Time Saving Tips for Holiday Packing and Shipping

It’s the holiday season and we all know that that means! That’s right: lots of packing and shipping. After several years of DIY packing and shipping, both for my own Etsy and Big Cartel shops and for Rare Device (the store I used to own with Rena), I’ve learned a few things about getting stuff packed and out the door quickly. Here are a few of my tips:

1) Do a quick supply check every day during the holidays. Do I have enough boxes? Kraft envelopes? Cello sleeves? Bubble wrap? Chip board? Return address labels? Fragile stickers? Business cards? I go through supplies like crazy during the holidays and sometimes I need to reorder more than once a week. The problem is, getting the supplies you need on short notice can be difficult, especially during the holidays when supply distributors are inundated. So staying on top of your supply inventory is critical.

2) Become acquainted with your local shipping supply company. While I appreciate Uline and other big shipping supply companies, you can’t always use them to get supplies in the spur of the moment without paying an arm and a leg. I use my local (small business) shipping supply company for most of my shipping supplies, and they are especially great to have around during the holidays when I need something, like right now. Local shops are indispensable for providing supplies quickly and easily.

3) Set up an assembly line to pack orders. If your shop is like mine, you probably sell a lot of the same thing. For me, it’s art prints. I like to set up an assembly line when I have more than a couple orders to pack and ship. I make room in my office (sometimes on the floor) and lay out all my supplies in the order that I will use them. For me that’s cello sleeve, chipboard (to place behind the print), postcard (to insert in sleeve), and finally the stiff kraft envelope I use to mail my prints. If you can wrangle help or have an assistant, one person can assemble while the other addresses (or places labels) on the envelopes.

4) Fill out all postal service paper work before you go to the post office. I like to grab a stack of customs forms for my international orders and keep them in my shipping area. I also have some delivery confirmation and insurance forms that customers request on hand in my office so I’m not scrambling to fill out forms when I’m standing in line.

5) Use large, bright Fragile or Do Not Bend stickers if what you ship is at all fragile or delicate. Shipping can be rough any time of the year, but the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays are especially crazy. Packages are more apt to get damaged in the high volume flowing through the system. Likewise, always purchase insurance when shipping items that are particularly valuable.

5) Use the USPS online shipping service when you can to avoid lines at the post office. The USPS also picks up!

6) When you need to go to the post office to mail orders, I suggest scheduling your day so you can get there and get in line before the post office opens in the morning. The line will be shorter and you will get your packages out the door first thing in the morning.

7) Make sure you put a clear message in your shop letting customers know the last day you’ll be shipping before Christmas and/or if you’ve got a cut-off date for guaranteed delivery by the 24th. Being clear about delivery dates and guarantees (or lack of) in writing can save a lot of trouble down the line when customers are upset a package didn’t arrive in the time they’d hoped.

8) Stay calm and carry on. You can anticipate that not everything will go perfectly as you pack your holiday orders. But if you stay organized and put great care into packing your orders, you will have overall fantastic success, which means customers will likely return again next year.

Cheers+happy packing!

Lisa Congdon
Lisa Congdon Art+Illustration