Shipping supplies
The unglamorous things that decide how long packing takes.
What actually matters
- Buy the boxes that match what you actually sell before buying in bulk. Wrong-size boxes cost you twice, in postage and in filler.
- A scale that reads to the gram pays for itself the first time it stops you over-declaring a parcel.
- Tape guns are the single biggest time saving in packing, and the cheapest.
- Check dimensional weight rules for your carrier before choosing box sizes — volume can cost more than weight.
Picks
No specific picks in here yet — I only list things once I've actually formed an opinion about them. The points above are what I'd go on in the meantime.
Also in paper, print and post
- PrintersMostly for shipping labels, invoices and the occasional thing that must be on paper.
- Label makersFor shipping, for stock, and for the cables under your desk.
- Paper cutters & trimmersIf you sell anything printed, this is the difference between a product and a craft project.
- Packaging & presentationWhat the customer opens. The last thing you control before they judge you.
Kit is the easy part. The awkward part is usually the process.
Buying a label printer fixes an afternoon. If the thing eating your week is the admin around the orders rather than the packing itself, that's the part I build.
Tell me what's eating the week