What is acceptable to wrap items in as a seller on Ebay

jennyjelly

Lately I've been buying tough plastic mailing bags from a local cheapy shop - small 10 for £1, large 6 for £1. They seem just as good as the dearer ones in terms of strength. For those of you who buy them off ebay, check out such shops near you and you might save some money.

martindow

MsDee wrote: »

The items I have are clothes, books and photoframes and a couple of boxed knick knacks and a boxed pasta maker!!

Wrapping paper is usually a waste of time except for decoration. For the post things have to be well protected. For clothes plastic mailers are fine and waterproof. The other things need more protection - jiffy bags maybe, bubble wrap or corrugated card. Corners of boxes and books are vulnerable to damage and you will have problems if they arrive mangled.

lily_the_pink

Bubble wrap - that I sometimes buy by the roll or have from other stuff delivered - Acid free tissue paper - for anything that can break or be damaged. Boxes I never buy - reuse from supermarket or I get smaller ones via work

Jiffy bags for books/smaller clothes items - I get from poundland

I do recycle packaging sometimes (eg Jiffy bags) but not if it looks to scruffy and take care to mention this in listings

- I paid £5.95 for postage the other day (for a plate to compete a set - my mother in law had broken one) and it arrived in a very tatty box with barely enough bubble wrap and newspaper. Although I would not neg the buyer (it had arrived in one piece) I would not buy from them again due to high postage costs - I thought £5.95 was taking proverbial (and not fee avoidance as the cost of the item was quite high so the difference was marginal).

Pembroke

For the books and frames you can buy card mailers from Ebay sellers similar to those used by Amazon. If the books or any other of your items are thin try and package them so they fit through the PIP (postage in proportion) slot for large letters (25mm) as this will save lots on postage. You can buy PIP mailers and slim boxes from some Ebay sellers.

The items that still have their original packing can be just wrapped in brown or kraft paper, providing all the internal box packing pieces are still there, if not then shredded or folded bubble wrap can be used to pack out the items. I always try to seal every edge and corner with sellotape so there is nothing that the RM can snag on anything.

jasmineswhiskers

MadelinesMum wrote: »

I was going to buy some tissue paper for some more expensive dresses I have but have not found a good enough deal yet.

Be careful with coloured tissue paper as the dye comes off if it gets wet. I always grab some bubble wrap every time I go to the supermarket from the fruit & veg aisles. They let you have it for FREE! In 2 years of ebay I think I only ever bought bubble wrap once.

System

With used clothes I have used freezer bags to get all the air out and then put them in a padded envelope. It really cuts down on the size of the item and I have received lots of "good packaging" comments.
I guess because it means a t-shirt/blouse/skirt/dress can fit through a letter box instead of the Postman having to leave a card to collect from the sorting office.

It also often means I can post the item a bit cheaper as a large letter as it fits through the sizing thing they use in the Post Office.

I also just keep all the padded envelopes and jiffy bags from what I buy on ebay/Play etc.. and reuse them. It's easy to open them so that they can be reused.
The 99p shop near me also sells padded envelopes very cheaply.

maria6259

Lara_Tagliamonde wrote: »

i just dob items in a carrier bag and only had a few complaints in last few months
i save on packing
most buyers happy, if not then stuff them
xx

I also use carrier bags (with bubble wrap inside) and for items that need a little more strength I use the 'bags for life' from Waitrose, they only cost 10p a time and I use my older, tattier ones. So far have had no complaints.

emlou2009

When I buy things I absolutely hate getting them in carrier bags, unless the postage charged is exactly what it cost the seller to post it. I bought some shoes for my son recently and paid £2.99 postage, then when I got the shoes they were in a carrier bag taped up with brown tape, with the address written on a taped on post it note, and the seller paid £1.51!
I also could have bought them cheaper in the shop which I didnt realise at the time. I was pleased with the shoes and the quality so left positive feedback similar to "pleased, but could have bought cheaper in shop, charged 2x what postage cost!" and got a angry message back from the seller saying how hurtful it was to get such awful feedback and that she would get it removed because I'd told lies to her buyers. I wished I'd left neutral after that!

How hard is it to put something in a jiffy bag/mailer, or wrap it in brown paper if you're not selling loads?!

Jordii

emlou2009 wrote: »

When I buy things I absolutely hate getting them in carrier bags, unless the postage charged is exactly what it cost the seller to post it. I bought some shoes for my son recently and paid £2.99 postage, then when I got the shoes they were in a carrier bag taped up with brown tape, with the address written on a taped on post it note, and the seller paid £1.51!
I also could have bought them cheaper in the shop which I didnt realise at the time. I was pleased with the shoes and the quality so left positive feedback similar to "pleased, but could have bought cheaper in shop, charged 2x what postage cost!" and got a angry message back from the seller saying how hurtful it was to get such awful feedback and that she would get it removed because I'd told lies to her buyers. I wished I'd left neutral after that!

How hard is it to put something in a jiffy bag/mailer, or wrap it in brown paper if you're not selling loads?!

Completely agree!
I always charge near enough exact postage on my items when selling.
I also use brand new mailer bags (5p each or so), or custom made boxes for my higher value buy it now lots (only 25p each!)
I don't think postage is there to make money out of.

Jordii

Lara_Tagliamonde wrote: »

well tbh you recieved shoes in good condition hun so really you have no right to leave half false pos
and as for the shoes being cheaper in shops, thats your fault for not checking

I think she had a very valid point.
I take it you are someone who makes a profit from postage charges?