Selling handmade items: from box to letterbox package
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Do you sell handmade items? This is how you build your packaging, from inner box to shipping box, and how you know what it costs you per order.
For the first ten orders, you pack with what you have on hand: a shoebox, kitchen roll as padding, a strip of tape around it. That works, until it doesn't anymore. You get a message that an earring rattled loose in the envelope, you notice that you hardly make any profit on an order of €12.50 because the package just wasn't a letterbox package, and you have no idea how much your packaging actually costs per order. If you sell handmade items — jewelry, candles, prints, crocheted items — packaging is not an afterthought but part of your margin and your product. Below is the breakdown, from inside out.
Start with the inner box, not the shipping box
For handmade items, the box containing the product is often the first thing the customer sees. This box also immediately determines your shipping size, so you choose it first and the rest around it.
When choosing, pay attention to the height, not the length and width. The height determines whether your entire order will still fit through a letterbox later.
Does it fit through the letterbox? That makes the biggest difference
According to PostNL, a letterbox package may be a maximum of 38 x 26.5 x 3.2 cm and weigh a maximum of 2 kg (see the customer service page about letterbox packages on postnl.nl; always check the current conditions and rates with your carrier). That 3.2 cm is the dimension where handmade products usually fail: a box 2.8 cm high fits, but not with a layer of bubble wrap around it.
Calculate it once and you'll immediately know if your shipping costs are correct. An example order: a piece of jewelry in a box, in a letterbox box, sealed with tape.
Component
Price
Cost per order
Black jewelry box 9 x 6.5 x 2.8 cm
€ 2.95
€ 2.95
Letterbox box A6, bundle of 100 pieces
€ 17.95
approx. € 0.18
Packing tape 50 meters x 48 mm
€ 3.00
a few cents
VOID security seal, 60 pieces
€ 9.95
approx. € 0.17
The inner box is by far your largest cost item — not the shipping packaging. This is useful to know if you want to lower your price: a cheaper inner box saves dozens of times more than a cheaper roll of tape. The reverse is also true: if you want to make your product feel more luxurious, invest in that box and not the exterior, because the customer throws that away.
Filling, tape and seal
Filling has one task: to prevent your product from moving. A roll of Bubble Wrap of 500 mm x 500 m (€12.95) will last a very long time for small quantities; cut strips to size instead of stuffing loose pieces in. If you want something visible in the box, then Pink Foam Hearts as decorative filling (±77 pieces) (€4.99) are an option — but realize that decoration is not protection. Combine, or consciously choose one of the two.
For sealing, ordinary KINZO Packaging Tape of 50 meters x 48 mm (€3.00) works fine. If you send something valuable, or if you want to be able to prove in case of a complaint that the box was not opened en route, then add VOID Security Seal Stickers, 60 pieces (€9.95). These leave a visible trace if someone pulls them off.
Prices on your product, even if you sell online
If you also sell at a market, in a pop-up, or through a small shop in someone else's business, you'll want prices on your products. A Price Gun MX-5500 with 5500 stickers and 2 ink rolls (€24.95) is the fastest way to do this; refill with White Price Stickers for Price Gun MX-5500, 5000 pieces (€9.95). Stick the sticker on the bottom of the box and not on your product itself — glue residue on handmade jewelry is difficult to remove.
What you don't (yet) need
Printed boxes with your own logo. These only become interesting for larger quantities. A sticker or stamp on a neutral box does the same job in the beginning.
Ten different box sizes. Start with two: one for your standard product, one for the outliers.
A large stock. Cardboard needs to be stored dry and flat. Buy what you'll use in a few months, and don't store it in a damp shed.
If you take one thing away: choose your inner box by height, not by appearance. Everything else — shipping size, rate, margin — follows from that.
Assemble yourself
You can find letterbox boxes and envelopes in Letterbox Packaging, boxes and gift packaging in Gift Packaging & Gift Boxes, and tape, filling, and seals in Packaging & Shipping. If you're unsure which box suits your product, or if you want to know the per-item cost of a bundle for larger quantities? Send your dimensions to info@verpakkingdeals.nl and we'll help you calculate.
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