In This Post: A guide on helpful packing and shipping supplies to purchase if you are shipping fragile items as a vintage reseller.
In recent years, vintage reselling has become a thriving and lucrative industry. Two years ago, my husband and I began visiting thrift stores and flea markets solely to find budget-friendly pieces for our new home. As we perused the aisles, I became captivated by the unique charm of the vintage treasures we stumbled upon. It wasn’t long before I had fallen head over heels for these timeless finds – and accumulated far too many to store in our own home. That’s how my Instagram vintage shop, Gem Finds Vintage, was born.
I ship every item and here’s exactly what I use to do so safely!
**This post may contains affiliate links. When you shop from them, I may make a small commission, which supports my business (thank you!). All opinions are my own.**
Boxes
It is my goal to reuse as much as I can throughout this process. So, the majority of the boxes I use are either boxes from items I’ve ordered, or boxes that friends and family give me. When I do run low and need to purchase boxes, I normally run to Walmart. These medium size moving boxes are great for large orders and there’s even an extra strength option that I get if I know an order will be particularly heavy. The small size moving boxes are probably what I buy the most for orders with multiple items, so I always try to keep a few on hand. I don’t see them online, but there are a number of smaller sized boxes in store, which work well for shipping single items.
Postal Scale
As a vintage reseller, owning a postal scale can be incredibly beneficial. Not only is this one pretty, but I’ve literally never had to charge it in the like 3 years that I’ve owned it. One of the biggest advantages of having a scale is that it allows for accurate and consistent pricing when shipping items. This can be especially important when dealing with items that vary in weight or size. I typically weigh the item(s) before invoicing the customer and then add some extra weight to account for the packing materials that will be added later. By knowing the estimated weight of a package, you can avoid overpaying for shipping costs and ensure that customers are being charged an appropriate amount. Plus, having a postal scale (combined with the printer we’ll talk about later) allows me to take care of the shipping process at home so that all I have to do is drop off the packages or schedule a pickup.
Cleaning Supplies
I’m including this here because it is part of my shipping process! Before shipping most items, I wipe them off with either just a microfiber cloth or with Grove Collaborative’s glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. I do a more thorough clean with different supplies when I purchase the items. So, at the time I’m packing and shipping, most items just need a quick clean to be customer ready.
Bubble Wrap
I find that my boxes are best protected when using two different sizes of bubble wrap. I typically wrap the items themselves with this smaller bubble wrap and then line the boxes with this larger bubble wrap.
Honeycomb Packing Paper
It is so rare that I have an item break in transit and I honestly think this stuff is one of the main reasons for that! Unless the item is especially fragile or oddly shaped, my current packing method is one layer of smaller bubble wrap, one layer of honeycomb packing paper, and then another layer of smaller bubble wrap. There are 12″ and 15″ options for the honeycomb packing paper and I usually keep them both on hand because I find them helpful for items of different sizes. I don’t like putting the honeycomb packing paper (or any packing paper for the matter) directly in contact with the pieces because I do feel that it has the potential to scratch certain items or finishes. One thing to note is that it is really hard to get tape to stick to the honeycomb packing paper. It’s not impossible, but it doesn’t stay well. So, I normally focus on acting quickly when trying to get on the second layer of bubble wrap.
Regular Packing Paper
To fill spaces within the boxes, I use a mix of recycled materials and regular packing paper. Sometimes I end up with air pillows and packing foam, which I love to use if they are on hand. However, those aren’t items I’ve purchased myself yet as I’m always trying to balance safe delivery with the amount of expenses my business can handle.
Tape
For wrapping the items themselves, I buy this 12 pack of transparent tape. I will admit, the quality isn’t fantastic. It isn’t the stickiest tape, so sometimes it pops off the bubble wrap or has trouble staying on the dispenser. But, it’s a budget friendly option and that makes the most sense for me right now with how much of it I use everyday. I also think the lower quality makes it easier and less time consuming for the customer to unwrap.
For boxes, I use this packing tape. Again, the quality isn’t fantastic, but for how much I use on each box, it seams worth it to go with a more economical option. I press it down with my hand after I dispense it to make sure it stays stuck to the package and I haven’t had any issues.
I also have masking tape (and a Sharpie marker) on hand for labeling items if needed.
Tools
When I’m packing I usually also have high-quality scissors on hand for cutting bubble wrap if I need to make the sheets smaller and a utility knife for cutting foam. I used to use the utility knife for cutting up boxes, but I recently invested in rotary cutter and it is my new favorite thing! Depending on the item, I like to wrap extra cardboard around it or put pieces of cardboard in between items in a box. The rotary cutter makes that processes significantly easier, safer, and much less time consuming. Sometimes scissors are helpful, too! I often cut pieces of bubble wrap to better fit the size I need at the time.
Fragile Stickers
I don’t know how many couriers see these fragile stickers and then actually handle the packages carefully, but I’ll do anything to improve the chances that packages arrive safely.
Printer + Labels
Have a label printer is a GAME CHANGER once you start shipping packages daily. I’ve had my DYMO LabelWriter 4XL Printer for at least 3 years and have had no issues. Learning how to load it was a little tricky, but once I learned out to do it, now it takes me 2 minutes to refill the labels. While there are non-brand, cheaper labels out there that claim they will work with this printer, I just buy the labels from the brand because I want to avoid fighting with any printer at all costs. I do wish it was wireless so that I could print labels without having to connect my computer to the printer, but those options are a lot pricier (or at least they were at the time I bought this). Plus, it’s a thermal printer, which means it never needs ink.
By using the right packaging and shipping materials, you can ensure your vintage items arrive safely to your customers. Remember to reuse and recycle materials when you can!
