Why select a right package material is so important for online shops?
Selling products on Amazon, eBay or standalone website requires hard work and dedication. Business owners have to worry about inventory, order fulfilment, communication with customers, and more. The last issue anyone wants to worry about is product packaging. Sure, it is a necessary evil, but anything that gets products to the customer will work, right?
In a nutshell, yes the main objective for packaging is to get an undamaged product to the customer. In addition to delivery and undamaged product to the customer, taking the time to focus on packaging could increase efficiency, lower product loss, increase branding, and most of all increase the bottom line!
This all-inclusive guide is aimed at helping Amazon, eBay or standalone website sellers in a variety of areas for packaging sold products.
Know your product dimensions
Obviously, being knowledgeable about your products is important for your business, but for packaging purposes, knowledge about the weights and dimensions of each product is very important.
The easiest way to find product dimensions are with a tape measure and scale. The way to store them is up to the seller. Below are some ways to store product weights and dimensions for quick reference.
Product Dimensions Into Product Description – All products listed on Amazon, eBay or standalone website require a product weight to be listed in the listing. Additional product dimensions can be added to product descriptions for quick and easy reference.
Microsoft Excel – An newer, yet still effective way to store product dimensions and weights. Most data storage systems have an Excel import option as well.
How Many Products Do You Estimate Shipping
This can be very difficult to determine in the beginning. This is something that can be done after a few months of baseline sales are established. Once baseline sales figures are gathered more accurate forecasts can be made. We recommend forecasting out sales and production levels for two to five years in six-month increments.
For established sellers, an estimate in the number of products being sold and shipped is much easier to obtain. Looking at past sales figures will allow easier and more accurate forecasting. Proper and accurate sales and shipping forecasts are important for future purchases. Accurate shipping and sales forecasts can save money by ordering materials in bulk. The right machinery can save time and increase efficiency.
Package Selection
This can be another difficult question to answer if only beginning to sell online. Knowing common complementary products that often ship together will help determine the right packaging materials to buy and what carrier to ship with. The ability to ship two separate products as one saves on shipping costs.
If there are clearly defined sales records of two products often being shipped together, an exterior box to accommodate both products should be invested in. If there are two products often shipped together but vary in size, there are a few packaging options to consider below.
• Corrugated Boxes – The most popular and preferred way to bundle multiple products together. Corrugated boxes can be printed on to increase company branding and advertising.
The main drawback of corrugated boxes are the costs. Purchasing enough boxes to accommodate a variety of complementary products can be costly. Boxes too large do not offer the best presentation and can cause damage in shipping without proper void-fill.
• Shrink Wrapping – An excellent option for bundling multiple products together. Bundling multiple products together with shrink wrap saves on shipping costs and presents a professional-looking package upon arrival to the customer. Shrink wrapping is accepted by Australia Post or other major couriers as long as the bundled boxes are uniform.
The only drawback to using a shrink wrap as an exterior packaging is the risk of the shrink wrap tearing. It is very important to use shrink wrap that is strong enough to handle the transportation stress to a customer's location.
We recommend nothing less than a 100 gauge shrink wrap thickness for polyolefin shrink wrap and up to a 2 mil polyethylene shrink wrap depending on the size and weight of the products being bundled together.
• Tape – An affordable bundling option for lighter uniform products. Taping two or more boxes together does not offer the best presentation, but does get the job done. We recommend tape if there are no other options available.
