DIY Packaging When Selling Your Stuff
Written by Cathy
If you’ve ever sold anything on Amazon.com, Half.Ebay.com, or Ebay.com, you know that one of the biggest overheads to sink your profits is packaging and shipping costs. You buy the box, the packaging popcorn, then finally ship it. Who knows how much extra you’re paying to ship air and excess packaging.
I save money on packaging by custom fitting a box to my item using an old box. Here’s how I do it without a lot of measurements or an advanced engineering degree.
Warning: See comments below. Do not try to do this with USPS Priority Mail boxes! Thanks, Stephanie!
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Step 1: Get an old box you have lying around from your last Amazon.com order. |
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Step 2: I just sold one of my old books and have it ready to pack. |
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Step 3: Unfold the box completely. |
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Step 4: Lay the book inside. Looks like it should fit nicely with a few cuts. |
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Step 5: Push the book’s spine against the box’s fold, then make a crease and fold on the opposite edge. |
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Step 6: Fold the box against the top cover. |
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Step 7: Make a crease and fold the box so that it is enclosed except on the top and bottom edge. Note I haven’t made any cuts in the box yet. |
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Here’s the book with its folds and creases. See? No cuts yet. The creases will give us some guides to follow when cutting. |
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Step 8: It’s time to start cutting. Fold the box’s existing flap and trim it to the width of the book. |
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Step 9: Cut vertical lines at the corner approximately the same width of the book. |
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You should end up with a flap that folds along the bottom of the book. |
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Step 10: Repeat the cuts on the remaining 3 corners so you have 4 flaps. |
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Step 11: Cut off excess from the flaps. I have approximately 1/2 inch flaps here. |
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Step 12: Fold the top and bottom edges over the flaps. |
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Step 13: Repeat on the other side. Fold all your edges over and cut off any excess. |
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Step 14: I taped the bottom edges together once I had them folded over the flaps to hold them tight. The box is almost done. Just pop the book in and fold the top flaps and edges. Tape all edges tightly with good quality packing tape. |
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Step 15: The finished product! Just need to put the shipping address on, and drop it off at the Post Office on my way to coffee in the morning. |
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I consider the cost of this negligible since I’m using a box and tape I already had lying around the house. It’s a sturdy box with no excess packing materials. In the past when I bought envelopes from the Post Office, it would typically cost me about $2.30 to ship the book, then another $1.35 on the bubble wrapped envelope. If I had $5 profit after Amazon took their cut, that would leave me with $1.35. Lame. I could buy a short Americano with that; barely enough to annoy David Bach with. I need a real latte. Now with my custom box, I get to keep $2.70. Yay! Double tall mocha, please!
I learned this method from Instructables.com: Build a Cardboard Box. Try reading there if my instructions seem confusing.
Update 3/17/2009: Fixed numbering problems – oops. Reformatted steps for easier reading.
4 Responses to “DIY Packaging When Selling Your Stuff”
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Hey that is a pretty snazzy method you have their. I usually just take an old box and jam it full of the foam peanuts I have left from my last newegg purchase.
Thanks, Rich! I usually have big boxes and hate buying packing filler. It looks pretty professional with an online printed packing label from the USPS.
Lesson learned today: (and it seems obvious after-the-fact) Do not use old, used Priority Mail boxes for this. Those are what I had lying around, and I had three books (all the same book, but going to different people) to ship, and two priority mail boxes, and one other box. I thought, “perfect size!” and cut up and folded the boxes. Only to have USPS tell me I can’t use old Priority Mail boxes to ship – it’s federal offense, unless I pay and send them Priority Mail.
As I said, it seems obvious now – they have no way of telling if the box is a used one or not, so they have to have this rule… but I’m still pretty steamed. I have to completely open up the boxes I made, recycle the cardboard, and somewhere, somehow find more cardboard to send these books. And time is a limiting factor, here…
I wish I had realized it, you know, before I did everything and drove to the post office. I guess I’m mostly furious at myself, but a little bit at the post office, too. I mean, come on – it’s not like I’m a huge ebay-er trying to do this every day. I certainly won’t do it again, so I wish they would just give me a stern warning and send it anyway!
Seriously? Wow! I probably would have done the same thing!
I don’t have a priority mail box laying around here. Could you flip it inside out? Well, if it’s a federal offense, you shouldn’t do it! Harsh!