Losing Money Selling online with the wrong box

Over the years I have sold thousands of dollars of items online.  This is a great way to make some extra cash and also help people out who want to buy something you have and that they need.  It is a fun way for me to essentially have a garage sale and make real money before throwing stuff away.  But it is not all good and awesome.  To be honest I hated it the first time I sold an item online.  That is because I was young, and did not do my research.  I now see people in their 50's and 30's losing money hand over fist by not understanding what is happening and that is what I want to help everyone out.  There are some basic things that lots of people don't think about before they end up selling online and let me tell you the first sale I lost money on.  That was a valuable lesson and one I don't want anyone else to go through.  So let's dive in.

 

What you need to know is that if you are selling an item online that you have to get that item to the buyer.  Sounds simple, and sounds easy, but have you thought about the cost of doing this.  Did you know a roll of tape can be from 5 to 10 dollars?  What if you don't have a marker or a label to put on the package.  Well then now you have to go out and buy one of those labels or a sharpie as well.  But you say I already have that.  Ok, but now you have to buy a box or a bag to secure your item to send to the buyer.  You may also have to end up buying stuffing to put in that package in order to make sure the item arrives safely.  What I am saying is that shipping supplies can cost you a lot of money and if that costs 10 bucks for each item then you need to factor that into your selling.

 

You not only have to pay for shipping supplies but also the shipping of the item.  If that box takes 10 dollars to ship to the client and you spent 10 dollars on the packaging, that is twenty dollars that you lost on that item.  Make sure you factor that cost into the cost of selling, but that is not the only cost that comes with selling online.

 

Most platforms charge 10% and sometimes 15% of the cost of the sale just to use the platform.  So every single item sold loses 10% or 15%.  Make sure you can take those losses.  So if you put an item up for 100 dollars and it sells.  The platform takes 15% and that would be 15 dollars of the item.  Now you spent 20 dollars to package and ship that item to the individuals.  That is now 35 dollars of losses you just took and you are only getting 65 dollars back from that sale.  Wow, that is a lot less than 100 dollars.  So make sure you know what you will lose and that is not all.  There is an extra processing fee from the credit card or digital processor.  This is usually 3 to 5% of the sale. So you may now be down to 60 dollars of profit.  How much did the item cost you?  Don't lose money, be smart and charge accordingly.

How to Choose the Correct Packaging Company for your Business

There are certain considerations to look at when you’re choosing a packaging company. These are vital, for if they’re not properly looked at, it can create a lot of trouble for businesses of all kinds. Understanding what’s exactly needed is vital, and here are the top considerations to look at when choosing the right supplier for your business. 

Learn about the company 

Understand that not every single provider gives the same services and understanding the company that you choose and the services that are required is vital. There are two types: solution providers and manufacturers, and each of them may not be able to provide what the other has, so it’s important to understand. 

It’s important to understand that manufacturers are those that haver certifications, expertise, and know the processes of such.  You should understand that comparing and contrasting the companies that you employ for packaging is important, and the right certifications and processes offered are important for manufacturing products. 

For example, if there is one manufacturer that offers a better response time, printing that high quality, and on time, while another has lower error rates, is sustainable, and also FSC certified, then it comes down to what you’re willing to pay. A fast response time is good, but if your packaging durability is bad, then you’re going to have a lot of problems down the line. 

You’ll be more likely to spend a lot less money and time with the company that you choose, especially fi they have lower error rates, than you would if you spent the money on new packaging that you might have to possibly replace in the event that it’s not correct. 

This does take time, and the packaging is engineered specifically for the specifications that you have so you want something that’s not high in error rates, and of course, is the most effective, and of course something that works with the parameters of the business that you have. 

The budget 

The next consideration is to look at the budget. Some people may feel a smaller budget with large minimum orders is a good idea, but that’s hard for some to maintain, especially those who don’t need to have custom ordered boxes for everything. With volume planning, youwnat to figure out the details including the quantity of orders, the plan for product launch, along with setup costs. The details and decisions for the packaging are vital in order to determine the costs, which in turn help you make a decision on what you should choose. 

You also should understand that some of them may have higher minimum order due to the production costs and setup, so if you’re a smaller business, you want something with a lower minimum order, and you should also look to see if the company can handle smaller workloads. 

Packaging Materials 

Finally, you need to look at the materials that are there. Just because something is offering high-quality materials doesn’t mean that you need to opt for it. You should compare the materials that are suggested, because this plays a large part in the product packaging that’s chosen, with many packaging specialists looking at the optimization of materials too, and some of them may use this. 

Which means they choose what’s best for you based on the branding you have, the specifications needed, and the journey of the customer. These are all factors to consider when you’re choosing this, and when you’re looking to find a packaging company that fits you, you should definitely consider these options as well.