I recently sold a lot of vintage mirror tiles with gold detailing. All but three of them broke en route, and I, head hung in shame, gave the buyer a full refund. Well, in the past few days, I have purchased like a hundred vintage mirror tiles, and am fiercely committed to shipping them safely. I'm so so scared. I can't even tell you how scared. But I feel like I need to confront the fear and better myself as a seller, work on my packaging skills, and regain my self-esteem.
I know I've talked about this before. Breakables scare me. I don't know what it is. I just don't do it right? I want to be a green business, so I eschew plastic packing materials? Maybe the mirrors are a place where I should be decadent. Maybe I should allow myself to go big, so that everything will be safe on the way. Uh-oh, I'm feeling a metaphor coming on....
Almost everything I've shipped is VERY breakable so I've become a pro at getting things shipped intact. I was in your boat when I first started selling online and thought I was doing the right thing using less packaging. Nope!!! A few shameful, painful breaks later I ALWAYS over-compensate and use LOADS of packaging. I get it for free from retail stores, my friends always save plenty for me when they get things in the mail/from their work so I always have loads of peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me want to put mirrors everywhere.
ReplyDelete