Running a small ecommerce store is even easier than you think these days with the popularity of sites like Etsy, Folksy, Ebay and other market places such as ASOS and Amazon. Getting popular and gaining regular customers however is a different story entirely.

Whenever you have a customer who purchases something from you, particularly if it is handmade, that customer should receive the best experience possible to encourage them to buy from you again. This however can be time consuming and if you are a smaller seller who has a job too, it could be difficult to put extra effort into this experience.
 

 

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It is however, really easy to do. The key to making your customers experience special is the packaging. It only takes something small to make a personal impact on your packaging. This can be as simple as changing your ordinary grey mailing bags to something more colourful such as bubblegum pink or orange. Adding an extra layer to your packaging such as tissue paper or a colourful paper bag not only makes it far more exciting and pleasant for your customer, it also gives your product an extra layer of protection. Wrapping your product up in tissue paper or placing it in a colourful bag only takes a little extra time but shows you’ve thought about the consumer when packaging it to them.

If you want the outside of your packaging to look professional but still want a little personal touch you could add a label or postcard to your product inside the outer packaging with a stamp or sticker on. This could go towards furthering your brand image by using your logo or just be a friendly little greeting. If you don’t have the time to create these you can buy stickers which can be printed on at home or by a professional company with whatever you choose on it. These can then be attached to your outer packaging or the product its self.

Making sure your customer knows you care should be top of your list and packaging is a fantastic was to do this. So don’t miss a trick as it only takes a second to make someones day.

Removal boxes are solutions to packaging that are used all over the world. They could easily be the most used packaging solution for relatively bulky items. Removal boxes are also very affordable and available in all regions. One of the greatest attributes of removal boxes though is the fact that they can be easily reused with them still maintaining high quality standards and still offering their contents maximum protection from damages and keeping the contents secure.

The removal boxes can be used for more than one purpose. They could be used for the same purpose of holding/ packing items. For example, one area where the removal bags come most in handy is when one wants to move house. This is a time that one will need to do a lot of packing and the removal bags are very ideal packaging for this. This is because for one, they are very affordable; one can even get lots of them for free at convenient stores and other shopping outlets. After the shop owners have unpacked the contents, the removal bags will pile up and many end up being discarded or destroyed. Collecting them from the stores could very well save the owners a lot of trouble and they are usually willing to give them away for free. Removal boxes are also very strong and will maintain their integrity even after being reused severally, one only needs to be careful and try not to subject the boxes to damages.

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To help the boxes give more service one should not pack contents that will overly strain the boxes. This includes packing extremely heavy items such as some machine parts. Also one should not stuff the boxes with so many things such that it is even hard to close the flaps. Another way to protect the boxes is to use the smaller boxes for the heavier items and to use the large boxes for bulky but light items. These boxes are usually made of paper, it is only that the paper is of a heavier density; therefore one should always keep the boxes away from wetness which will make the walls weak and prone to breaking.

Removal boxes can also be used to craft play or decorative items especially for children. The material is easy to work with and is easily available and affordable. This makes it a good choice for anyone to come up with some craft objects.

Whether they be breakfast bars, chocolate bars, biscuit bars or any other manner of delicious treats, our first contact with them comes in the form of the packaging. Having good, exciting and enticing packaging can be what sells a product to a consumer just as much as the price and it gives the products its self a certain persona. There has been an influx of packaging re-designs and new products on the market which all look yummy and here are just a few.

Images from the Die Line

This organic, gluten free, vegan, non-GMO bar packaging from gomacro is very down to earth (I'm not entirley sure what it can have in it other than cherries and berries as it seems to be non-everything-else-ever but its probably yummy...) The shape of the design changes depending on the main flavour (for example shaped like a banana instead of a cherry) and the shape is made up of an interesting set of hand drawn shapes which all have connotations of nature and goodnes. The main bulk of the packaging is quite simple, the plain cream background makes it feel earthy and friendsly while the use of colours related to flavour and a simple typography selection gives the impression that it is good honest food.

Now I really don't know what a yoghurt popcorn bar is but it sounds delicious and it certainly looks that way thanks to the handy clear section to save the consumer feeling confused and affraid. It is a little difficult to spot on there but there is also a little stamp style decoration that clarifies this bar is a source of wholegrain and that just adds to the packaging ensemble suggesting healthy goodness. The flavour dependant colours are also vibrant and jump out at the consumer without seeming unnatural or suggesting that the product might not be as good as it first seems. The good for you factor is hardwired into the packaging design. The simple and cutely uneven typography looks friendly and attractive and the whole packaging ensemble is simple and nice. The different colours give it great shelf appeal too. It appears that shelf appeal is a highly looked at point of the packaging design when it comes to the current market and the competition is getting feirce. Stay tuned for more excellent packaging designs and what we think of them.

Ladies are known for their affinity towards shopping. They could be said to even posses more skills for shopping than the rushed men who impatiently grab the first item that will closely fit the description of what they are after. Despite one’s sexual orientation, it is however very important to have some shopping skills; this is especially important for those involved in running businesses. The main purpose of business is to make profit. This is made by the difference of the selling price and the buying price. Having good shopping skills will greatly result in reduced buying prices. For example, when buying packaging such as padded envelopes to be used for mail; this could seem to be a minor expense but could greatly dent the company’s budget due to the frequency of the expense.

Companies today will all want to portray a professional look; they would also want their clients to see that they care for them and value their mail. To do this, the companies are opting to use padded envelopes over the other cheaper and less secure packaging options. Companies normally send out a lot of mail. They have many customers, associates, suppliers, legal representatives, health workers, service men etc. These people will every now and then be sent some mail from the company, this will result in thousands of mail going out from the company and thousands of padded envelopes will be used. Many padded envelopes will also mean greater expenses.

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To mitigate the expenses accruing from the purchase of padded envelopes, shopping strategies should be sought in all ways possible. One of the ways to reduce costs when buying items is to buy in bulk, buying in wholesale quantities. This might mean that one might buy items that far exceed the quantity that is needed immediately but it is a strategy that is used if an item will definitely be used again in the future.

The advantage of buying padded envelopes in bulk is for the seller too! They are able to sell more in a shorter time! This is one of the motivations they have in giving better prices and offering bigger discounts. They will only have to deal with one buyer for so many goods hence reducing the transaction cost and the time that could have been spent dealing with multiple buyers. The buyer will also spend less time shopping, make fewer trips and in effect save on costs. Buying large quantities also gives one confidence on the availability of packaging stock.

As your end of the day plan might just be to sit down with a nice glass of wine or perhaps you might enjoy some good wine packaging design! There are some interesting things out there if you know where to find them.

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This design is evidentially intended to be seductive and it achieves it by adding a little extra to its design. What has been created to look like the top of a stocking has been placed around the bottle and the stocking section that is visible clearly shows that had it been on a woman it would have been fish nets. The bright red colour is not only the colour of love but also of seduction and passion. While the black detail gives it a little mystery and allure.

This red wine packaging is also full of cheeky connotations and ideas. The plain relatively bland packaging puts emphasis on the red roller boot which, although the bottle says ruby slipper is clearly meant to symbolise that it is a fun and exciting wine, rather than one you would drink in your slippers. The girl portrayed is evidentially meant to be Dorothy and in this interpretation of her, her curves are far more defined and she appears less childish and more flirtatious.

It’s Friday again, yes I know it happens every week but it’s still a surprise when it comes around again. As a packaging fiend it is highly appropriate that fridays are celebrated with some alcohol packaging to get us into that happy place.

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Rum always reminds me of hot places and exotic landscapes and this packaging ticks all those boxes and more, the amber liquid on the inside, combined with the golden decoration on the outside makes it appear like lava. Exotic and hot, the perfect combination for some weekend alcohol packaging.

Gin is often stereotyped as a woman's drink and while this isn’t necessarily true, this  packaging design doesn’t do much to that effect. The glass bottle has been left clear to show the pink liquid through it, as we all know pink is also a female stereotype. The label is decorated with gold and has a background of a pale turquoise colour which too is quite feminine.

On a side note, this packaging doesn’t look at all like it contains alcohol, nor does it look like it contains pandas, it doesn’t appear very adult or sophisticated as most examples of alcohol packaging do. There is however a certain charm about it in its childishness that could attract even the most responsible adult.

For any business, the aim is to make maximum profits; this can only be achieved when the costs are also minimised as much as possible. Costs to a business are accrued in many ways. The costs range from the cost of raw materials, transportation, storage, packaging, labour, and other running costs. Consumables are petty costs that are at times ignored especially in the big businesses. Their accumulated amounts could however make one to think twice about how much is spent on them. till rolls, are in this category of items that deceptively seem to cost the business negligible amounts while they may end up eating up a big chunk off the budget.

To minimise the amount of money spent on an object, one does not start by harassing the staff on usage. True, some staff may misuse the till roll and you end up with a lot of wasted till roll; but correcting wastage should come later. The first step in minimising expenditure is making sure one buys items with the best cost versus effectiveness ratio i.e. items that will cost the least but still perform their intended purpose effectively. To find the best priced items, one will have to do a search through many suppliers to find the supplier with the best prices versus quality. It is important to note that we have different types of till rolls and different suppliers will price each type of till roll differently; Supplier A may have a high price for thermal till rolls but cheap 2 ply till rolls while supplier B may have low prices for thermal rolls and high prices for 2 ply till rolls. The pricing is not always uniform and is as a result of many unique reasons and therefore one has to be very thorough before picking on a supplier.

Another thing that one has to look for in determining where to buy till rolls is the kind of services offered by the supplier. For a business, finding a flexible supplier is very important. One may need to make impromptu orders and it would be comforting to know that the supplier will still be able to deliver. Also the supplier should be flexible concerning payments. They should be able to offer discounts to loyal customers and even give some credit. If one needs customized till rolls, it would be wise to first inquire if this services are available before making strong relationships with a supplier who cannot satisfy all your till roll needs.

When it comes to Valentines day, chocolates are a popular choice for gifts and often special edition packaging can make this experience even better. Here are some of the best examples of Valentines chocolate packaging around.

Image from Lindt

The chocolate tins in a heart shape seem to be a popular form of packaging this year. Both Lindt and Hotel Chocolat have created gorgeous tins to allows their packaging to be reused once the chocolate treats are all gone. This gives the gift a second life and the packaging becomes a gift too.The theme of a heart has become incredibly popular however more complex tiered packaging has also become popular as it creates something of interest. These can be round and slide out from under each other in a spiral staircase motion or pull our in a drawer like way. All of these styles are designed to attract the consumer and hold their attention. They can also be reused as something else and make an excellent gift. Chocolate companies seem to have their finger on the pulse when it comes to keeping chocolate as the most popular Valentines day gift.

Small businesses, online sellers or even bigger businesses with a wish to get closer to their customers - celebrated events around the year, despite mostly being commercialised, are the perfect opportunity to show your customers you care.

Image from Design Finch

For a small business with a relatively small customer base it is easy to put together some personal Valentine bits and bobs to send out in your packages. Using small pieces of patterned craft paper, adding a stamp and then placing a lollipop through a slit or two in the paper. You can add a greeting message or image stamp or perhaps something a little more personal such as the customers name. If you find you don’t have enough time to do so, doing something as simple as adding a heart stamp to your packaging or placing a valentines themed post card inside. You could also attach a cute label with a stamp or sticker on or even just tie a cute pink ribbon to the package.

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For a larger business it can be more difficult to create a personal touch to a package that could be one of hundreds or thousands. To achieve even the smallest personal touch however is still quite simple. Change your mailing bags to pink or red for a while until the valentines period is over. You could also have a heart printed on your address labels or a sticker places on the outer packaging alongside the labels instead. Even the smallest of touches can be appreciated by your customers, especially if it out of the ordinary or themed.

C4 envelopes are designed to fit A4 papers without folding. They have a size of 12.8” by 9.0”. This means that the envelope is very good for packaging sensitive A4 documents that should not be folded. This could be important letters, reports, licences, or anything that one deems inappropriate to fold. It also means that the envelope can package many A4 papers at the same time. The envelope can also be used for mailing or confining A3 papers, for this, one has to fold the paper once across the middle. The envelopes are made from paper with a grade slightly thicker than the normal paper.

When starting a business, it is important to realise that communication is a must for any business. What one needs to find out is what kinds of communication are to transpire during the course of the business, and the frequency of communication. Some communication instances will involve direct one on one dialogue with workers, customers, suppliers, servicemen, or the authorities. Some communication will also be over the phone and some via mail.

Communication via mail will mostly necessitate the use of envelopes. To know how many C4 envelopes to buy and stock up, one will need to further predict or estimate how much of the communication will be via mail. From the communication via mail, one will also need to approximate how many of the envelopes will need to be C4 envelopes. Some mail will be put into envelopes of other sizes.

 Apart from sending mail, the C4 envelopes can be used for simply organising and storing documents. Many similar or related documents may be stored and confined in one envelope. This will help in improving the organisation that will in turn make it easy to locate documents and make the working area tidy. This will also protect the documents from external hazards. The hazards include document theft, exposure of content to wrong people, alteration of records, and many more. The envelope will also give protection from other hazards such as moisture, and tear.

When starting a business however, it is important to also do things in moderation. If one is not sure how much they will use C4 envelopes when their business is fully operational, they can first buy just a few that will be used in the near future. Buying small quantities is however not very good since one cannot then enjoy the many benefits of buying things in bulk.