Return-friendly packaging: a box that can be sealed twice
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
A part of your return costs comes from products that are returned damaged because the box could no longer be closed. You can prevent that with a few choices when packing.
A customer orders two sizes, keeps one and sends the other back. That's normal and you expect it. What you don't see is what happens on her kitchen table: she cuts the box open with a knife, tears half the flap off when pulling off the tape, and is left with a box that can no longer be closed. So she finds another box, or she stuffs the product into a bag with tape around it. And then it comes back to you damaged.
Returns cost money anyway. But part of those costs isn't in shipping or handling, but in products that are no longer saleable because they came back in poor condition. You can do something about that upfront, with choices you make yourself when packing.
What breaks when opening
There are three ways a box becomes unusable once it's opened. The first is the knife: if you tape over the seam and the customer cuts through it, she usually also cuts through the cardboard underneath. The second is the tape itself: tape that covers a large part of the flap pulls off the top layer of cardboard when removed. The third is overkill: three or four layers of tape crisscrossing make opening a chore, and then the cardboard will be destroyed regardless.
With every box you seal, ask yourself: can someone open it without tools, and will it still be intact afterward?
Choose a box that can be closed twice
Flap boxes are by far the most convenient here. A cardboard shipping box of 15 x 15 x 15 cm with flaps (€ 1.99) can be opened, closed, opened and closed again, as long as the flaps remain intact. The same applies to a 50-liter moving box (€ 3.50), although that is far too large for most webshop orders.
Boxes with a magnetic closure are the most comfortable option here: the white packaging box with magnetic closure of 9.5 x 9 x 10 cm (€ 5.00) does not need any tape to stay closed. Disadvantage: € 5.00 is a lot for a box that you get back with a return and then have to check again.
Letterbox boxes with an insert flap, such as the recycled letterbox box A6 (180 x 115 x 28 mm, bundle of 100 for € 17.95) or the A5+ variant (255 x 160 x 28 mm, € 24.00 per 100), are an excellent middle ground. The flap keeps the box closed and the tape only needs to serve as a seal, not as a structural element.
One strip of tape instead of three
The less tape, the greater the chance that the box can be reused. That doesn't mean sloppy taping, but targeted taping: one strip over the seam, and not extending it further over the sides than necessary.
A small intervention that makes a big difference: at the end of your strip, fold back an inch of tape onto itself to create a tab. The customer can then pull off the tape without a knife.
Seals: where you place them matters
A security seal with VOID print (60 pieces for € 9.95) shows whether a box has been opened during transit. Stick it over the seam, but make sure it is not over the spot where the customer would open the box. That way, the seal does not have to be cut before the cardboard is damaged.
For products that must remain sealed for hygiene reasons, this is more important than for the rest of your assortment. If a seal is on the product itself, then make the box as easy to open as possible: the customer can then see what is inside without breaking the seal, and you keep open the possibility of reselling the item.
What you put in the box
A return goes wrong if the customer has to figure out how to send it back. Therefore, include a short note in every box with three rules: use the same box, seal it with one strip of tape, and stick the return label over or next to the old address. Nothing more is needed.
Optionally, add a piece of tape, or place a strip of bubble wrap (roll 500 mm wide and 500 meters long, € 12.95) in the box that the customer can reuse to re-pack the product. This costs you a few cents and saves you a damaged return.
When this isn't worth it
Return-friendly packaging isn't always the best choice. For heavy or fragile products, protection outweighs reusability: in that case, you simply tape it securely and accept that the box is for single use. For items that almost never get returned, such as consumables, you're wasting attention on a problem you don't have.
And for products that you do not take back for hygienic reasons once the seal is broken, the calculation changes completely. State this clearly on your product page and in your terms and conditions, so that the customer knows before opening the packaging.
Calculated: what it saves
Suppose you send out one hundred orders a month and ten of them come back. If three of those ten are returned in a damaged state because the product was poorly packaged, and that product is worth €15.00, then that costs you €45.00 per month in written-off or discounted stock.
The interventions above cost you at most a few cents per order: a little less tape, a tab at the end of the strip, a small note, and sometimes a piece of bubble wrap. For one hundred orders, you're talking about a few euros per month. If you prevent even one of those three damaged returns with that, you'll have recouped your costs.
Moreover, the effect is greater than just the money. A customer who can return something without hassle is more likely to order again than a customer who has spent half an hour wrestling with tape and an old box.
Would you like to think along about your own return flow? Email what you send and how you currently pack it to info@verpakkingdeals.nl, and we'll see where you can gain the most in your specific case.
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