the card if it's a gift.

And thank you Anne, that link is great! I just wish I could understand it :) My mother-in-law speaks German, I'll ask her for help!

And Shelley, the tiny box link is great too! I like the fact that they're made from recycled paper.

Thanks again ♥