I have been a seller on Ebay for over six years.  Just this holiday season, I became more of a shopper, and was amazed at how the items I purchased were packaged.  Therefore I decided to write something about how I package my items for shipment.

Normally, I don't clean my items before shipment, because I deal primarily in antiques and collectibles, and some items could be damaged by my trying to clean them. 

However, I do wash dinnerware and other pottery items carefully before wrapping them (I recently received a piece of Three Rivers Snowman Pottery with cat food still on it!!!) 

Washing china or dinnerware, and other such pottery will also reveal any hairline cracks I may have missed, and I can then inform the buyer, and proceed accordingly - they probably want a refund in this instance. 

There is no sense in deliberately sending a buyer something that you have discovered is damaged - contact the buyer right away and let them know what you have discovered, and offer a refund should they desire one.

I wrap all my items first in white paper, such as what you might get wrapped around items purchased at a local antique mall.  I do not use newspaper, because it is dirty and could leave printers ink marks on an item.  On fragile or fine items that might be scratched or broken by wrapping with plain white paper, I use tissue paper - multiple layers for good protection. 

Following the paper wrap, I then wrap the item in bubble wrap.  Bubble wrap should be taped once it is wrapped around the item (I have received items only loosely wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap - and they were damaged, because the bubble wrap comes loose when the packages are jostled around - and when there are several items, they come in contact with each other in transit and get damaged).

I use a box  large enough to allow for packaging peanuts all around the item (I don't use newspaper, because it is dirty, and scrunched up paper of any kind is not effective in preventing item breakage.  I have also received items poorly packaged in what I call broken styrofoam scrap - the main problem with this is that it is too stiff, and does not act as a cushion like packaging peanuts). 

If the item is close to the boundaries of the box, I cut a piece of bubble wrap and put a couple of layered pieces of bubble wrap between the item and the boundary of the box.  If it is too close, I use a larger box.  Always use a heavier or sturdy box to ship particularly heavy items.

I allow for a layer of packaging peanuts beneath the item, and a layer of packaging peanuts above the item.  I make sure the box closes easily (without forcing) over the item and the packaging peanuts. 

One additional note about packaging peanuts - don't use the softer foam kind to package heavy items.  They are more likely to settle during shipment than the stiffer packaging peanuts.  Heavy items will migrate to the bottom of the box during shipment, or will migrate together and get damaged, if they are shipped in the softer type foam peanuts.

I also make sure the box is full (recently I received an expensive blue spongeware bowl that did not have enough packaging peanuts in the box, and this allowed the bowl to migrate down to the very bottom of the box.  It arrived on the bottom of the box, with no packaging peanuts under it at all).  I make sure the box is filled to the top with packaging peanuts, as this prevents item migration within the box during transit. 

I tape the box with at least three strips of tape across the bottom and three strips across the top.  For the larger priority mail boxes I use five strips across the bottom and five across the top.  When I send heavy pottery or dinnerware parcel post, I generally add one or two strips of duct tape on both the top and the bottom for added package integrity (I have received large packages with only one piece of tape around a large priority mail box - one the tape was completely loose and the top was already coming open).  

United Parcel Service, FEDEX, and various other shippers have rules about using too much tape or duct tape on boxes, so please be aware of this in advance, if you plan to use those shippers.

For fragile items, I mark the box fragile myself, because the stamp used by the post office is about the size of a quarter, and it is difficult to see.

I generally require insurance for my items, unless the buyer chooses to decline it and agrees to accept the circumstances, should they arise.  I do insure all packages for which the buyer has paid insurance (this holiday season I have had far too many sellers not insure the package when I asked for and paid for insurance - I finally decided to ask them to return my insurance payment!  I don't think they were happy about it, but it at least made them think twice.)

Well, I hope this helps someone.  I am sure each person has their own preferences about how a package should be wrapped, and I am not trying to tell those people what to do.  I just thought I would offer some suggestions to those who might want some advice on how to package an item for shipment.

Thank you, and happy packaging!