Just been to post office and it cost me £4.30 to post an item, The post office is in the next village which is a car ride away, or bus ride which would add another £2 to the cost.
i was totally peed off as i only charge £3.50 and this is recorded, I know my bangle boxes are to thick and will need to go via small package but the pendant boxes usually manage to go large letter.
I’m wondering if it would put people off if i send pendants/Necklaces out in a gift pouch and offer boxes as an extra sale. If i send in a gift pouch they will go 1st recorded for £2.03, I would take this up to £2.50 to help towards the cost of getting to the PO. and packaging used.
I have started to change some of the postal prices to £4.95 on the more expensive items as i can send by courrior for this amount and they are insured. so they can stay gift boxed.
Thoughts please
Jax x
I send out necklaces/ pendants wrapped in tissue paper in a gift bag so that they go large letter and never had any complaints (I charge £2.50 for postage and to cover the tissue paper/ gift bag/ bubble wrap and envelope). If I know that something definately won’t go large letter (chunky cuffs for example) then I charge the appropriate small package postage and box them up as at that point it makes little difference how big the package is! Earrings go in hand folded gift boxes as i can make them thin enough to go large letter. If you want to continue with gift boxes Cooksongold do a range of slim ‘postal’ boxes which you might want to look into as they qualify for large letter status (I’m sure someone else must do them cheaper but i don’t know where).
Also the man who works at my local post office is good about checking the thickness of my packages so that they go at the correct rate, the lady is less good and has tried to charge me the wrong rate, so get your ruler out and check first and then be prepared to argue your case (politely of course).
hope that helps
Sasha
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@JacquelineOJewellery. I don’t think that packaging in a nice gift pouch would put people off at your lower price point but I do think the more expensive items would be better in a box. I think that by presenting in a box people perceive quality and you should be ok charging more for postage. If you decide to offer the box as an extra make sure you do it as an add on in the listing, otherwise I bet you $$ to donuts you will be getting orders just for the boxes! By the way, you have some beautiful items in your shop. I wonder if I left the laptop on the sofa with your page up whether it would be enough of a hint…
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Hi Sasha,
Thanks, thing is i did check at home, even showed hubby before he went to PO so they couldn’t overcharge, I think they are getting too greedy and want them to fall through the gap without touching, I’m really starting to fall out with them 
The boxes i use are only 20mm thick, once wrapped and in the packaging they are 23/5 mm, so i know they should be fine, I have a makeshift ruler at home and have the opening at 23mm so if it goes through but is touching it will still go through at the PO, ewww i could suck on a lemon and not alter the screwed up expression on my face 
Hi Leslie @ManiacalMosaics,
I do prefer them to be in boxes but wonder if the postage is already putting people off, I think what you say is right about putting the boxes as an add on, i was worried about loosing out on postage with them otherwise.,
Thank you for your lovely comment too 
I don’t make jewellery but as a buyer I always thought boxes were better. Since someone gave me a jewellery stand as a gift I much prefer the little organza bags. I hang the items on the stand in their little bags and because the bags are see through I find what I want straightaway and they are kept clean. When I go on holiday I can pick which I want to take, they are ready packed to go into my vanity bag. I have even bought more bags to put things in that were in boxes. So from my own point of view I now prefer little bags preferably see through. Hope this helps.
Gill
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That sounds a great idea Gill, I’ll have to bare that in mind when the family ask what i want for Christmas
I suppose the easiest thing to do is the offer boxes as an add on, that way people will have the choice.
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I know I recommend these all over the place until people are fed up with hearing, but have you tried using PIP boxes? That way you know that the thing you think should go as a large letter isn’t going to rearrange itself on the way to the PO and suddenly become a small parcel… I get mine from here http://www.defendapack.co.uk/pricing_in_proportion_boxes.htm - they do them on eBay too. If you buy in bulk they don’t work out much more expensive than a jiffy bag and they save such a lot of stress!
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Thank you for the link @HelenSmith i shall pop on over to take a look
I always wrap my jewellery with a branded card, in turquoise tissue and a black gift bag, which means most of it will go as a large letter and I can only charge £1 postage… However I offer the option of a gift box add on for which I charge the cost of the box plus the extra it will cost to send it. I rarely get these added on to orders which probably means people either aren’t bothered or think it’s too costly. Now I’ve started selling more expensive, sterling silver items I’m sending some of them out special delivery (only the most expensive pieces, not worth it for stud earring etc) so I thought I might as well include the gift box since the cost of special delivery is the same either way. But if postage cost was an issue I would just offer the gift box as an optional extra and charge accordingly.
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Hi Claire,
Yes i will also send the more expensive in a gift box, as you say it will cost the same anyway, what i didn’t find out until early in the year was that the cost of special delivery can be very costly, one pendant ended up costing somewhere in the region of £8.30 I’m more postal savvy now, but , still get caught out occasionally
I wrap things in bubble wrap and then put in an organza gift bag. Many of my items can be posted for 93p and even if slightly larger only cost about £1.10. I do like gift boxes so maybe offer them at an additional cost. If was selling lots of stuff I might put them in a gift box but as I don’t I can’t really afford to buy lots of boxes that I may not end up using and they also take up lots of space which isn’t good in a small house.
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Gosh how did one pendant come to that much on special delivery? I thought it was £6.50ish up to 100 grams and then only a bit more for up to 500g? I bet it was a bit of a shock! I got caught out sending something tracked to Germany, only charged £3.50 and it cost me around £8 
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True @SamsGemstoneJewellery youend up needing a cupboard just for packaging supplies
It’s a right shock to the system sometimes isn’t it Claire it was a big pendant but i didn’t expect the price, she said the weight was in the higher bracket ??
I think the organza bags are lovely and would be fine, although ~I do think for something in a higher price bracket a box would also be nice. But to be honest, as a buyer, I wouldn’t care too much, unless it was for a gift, which is why I think the option of having a ‘gift box’ at a higher price might be the way to go!
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Hi Jax
I send out in organza or velvet bags and use the brown cardboard PIP postal boxes so I know they will be okay as a large first, for the Sterling Silver items on the other side, we send first class recorded and charge £4.50 as these are much more expensive items. I would love to send items I sell on here boxed, I actually have a huge stash of boxes I bought when a supplier was closing down but that would make the postage about half the price of some items which people just won’t pay. For all my FB customers I message them and give them the option of either, plus it’s a way to try and attract multiple sales as the small parcel covers plenty of items. ( insurance is only £50.00 though on first class recorded - I think? )
Di x
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Wen the postal changed happened I said I would not send items in a gift box(but wrap them in bubble wrap in a papaded envelope). If they want a gift box it would cost for the box and P+P would go up. Needless to say Ive not sold any jewellery for ages.
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@Textiletreasure Heidi thats the way i’ve opted for, certainly won’t hurt to try it,
@GrimmExhibition Grimm I hope your sales pick back up, i’ve got my first custom order since i started this new shop, not sure why it’s took so long, but hey ho! just hope it picks up.
Di @AdienCrafts , I looked at the PIP boxes, Helen gave a link, they are certainly worth a though but need to find someone that does them a little cheaper. I have altered my postage on some of the necklaces to £2.50 those that will go with a pouch instead of box and that will cover recorded 1st class large letter, I think on LL it’s £20 insurance or is it more not sure Di
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