Packaging & Posting Your Jewellery for Sale

If you're making your own jewellery to sell, one of the most important aspects of this isn't how you'll make your jewellery, but solving your packaging and posting problems.

A piece of handcrafted jewellery can be transformed into the most beautiful and desirable piece ever, if you use the right packaging and think about how you'll post it. The receiver will want to receive a well wrapped piece - and part of the joy is the anticipation and unwrapping of the piece.

You can make even the most simple jewellery become the most treasured simply by paying attention to packaging your jewellery attractively and securely - but you do need to keep an eye on your costs.

There can be nothing more frustrating that taking your time to create something of beauty, wrap it up and send it off, knowing somebody will receive a great piece of jewellery - and you'll receive an income ... only to have the buyer call you up to say it was damaged in the post.

It's not just the money you've lost as you have to recreate and send the piece quickly, but you'll have lost some of your reputation - and your buyer might have missed the deadline to give the jewellery to a friend for a birthday or other occasion.

What started off as a pleasurable and leisurely session making jewellery and enjoying making it, now turns into a desperate rush to make a replacement, or to wrap and post a replacement... this time you're against the clock, without the choice of when you do it - and with a potentially angry customer to deal with. Not good.....

Get your jewellery packaging and posting right and life will be easier for you - more lovely for your customers - and more profitable for you as you don't have to replace items or lose future sales from what could have turned out to be your best customer!

Increasingly, the cost of sending small packages and parcels through the post has gone from a purely weight-driven price, to a combination of the weight of the package AND its physical size. Make sure you know the weight of your piece of jewellery PLUS the weight of the packaging. And don't forget the weight of your business card and any other material you include.

I use my gold weighing scale for measuring these items exactly because you are dealing with small weights and I find it's easier to use a good quality weighing scale that measures in small quantities. If you're making and selling jewellery, you can also make money from gold weighing scale by buying old and broken gold at craft fairs. If you're making silver jewellery you can even buy old/broken silver from visitors to craft fairs to turn into cast items or even wire - so a gold weighing scale will get quite a bit of use. I'd consider a good weighing scale to be a sound business investment.

A standard kitchen digital scale will usually give you the ability to weigh ingredients in 1g blocks - gold weighing scales measure down to 0.1g, so they are 10x more accurate.

When you're sending items through the post, it's not just the rain that can make your package wet - if somebody else has sent liquids through the post that leak then your goods could be flooded with everything from perfume to ink,.

My preference is to slip the items into a resealable sandwich bag. Even if my outer envelope is padded in plastic bubble wrap, a resealable sandwich bag inside that is better and more reliable against rips and tears. Online you can get a huge selection of sizes of resealable plastic pouches, but it's also possible to pick up these bags locally (allbeit in a very limited size range). Stationery shops and supermarkets will sell these.

Padded envelopes are very popular for posting jewellery. Padded envelopes come in a wide variety of sizes - and colours. Colour is an important part of how your jewellery is perceived when it arrives.

The most common padded envelopes tend to be a yellow colour and look quite functional. These aren't sexy looking packages at all and won't give the receiver that instant excitement when it arrives.

Off-white padded envelopes are also readily available, but why not look at the latest funky colours available. You can now get fluorescent padded envelopes! And many other colours and styles.

Make a statement!

One important part of packaging your jewellery for posting is to make sure your customer has a fabulous experience when they open their parcel.

There are many creative, affordable, ways you can really jazz up your packaging, to create a Gift Experience for your buyer. It's this attention to detail that'll have people telling their friends about your jewellery and coming back to you in the future to buy more.

Everybody loves fabulous packaging.

One book that is great for creative ideas is the Designer's Packaging Bible: Creative Solutions for Outstanding Design - whether you're selling your jewellery as a business, or simply want to make your friends and family really value your handcrafted gifts to them, it's worth checking out for idea.

If you're selling your jewellery at shows and events, a few well-placed fabulous (empty) packages dotted around your display can also help bring in potential customers to your stall.

If you are selling high value, or handcrafted, jewellery, then it's worth the time to wrap the presentation box in some colourful tissue paper, perhaps sealed with a sticker with your logo on it.

Tissue paper is available in a huge range of colours. You should use acid free tissue paper if it's against jewellery made of silver or copper, but if you'e wrapping the presentation box that contains the piece of jewellery then any tissue paper will suffice.

Craft papers can give your designs a great look. Craft papers are cheap to buy and you can use them to either create small presentation envelopes, or to wrap a presentation box, perhaps finishing it with a sticker with your logo on, or some ribbon wrapped around the package.

Craft papers are a simple and easy way to make the unwrapping of your package a delight.

In these days when we're thinking of the planet, some of these methods might not seem very eco-friendly. It is something that you need to be aware of as some customers might ask the question.

Think about offering your customers a "zero extra packaging" option, or research some recycled boxes or recycled paper options.

Making a "Green Statement" can bring extra business to you.

Whether you encase your jewellery piece in 100 layers of tissues, wraps, ribbons, envelopes and finery, or whether you simply slip it into a small folded sheet of recycled paper, is a choice that's for you to make. Over time you'll discover the method that works for you, works for your customers and works for your business - and the planet.

Don't dismiss everything that's beautiful simply on its green credentials; you can become more green as discover more options. The easiest place to start is by using eco-friendly mailers.

I love these metallic bubble bags, they really brighten up a package and protect the contents, while looking modern, funky and chic.

The colour range is extensive, spanning gold and silver metallic ranges as well as a full colour selection.

If you're selling jewellery you've made, you need to protect your products and your profits. Here are some simple tips to make sure your jewellery arrives safely and you're paid for it!

• Wrap your items securly, using tape or string to secure them.
• Wrap your items in packaging that protects them against being crushed or stained by liquids.
• Include your contact details, on business cards and/or stickers so any lost items stand a greater chance of being returned to you.
• Label your packages in clear, waterproof ink.
• Use a tracking service - many sites, such as ebay/Paypal will only pay compensation if the item was trackable.
• Get a recipient signature if possible.
• NEVER simply post your jewellery in a first class, untrackable, unsigned for envelope.