Selling through a platform in addition to your own webshop: what changes regarding packaging, labels, and delivery time?
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Selling through a platform in addition to your own webshop changes your packaging, your labels, and especially your timing. You arrange this in advance, plus what box and tape stock you need for it.
You've been selling through your own webshop for a while and are now adding a sales platform. The products are the same, the stock is in the same cupboard — and yet, packing goes stiffly for the first few weeks. This is rarely due to the product. It's because a platform places different demands on your box, your label, and especially your timing.
This article lists what practically changes in your packaging and shipping process when you start selling on a platform in addition to your own webshop, and what you should arrange best in advance.
Your packaging becomes more neutral
In your own webshop, the box is part of your brand: your sticker, your note, your discount voucher for the next order. On a platform, the customer is not your customer but the platform's, and there are usually rules about what advertising or referrals you can and cannot include. Therefore, assume you will have two streams: your own orders with your branded packaging, and platform orders in a neutral box.
Important: the exact requirements vary by platform and change occasionally. Each platform publishes these requirements itself — for example, bol.com does so on its partner platform for sales partners. Read this before you order a large bundle of packaging material, not after.
The label comes from the platform, the box from you
When shipping via a platform, you often print a label provided by the platform, with its own barcode and track-and-trace code. Practically, this means three things:
There must be a flat part of the box where the label fits completely. Labels over a seam, over tape, or folded halfway around a corner are scanned less well. Choose boxes with a sufficiently large flat surface and never stick the label over the closure.
Old labels must be removed. If you reuse boxes from your supplier, an old barcode will cause incorrect scans. Remove them or cover them completely.
You need a second identification on the inside. If the outer label comes off, you still want to be able to see which order it is. A simple sticker with your own order number on the packing slip is sufficient.
If you work with item stickers for your own warehouse, a price gun MX-5500 with 5500 stickers and 2 ink rolls (€24.95) is a cheap way to quickly mark items; you refill it with white price stickers, 5000 pieces for €9.95. Please note: these are stickers for your own price or location marking, not a substitute for the barcodes a platform requests from you.
Delivery time becomes a promise, not an estimate
The biggest difference is not in the box but in the clock. In your own webshop, you decide what you promise and can allow a day's leeway. On a platform, your visibility and rating depend on meeting an agreed shipping time. One day late counts more heavily than with your own customers.
What helps:
Set one daily cut-off and stick to it. Everything received before that time leaves the same day; the rest the next morning. One fixed time works better than packing all day long.
Reserve stock for the platform. Nothing costs you more than an order you have to cancel because your own webshop sold the last item. Keep a small buffer for your fast-moving items.
Determine the box size per item. If you have to decide which box belongs to each order every time, you lose exactly the minutes you need for a cut-off.
On a platform, people often order impulsively and with less information about you as a seller. Expect a higher return rate than in your own webshop, and returns that are reported via the platform instead of your form.
Two things your packaging can do in this regard. Firstly: make your box reusable for the return trip, for example by not taping across the entire top but neatly over the seam, so the customer can open it without tearing the cardboard. Secondly: make it visible if an item has been opened. Security seal stickers with VOID effect, 60 pieces (€9.95) show this afterwards — useful for items you only accept unopened, provided you clearly state this with the product beforehand.
Recalculate your costs per package
Your margin on a platform is not your margin in your own webshop. Besides the costs charged by the platform, your packaging choice often changes too: neutral boxes instead of printed ones, an extra outer box for fragile items, and sometimes a larger size because you work with fixed dimensions. List these costs once per product group:
Cost Item
Own Webshop
Platform
Box or Envelope
Branded packaging, often more expensive
Neutral, cheaper in bulk
Void Fill
Tailored per order
Fixed quantity per box size
Extras in the box
Card, sticker, giveaway
Usually limited or not allowed
Return probability
Lower
Generally higher
Fill in this table with your own figures and you'll immediately see which products are worthwhile on a platform and which you'd better keep only in your own shop. Small, flat items that fit in a letterbox box are often the safest start; large or fragile items with a lot of void fill and a high return probability rarely are.
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