Silly question, do buyers care what you ship in?

[Nickleanddime]

My wife works at a resturant and can get tons of boxes in the size I need. It'll save me has trying to find some. But will buyers be mad it comes in a cheese box? They'll be clean but wondering if some would be offended. Well kind of a silly question but hate to get a bad review for that.

 

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[CladSpends2]

From my experience, no. I haven't sold anything on eBay in months, but yrs ago when I first started out selling I shipped things in similar type boxes if they were the perfect size or cut down a box to the correct size. I have a couple of old reviews, which may not be "read-able" anymore, where the buyer remarked on my box or packing, saying it was an imaginative shipping box and so well wrapped nothing was getting out. I may have overdone the newspaper for safety's sake, most boxes had a brown paper bag wrapped over it, which I used to write the address on in black marker, and plenty of clear shipping tape around and around the box. From my experience, they got a kick out of it, never a bad feed back. I think it just matters if it looks like you made a really good effort to get it there in good shape.

T.

 

[NHBandit]

I do alot on Ebay and I have never had anyone complain about the packaging. I've reused boxes that someone else sent me items in and just stuck a new label over the old one, etc. If the items they bought are wrapped carefully so they arrive without damage that's normally all they care about. For reference my feedback is well over 850 and is all positive. Not even a neutral in the bunch.

 

[gunsil]

The standard of the industry is priority mail flat rate boxes. They are free from the P.O. I always ship priority, it also comes with a tracking number so you can be fairly sure the buyer got it. I collect old knives, and I hate it when they are shipped to me in a padded envelope. I am always willing to pay the flat rate priority rate and I believe most others are too, so if an item fits and the boxes are free why bother making cut-down boxes.?

 

[NHBandit]

The standard of the industry is priority mail flat rate boxes. They are free from the P.O. I always ship priority, it also comes with a tracking number so you can be fairly sure the buyer got it. I collect old knives, and I hate it when they are shipped to me in a padded envelope. I am always willing to pay the flat rate priority rate and I believe most others are too, so if an item fits and the boxes are free why bother making cut-down boxes.?

Because Priority Flat Rate boxes aren't always the size you need. I do use them alot though. You can create an account at the post office website and get all you want for free delivered right to your door as well. www.usps.gov

 

[Iron Patch]

Heck no, being well packed counts 100 times more. There's only one time I rejected a box for something expensive I was shipping... and that was because it had $50 symbols all over it!

 

[cheese]

They don't care. I use boxes that have brand logos, designs, and whatever else on them with no problems. Sometimes I pick them up at the recycling drop off.

 

[clovis97]

I've never had a complaint either.

Just make sure the box and packing are odor free. I once bought an expensive Stanley plane once, I and swear that guy must have dug the box and packing out of a garbage truck. It stunk to high heaven. I almost left a neg because the item wasn't quite as described as it should have been....and since the packing smelled like rotten food and stinky trash, it almost pushed me to leave a neg.

Simply stated, if you send a box that smells like rank celery, the buyer could easily notice it, and if they are on the edge about their purchase, the stinky box could cost you.

 

[Nickleanddime]

Thanks everyone. I usually ship flat rate but what I'm shipping, porcelain dolls, the flat rates are to small or tight. But I can get regular boxes that are perfect. With these dolls anymore $15 is tops for something unless its collectible, so a 12.35 or more shipping is not cost effective for my starting price. I'm going to check out the PO site and see if they have better size boxes. When I wrap my items in paper and put a piece of CB on top and bottom I ship standard and just buy the tracking number. No ones complained and I've shipped 6 models so far like that. Well thanks for the replies everyone. Have a great thanksgiving.

 

[deserdog]

Many time, weigh based priority shipping is much less than flat rate. Also a good choice are the regional rate boxes. For instance, a regional rate A box to zone 1 is $5.32, online rate and a medium flat rate is $11.30. To zone 8 regional rate A box is $9.88 amd medium flat rate is still $11.30.

 

[omga747]

Just agreeing with what everyone else has pretty much said, in all of my ebaying I have never bought a single box. I've either used boxes I've gotten at work/school or reused boxes that I've had shipped to me, cut down to size as needed, and I've gotten nothing but positive feedback. Most of what I sell is fairly small items, so I tend to use the first class package option a lot.

 

[diggummup]

I guess i'm a stickler for details. I always take my (used) boxes and flip them inside out and re tape them, so all the writing is on the inside of the box.
I hear you about the stinky boxes though. I save and use the old plastic grocery bags sometimes as extra packing material. I pulled a handful out of the shed last week that obviously had fish in them and the smell, well you know what rotten fish smells like. Needless to say I didn't use those bags.

 

[bigcaddy64]

I ship a bulk of my items in USPS flat rate boxes. I tend to stay within a certain scope of items so i can always have the particular boxes on hand to ship them. Padded mailers are great but i always wrap the item in more paper and bubble wrap to protect it further.

You need to find a store that regularly get items transported in boxes similar to what you need. I sell lots of machine tools which don't travel well in a padded mailer and sometimes too large for a Flat Rate Small box. My solution? The hardware store get hundreds of boxes of bolts and nuts from Grattan Fastener Co and they love to let me take the empties off their hands. The boxes are sturdy and small enough to easily fit in a mail box so the buyer doesn't have to go to the post office for a pickup.


Larger items are always packed/shipped at the UPS store so they can't argue a shipping claim with the old "it was improperly packaged" line they hand out every time.

 

[deserdog]

I use priority boxes when I can. Most of the time I have to make boxes, even out of priority boxes(which I send priority mail.) My boxes range from small to as big as 55" x 8" x 6". Sometimes I have to make bigger boxes, like when I shipped a big copper bowl in a box that was 29" x29" x6". I will buy big shipping boxes from Home Depot or Lowes, and make big boxes that are going standard post out of them.

 

[Nickleanddime]

Unless the buyer is in a hurry I've been trying to ship snail mail. I shipped a package to anchorage and it only took 4 days which isn't bad I think. I always anymore add a pound to my weights just to cover me. After my first 3 ships of under price I learned fast. I'm going to hit walmart tomorrow and trash week is coming up on Monday so I'm going to grab as much wrap and foam I can. And thank you guys again for the wealth of information.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I do alot on Ebay and I have never had anyone complain about the packaging. I've reused boxes that someone else sent me items in and just stuck a new label over the old one, etc. If the items they bought are wrapped carefully so they arrive without damage that's normally all they care about. For reference my feedback is well over 850 and is all positive. Not even a neutral in the bunch.

I had a buyer contact me after they received a pair of little $15 Bushnell binoculars they won & they had nothing but positives to say about everything. A month or so later I noticed they never left any feedback & thus I had not left them feedback as I normally only leave feedback once the buyer does.

I think well they contacted me & they were very happy so maybe they just forgot & if I leave them feedback it might remind them to do the same.

Well BIG mistake on my part because almost as soon as I left a positive feedback for them they turn around & leave a negative for me saying "Packaging was inadequate, slow shipping" & so on. I was like what in the world? They were happy, they received the binoculars in perfect condition & said so. Now if my packaging was inadequate then how exactly did they arrive undamaged? Um doesn't this alone proves the packaging was indeed at minimum adequate. Maybe not up to their standards or something but inadequate it wasn't as they arrived just fine!

Nothing was said about the actual item in their feedback instead just some complaining about the packaging (which I admit might not have been A++ packaging) but it was just a pair of $15 binoculars. If they had arrived damaged I'd have refunded the money but I knew it was adequate & that wouldn't be the case & I was right.

So some people out there do care more about the packaging then the actual item I've been thru it first hand! I contacted them & asked why they contacted me & had nothing bad to say? I got feed some BS & in the end they said if I hadn't left them a positive feedback they wouldn't have left me a negative. I told them they were nuts & were gonna get theirs sooner or later because Karma is a you know what!!

 

[diggummup]

I contacted them & asked why they contacted me & had nothing bad to say? I got feed some BS & in the end they said if I hadn't left them a positive feedback they wouldn't have left me a negative. I told them they were nuts & were gonna get theirs sooner or later because Karma is a you know what!!

That is the most r e tarded thing I've ever heard. Yeah, they're nuts alright.

 

[batcap]

I work at a large nursing home and rehab center. I don't know if I would be embarrassed or amused to find a box labeled "adult diapers" on my doorstep. There's lots of other doubtful boxes - rubber examination gloves, syringes - no needle, peri-wipes, etc. I admit I have used the rubber gloves box - the fit was just too inviting.

 

[mjlalt]

FYI With the USPS :

" If you’re reusing a box displaying alcohol brands, all logos and labels need to be completely removed."

I made the mistake of using a wine box once. They made me cover all the logos with brown tape.

 

[Iron Patch]

That is the most r e tarded thing I've ever heard. Yeah, they're nuts alright.

yeah I've had a few like that and you soon realize there's no point. One was accusing me of calling her in the middle of the night and hanging up. I got away from that one asap, and if you ever need a conflict cleared up fast as a buyer.... act crazy! I say that as a joke, but had a seller or two in the past who was trying to take advantage, so i reached into my bags of tricks for a little bit of crazy to throw at them.