EARTH FRIENDLY SHIPPING PRACTICES With the rise in cost of shipping supplies and the increased awareness of our impact on the environment, people are finding big rewards in using EARTH FRIENDLY SHIPPING PRACTICES. One of the biggest EARTH FRIENDLY concepts in shipping is the reuse of supplies. Retail stores and other businesses are often more than happy to offer you their left over shipping supplies such as boxes and shipping peanuts. A key factor in this practice is cleaning up and improving peoples shipping supply waste. Another way to get involved is to be very resourceful in the amount of new shipping supplies you use. There are ways to make a little go a long way when it comes to EARTH FRIENDLY SHIPPING. Below is a detailed review designed to teach sellers money saving techniques that benefit the planet. “FILL WALLETS, NOT LANDFILLS” written by: averyaugust864 Never hesitate to ask for used shipping supplies, many people are willing to give them away. One of the greatest sources of reusable shipping supplies is Stores in your local area. It’s good to ask for supplies from stores that you shop at frequently, they are usually the most cooperative. For example: I buy all of my gas at a certain gas station. They have quality gas and its located near my home. Throughout the years I have developed friendships with the manager and all of the employees. This networking proved to be useful, when I asked for free supplies he instantly said yes! The first thing I did was tell the store manager that I sell on eBay, and I was wondering if I could use his shipping supplies that he was going to discard. He said yes, then he took me to his stock room and put a big cardboard box in one corner of the room. He told his employees to put all used cardboard in the box, and that I was allowed to collect the supplies whenever I felt like it. It may take a little more effort to get store-owner’s to allow you to collect all types of used shipping supplies. The owner of the store I collect supplies from was very cooperative when it came to giving me his used cardboard, but it took a little more negotiating to get the rest of his supplies. I asked him if I could take his packaging peanuts also but he had no idea what I was talking about. The next day I brought some peanuts with me to show him what I meant. He told me I could collect the peanuts but it would be too tedious to have his employee’s put them in my designated pick up box. I then asked him what day of the week his garbage dumpster are emptied, he said Tuesday. I then asked him if it was okay to stop by on Mondays and collect the peanuts from his dumpster. He agreed and said it would help him reduce his garbage bill each week! Now Mondays have become my official Used Shipping Supply Days! To get the most supplies from stores, it will take a little bit of planning to determine what stores are worth asking. Reusable shipping supplies are more abundant in certain stores. What I have noticed is that Convenience Stores and Liquor Stores are one of the best type of stores to collect shipping supplies from. These types of stores often get their inventory in large amounts of small boxes, rather than one or two giant boxes. This means Convenience and Liquor Stores have more supplies to give away. It seems that owners of larger stores are not as generous as smaller ones. Owners and employees at Large stores often lack the spare-time to let you request their supplies. Larger Stores usually have really pricey inventory, and may be hesitant to allow non-employees to enter their back rooms/stock rooms. The number one rule when choosing a store to get your supplies from is “Smaller Stores, With Smaller Products Equals Larger Quantities of Reusable Shipping Supplies”. If you get permission to collect supplies from more than one small store, you will probably collect enough supplies to cut your Shipping Supply costs by 50% or better! Stores are not the only source for reusable shipping supplies, use your imagination to find alternative sources of supplies. A great way to get supplies is to ask friends and family members to set aside all reusable supplies whenever they receive a package. They might not get packages often, but when they do, you should have them put what they don’t want in a specific box that you provide them. If you know a few of the residents in your community, it’s a good idea to ask them for their used shipping supplies. You would be amazed at how much your neighbors toss out perfectly usable shipping supplies. Obviously, anytime you get a package of your own, you can reuse the boxes and package filler. When you combine forces with friends, family and neighbors, you will get a lot more supplies for free, and you will be helping out the environment while your at it! To get the most out of the supplies you collect you must become skilled at sprucing up and cleaning supplies that are not considered reusable. To exhibit your professionalism try to make the used boxes you use look as good as they can possibly be. Your main focus should be on the cardboard boxes you ship with. First of all used packaging tape should be entirely removed from the box. Used boxes often have old postage labels on them, take time to gently remove them off without damaging the box. If the label won’t peel off, use a permanent marker to cross out all text on the label, doing this will reduce the chance that your package carrier getting confused. Better yet, get a new, clean piece of paper (preferably the same color as the box your using) and cover up the old postage labels. This also works great for covering unsightly stains , cuts or holes, and major blemishes that used boxes might have. The best way to attach is with scotch tape, rubber cement is also effective. The best way to get your used boxes looking like their brand new is my inside out method. Boxes are usually attached at one corner, if you separate this corner of the box, you can turn the box inside out and reattach the corners with some strong 3M shipping tape. If the interior of the box your using is clean, you can make the box look like its brand new! When using this method you should double check where you taped the box back together. It would be terrible if your package came apart during shipment because you didn’t use enough adhesive. The main point I’m trying to make in this section is that the more presentable you make a package, the more likely your customers will be satisfied with their purchase. When a seller on eBay uses Earth Friendly Shipping practices, they can use that aspect of their selling as a key point in there advertising. The increase in environmental awareness, often referred to as “THE GREEN SCENE”, can be used to improve the impression you give to potential customers. A good selling strategy is to include a paragraph in your auction listing that informs potential customers that you have made an effort to reduce the amount of waste that is created. A good tactic is to make your customers feel like they are reducing the impact on the environment every time they make a purchase from you. Just like the title states “FILL WALLETS, NOT LANDFILLS”. One thing that I do that I found helpful is to write on a blank section on the side of reused packages is the phrase “Recycling, It’s Good For The Box”. It’s a way to let customers know your intention of reusing supplies is not just money motivated, that you are also genuinely concerned with doing your part to reduce your impact. I hope I have given the Sellers of ebay who took the time to read this review the insight to take advantage of all the free shipping supplies that are available. Protecting the environment is something that I try to incorporate in my lifestyle. If I have influenced just a handful of ebay sellers to use more Earth Friendly Shipping Practices than this review has been a success. The more waste we create, the less space we have to live, it is everyone’s personal responsibility to find ways to make less of an impact on the environment. With the participation of my fellow eBayers, we definitely have the ability to make a difference in the Environment. One of the best ways to get people involved in the “Green Scene” is to show them that saving the planet can be profitable. Thanks for reading. Sincerely, averyaugust864 “FILL YOUR WALLET, NOT LANDFILLS” REVIEW SUMMARY o MOST SHIPPING SUPPLIES ARE REUSABLE o STORES OFTEN LIKE THE IDEA OF PEOPLE REUSING WHAT THEY DISCARD o STORES YOU SHOP AT OFTEN ARE MOST WILLING TO LET YOU COLLECT THERE USED SHIPPING SUPPLIES o LIQUOR AND CONVENIENCE STORES USUALLY HAVE THE BEST SUPPLIES TO REUSE o SET UP A SPECIFIC DAY OF THE WEEK TO DO YOUR SUPPLY COLLECTING, SUCH AS THE DAY BEFORE THEIR DUMPSTER IS EMPTIED o LARGER STORES OFTEN GIVE YOU LITTLE o GET FRIEND, FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS INVOLVED o WHENEVER YOU GET PACKAGES, KEEP THE REUSABLES o USE SUPPLIES THAT ARE UNDAMAGED AND CLEAN o MAKE USED BOXES AS PRESENTABLE AS POSSIBLE o THE ONE THING THAT MUSN’T BE REUSED IS TAPE o SHIPPING WITH REUSED SUPPLIES CAN BE A KEY POINT IN AUCTION LISTINGS o LET CUSTOMERS KNOW THEY ARE DOING THERE PART BY CHOOSING TO BUY FROM YOU o STRIVE TO “FILL YOUR WALLET, NOT LANDFILLS!”