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It's Not So Difficult To Ship Vintage Costume Jewelry, Right?
Well, yes and no. Packing and shipping vintage costume jewelry presents a unique challenge for the Seller. A careless approach to shipping vintage jewelry can lead to disappointed Buyers and negative feedback for the Seller. However, with the right know how and a little extra effort, you can ensure great feedback and loyal repeat Buyers. The best part is, a great shipping system can also be quick, easy and affordable for the Seller!
The Costume Jewelry Buyer's Shipping Expectations
At a minimum, Buyers expect to receive their items promptly and undamaged at a reasonable price - even better if it arrives clean and professionally packed. However, a few simple steps can make the Buyer feel as though they are receiving a valued gift from you. And, this will translate into great feedback!
Supplies You Will Need For Packing
NECESSARY SUPPLIES:
If you ship Priority Mail, you will need the following supplies:
USPS VHS sized boxes - These boxes are available for free from your local post office. Better yet, you can order them online through usps.gov and they will deliver them for free! This link will take you to Ebay's USPS Shipping Zone. At the bottom of the page, click on the Order Shipping Supplies page to be directed to the usps.gov website. Click on the For Mailing/Shipping drop down box. Select Priority Mail, then go to Page 2. The box measures 8.625" x 5.375" x 1.625", and is the perfect size for shipping vintage costume jewelry safely. Several pieces of jewelry will fit comfortably in one of these boxes, but the box isn't too big for a single ring or pair of earrings. They are also small enough to fit in most residential mail boxes and USPS mail drop boxes.
Plain White Tissue Paper - Tissue paper is available in many sizes and weights. I use heavy 20" X 30" tissue paper for padding boxes, and lighter 18" x 24" tissue paper for wrapping delicate beads and necklaces. Both are available on ebay. You can find bulk quantities of white tissue paper on ebay. Here's a tip: Stock up on packages of plain white tissue paper at discount stores during post holiday clearance sales.
Zip Top Baggies - Zip top baggies help to protect delicate coatings, platings and finishes; catch loose stones & embellishments; and keep out humidity. I purchase them in a variety of sizes to accommodate most jewelry items. You can find bulk quantities of zip top baggies on ebay.
Small Silica Gel/Dessicant Packets - When placed in a zip top baggie with jewelry, these little packets will control humidity to help avoid darkened and/or dropped rhinestones. You can find bulk quantities of silica gel packets on ebay.
Shipping Labels - Peel and stick shipping labels make the packing process so much easier, and give your labels a clean, professional appearance. You can find 8.5 x 5.5 peel and stick shipping labels on ebay.
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
I prefer shipping Priority Mail, but if you choose to ship First Class Mail, then you'll need the following additional supplies:
Cotton Lined Gift Boxes - Wrapping vintage jewelry in bubble wrap just isn't enough to protect it well. You'll need to place it in a small padded box, then bubble wrap it. As a courtesy to my customers who purchase higher priced items, I also place those items in a gift box within the Priority Mail box. You can find cotton lined gift boxes on ebay.
Padded Envelopes - I'm not usually brand name sensitive, but it does matter when it comes to bubble mailers. I prefer Scotch brand bubble mailers. Unfortunately, they are difficult to find on ebay. I've found they are most affordable when purchased at my local wholesale club.
Bubble Wrap - Again, it's much less expensive to buy bubble wrap at your local wholesale club, than it would be to pay for shipping this bulky product.
Packing Tape - Once again, brand names matter when it comes to packing tape. (If you don't believe me, just try using an off brand tape - it tears, sticks to itself - but not the package, etc). I purchase six pack rolls of Scotch brand packing tape at my local wholesale club.
WHAT NOT TO USE FOR PACKING:
Newspaper (use it to house train the puppy instead)
Paper Towels (use them to wipe down the kitchen counter instead)
Toilet Paper (I'm not even going to comment on that one)
Unpadded envelope (provide no protection, whatsoever)
Yards of tape (just plain annoying to have to fight tape to get to the jewels)
Your Packing Station
You may be thinking, "all these bulky supplies must take up a lot of room!" Well, yes and no. I store my excess supplies in the basement, and replenish my packing station in my ebay room as necessary. Here's a pic of how little space it occupies.
Including A Packing Slip
Including some form of packing slip is a necessary part of good communication. However, printing a full page packing slip can be very time consuming. Instead, I had cards printed for free at vistaprint.com (they do charge for shipping). I customized the card to include a space for writing the Item # and a brief description. It only takes seconds to jot down this information while I'm printing my shipping labels (more on printing shipping labels in Part 2).
Congratulations, You're Now Prepared To Start Shipping Vintage Costume Jewelry!
So, what's next? Join me for Shipping Vintage Jewelry for Positive Feedback - Part 2 where we'll cover:
A Step by Step Professional Packing Job
How Long Does It Take?
The Cost of Great Packing
Including That Extra Special Touch
Part 3 will cover:
My Thoughts on Bubble Mailers for Vintage Costume Jewelry
Priority Mail vs. First Class Mail
Printing Postage Through Paypal
USPS Package Drop Off or Pick Up
Shipping Scales
Part 4 will cover:
Cost Effective International Shipping
International Shipping Restrictions on Jewelry
Customs Forms Made Easy
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Visit My Me Page For A Link To sunnydayvintage.com
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