If you are a Billy-Bob Yeehaw who packs with newspaper, wads of tape, and other assorted garbage, here is a way you can greatly reduce your expenses while enhancing your image as a seller. If you are a careful packer using expensive peanuts, then you too might appreciate this suggestion in cutting costs dramatically.

Another typical eBay package I just received and a perfect example of one-dimensional thinking. I would say approximately 65% of the boxes I receive are of this quality. Many more are worse, packed with such things as toilet paper, cardboard cylinders, pillows, and other assorted trash. I once received a box packed with empty dog biscuit boxes. One clock I received was double boxed. The inner box was a large Kotex box. This pretty much one-dimensional as it accounts for the thinking of most sellers. Not very many seem to want to explore other possibilities as they feel this type of packing is not only acceptable, but cheap.

What appears to be an acceptable shipping method to most, appears to be a big bag of garbage to me. I don't think anybody here hoards such trash in their house and probably wouldn't appreciate your neighbors leaving such bags on your front porch. Why would we think that paying for it is otherwise acceptable? Also, beyond popular belief, newspaper doesn't get lighter after it has been read. This bag of newspaper weighs in at almost 18 ounces. I'm sure that a pound of additional postage that I paid for. In addition, the actual cost to send this box was $3.18 LESS than what I paid. So not only did I pay for extra postage to have this trash sent to me, I also paid the seller a profit for his garbage.

1) The Problem

   Wrapping your item with bubble wrap, then taping the bubble wrap with packing tape. This is the worst possible thing you can do, especially on a fragile item. I don't know how many clocks I receive where I have to hack and yank through layers of clear packing tape with either a knife, razor blade, hacksaw, or assorted power tools. ANYBODY ELSE??? There have been times when I accidentally cut right into the wood. Now I'm ticked...really ticked. Sellers, you can't see that clear stuff on bubble wrap, and it doesn't come off easily, especially when it's layered! I know a seller who would wrap fragile glass in bubble wrap and then layer it in 20 feet of packing tape. Her opinion was "I wrap it tight and secure. Getting it out is the customers problem". WRONG ANSWER!!! If your customer drops or busts the item while using a tow winch to remove all of that tape, do you think they are going to admit it? Hell no! Be prepared for the email "Got your item...arrived broken. When can I get my money back?"

Solution

Saran Wrap. Or better yet, go to Staples and buy a roll of the 5-inch wide plastic that only sticks to itself. I think it it's 10 bucks, but the roll is like a mile long. You can actually take a long length of Saran wrap, fold it in half, and use it like tape.It sticks, and holds the bubble wrap. The advantage here is that your customer can actually peel it off without force, and without using  a chain saw. And compare the costs. A $10 roll of that plastic will last about a year. How quickly do you burn through a $3 roll of clear, Scotch Packing Tape? Plastic is much cheaper.

    On this particular 1936 Antique Clock, the use of the plastic wrap serves two purposes. First, it holds all my bubble wrap on without the use of expensive packing tape. Secondly, it protects my surfaces against rubbing from th heavier, more abrasive packing paper. The packing paper is held on by a few strips of regular tape. My intentions here are to allow the customer to remove the clock without risk of dropping or breaking caused by excessive force while unwrapping. No knives, razor blades, or the assistance of the high school football team will be needed in order to safely remove this antique.

2) The Problem 

Packing Peanuts are expensive. Yup, that is so true. Most of us don't have access to second hand or recycled peanuts from the factory around the corner. So what can we use instead of newspaper and other assorted garbage?

Solution

Balloons. I've used them for years. We've all seen those air cushions. A good quality balloon is no different. Walmart sells bags of 7-inch round balloons, 50 to a bag, for about $1.50. That's pretty much 3 cents each! I'll buy 200 and pay less than 2.0 cu.ft. of peanuts. I'll need 15 to 20 balloons blown up half-way to make up about 2.0 cubic feet of space. In addition, 2.0 cubic feet of peanuts weighs about 1 pound. 2.0 cubic feet of balloons weighs about 2 ounces. Can you think of anything cheaper to mail than air???

   A bag of 50 7-inch ballons next to 2 cubic feet of packing peanuts

We all know that the packing peanut is one of the most expensive materials to use.But is it the safest? Put a peanut between your fingers and squeeze. You'll find out it takes very little pressure to shatter it. The peanut actually does little, if anything, to divert the energy of an impact. As a matter of fact, it actually absorbs it, but absorbs very, very little. So after it breaks , what happens to the energy? Even if you have 4 inches of peanuts, the law of physics still applies. Unless diverted, the energy continues in a straight path. So when one peanut absorbs its maximum, the energy continues straight through to the peanut behind it and so on, right to your item.

   The balloom on the other hand seems to have some dynamic qualities. Energy from an impact is diverted sideways away from the item you are trying to protect. It takes a considerable bit more pressure to squeeze the balloon hard enough in order to get your fingers to meet. Even if the impact is hard enough for the balloon to give its life and pop, most of the energy will be blown out one of the sides and away from your item. In all actuality, your packing peanuts and bubble wrap should be your last line of defense in the event of a sever impact. 

What you can do is layer balloons around the item, then fill the gaps with peanuts. Then put another layer of balloons, and more peanuts. There have been many items I have packed a box with 20 balloons (about 90 cents) and a fraction of the amount of peanuts it would normally take to fill the box. For example, if you filled a box with 1 cubic foot of peanuts, you can use the balloon method and end up using 60% to 90% less peanuts to fill the gaps.

    A total of 12 balloons were used to layer the bottom of this 18x18x24 box. Once in place, the gaps and holes were filled in with packing peanuts. A large sheet of packing paper was put over the to to hold it all down. Once the clock was set on top, it is basically riding on a cushion of air.

You'll need your garage to store 50 cubic feet of peanuts. You'll need a small desk drawer to store 50 deflated balloons. For your customer, disposal is easy. Instead of filling garbage bags with old newspaper and hauling it out to the curb, they simple pop the balloons and throw them away. What's left is minimal, and less messy. Many times a customer with small children or cats appreciate the balloons.

      Again, I layered another 10 balloons with peanuts, and covered that with 2 large sheets of packing paper. A third layer of another 10 balloons was added to fill the box, and what you see above is pretty much the finished product.

    I completed my box by putting another sheet of packing paper on to hold it all in place. Then on top of that is the envelope containing the documentation, key, and bob for the clock. If you look at the picture on the right, I used approximately 3/4 cubic foot of peanuts, and a total of 32 balloons. I calculated roughly it cost me $4.71 to package this $360 clock. The actual clock weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Completely packaged with the box, the entire shipping weight was 9 pounds 12 ounces. I figured I saved my customer $3 to $5 by cutting off a pound or more.

If you are a Hillbilly, newspaper packer, these methods certainly aren't free. But these are two ways you can elevate your status quite inexpesively. If you're a packer who takes pride in their materials, but charges extra fees for this service, you can rethink these charges by the money you'll save.