I’m almost afraid to blog about this, afraid I’ll jinx myself.

Here goes.

Today’s blog is about shipping. Lately, I’ve been seeing several photos on Facebook from brokenhearted buyers. They’ve taken the chance, bought a piece of glass or pottery from a stranger somewhere out there, possibly hundreds of miles away, and what do they get? A broken vase, broken jard, broken pot. Whatever they bought in good faith, whatever beautiful item they were looking forward to adding to their collection—broken. Why? Because someone didn’t take the time to do their job properly. Or maybe they just don’t understand how much packaging is required to properly protect breakable items. I hope most sellers fall into the latter instead of the former. That being said, here’s how I do it. It’s worked so far. To my knowledge, no buyer of mine has ever received a broken item. (Knocks on wood, shakes Nicaraguan maracas, rubs Garfield’s head.)

I really like the folks at my local post office, and I really like my letter carrier. They are professionals who do a great job. However, not all postal workers are professional. I’ve received messages from buyers asking to please take extra care in packaging their items and they share stories of previous experiences that were not good. I had one man begging me to double box because my item was the third he had bought and he really wanted it to get to him unbroken. I did, he got it, he’s a happy camper. Happy buyer=great feedback=more buyers=happy seller—me.

To me, bubble wrap is crucial. I use the small bubble, and wrap my breakable with the wrap running in one direction and then wrap in the other direction. Wrap until the item cannot be felt under the wrap. Tape the ends.  If you can feel the item, pull some more bubble wrap off that roll and wrap it some more. Yes, shipping materials are expensive, but what’s your selling reputation worth? Do you really want to be that seller who’s being blasted on social media with photos of a broken vase, jard, ped, etc.? I don’t. I sold a large figurine and when it was wrapped, it looked like a brisket. If your attitude is, so what, it was insured, stop reading now and go back to playing Candy Crush. This is no place for you.

After your item is safely cocooned in bubble wrap, it’s time to find a box. This box should be large enough to accommodate the bubble wrapped item and at least an inch of packing peanuts on each side. If you have more than one item, there should be enough room to place bubble wrap between your items. And the type of box is important also. The best ones have a crush rating on the bottom, such as 32 pounds/square inch. They can take the impact of being dropped, kicked, and/or possibly stepped on.

You’ve got your item in the box, now it’s time to tape it. Tape in one direction and then the other. Square boxes will have a “t”, rectangular boxes will have an “h”, tape them twice on the width.

I use internet shipping labels, so it’s time to get into eBay and print my label and put it on my box. I tape around the edges of my label. It could come off. Can’t be too careful.

Finally, wrap all packages with the same care, whether they’re high dollar or dollar store. Wrap them with the same care whether they’re traveling 50 miles or 500. You owe it to your buyer. They’ve put their trust in you. Earn it.

Feel free to share your packaging tips here. Got any extra peanuts?