Just started on my second shop on Folksy after life decided I had run out of time to put in the necessary work needed to make my first attempt successful. My products are mainly empty boxes - I know, you don’t need to tell me these are never going to be the easiest things to sell. However, I have sold some in the past and intend to keep going this time and try to develop new products which people will actually buy. Postage on a very inexpensive product - most below £5 - is a major obstacle, eg. a box price of £2 can become £5.50 even at the cheapest 2nd class parcel post rate. I have devised a box design that is slim enough to be posted via a large letter rate at £1.55 and have developed packaging which enables two ‘thin’ boxes to be sent as one large letter. But still sales are very difficult to come by. So I would be very grateful for any advice on how I might find a box product which people, both end user customers and other crafters, might want to buy.
I think you can buy PIP boxes on ebay that fit through the large letter slot and keep the p&P down to a minimum x
Maybe you could try a flat pack range, that the purchaser has to finish assembling themselves? With instructions. And the same handmade beautiful designs on them. This could then include bigger boxes, but postage kept to large letter size. This is assuming the designs are your artwork. If however, the paper covering is bought in, and it is the making of the boxes that is the handmade element (and very nicely made too, by the look of it) then passing that task to the buyer would mean it was no longer a handmade item and therefore not eligible to be sold here. Difficult one.
What about a collection of boxes of different sizes that fit inside one another, russian doll style. Then could all be posted for the rate for the size of the largest one.
Hi Brenda. Thanks for replying. The problem then would be that the boxes on Ebay are just mass produced brown cardboard and couldn’t be sold on Folksy. They also tend to be standard sizes whereas I can custom build a box to the customer’s specification. My boxes are handmade and covered with high quality decorative paper. So it’s not really a like for like comparison.
Regards
Chris
Thanks for replying. I have tried a few methods of designing a flatpack range but they didn’t work too well. Still, worth persevering with this so I’ll look at it again. I wish I had the necessary artistic skills to create the paper designs myself but unfortunately not. So the boxes are handmade and covered in high quality bought in paper. They are complete and ready to use with no further work required.
You are right, of course, about nested boxes and these can be sent in one parcel. I did successfully sell a number of Christmas boxes with three nested together. But the non-Christmas ones didn’t sell. It did, however, identify a valuable point in that selling multiple boxes in one parcel is a very good idea and one which I will be pursuing further. Thanks again.
Chris
Hi Chris
Really love your boxes and the paper you have used is exquisite. I make jewellery and package most of my designs in brown kraft jewellery boxes. Occasionally I make special pieces that seem to cry out for something a bit different in the way of packaging. I notice most of your boxes are around 10cm, which is about the size of the boxes I currently use for bracelets and small pendants. Larger square boxes of around 16cm might be of interest as these could hold a substantially sized necklace and am just wondering if you could do that, perhaps as a set of two?
Hi Carole. Thanks for your reply. I am developing a larger box at the moment which would be a little over 16cm square. I’ll let you know as soon as it is ready for sale.
Regards
Chris
Chris…the pip boxes were not for you to resell …but to put YOUR boxes inside for posting..just as I would put my work into a bought hard backed envelope. x
Lovely boxes Chris and I think there’s probably a really good business there, if you can find a good targeted market.
When I used to make more art ‘doll’ type figures (I still make some, but not so many), I really struggled to find nice, affordable presentation boxes that were just the right size - the idea being that the figure would be posted out in a cardboard box with proper packaging but inside the presentation box so that it would arrive looking as I wanted. I’m sure I can’t have been the only person to have looked for this type of box - might be worth looking into?
The jewellery presentation box must be a good avenue - if I were a jeweller, I would definitely want lovely presentation boxes for my special pieces.
Both of these type of customers would probably also order in small batches, so postage becomes less of an issue.
Good luck with it! 
Lovely boxes Chris, have you thought about making then in various sizes, they all seem to be jewellery sized thin boxes. Perhaps offering other sizes that can be used for gifts might bring more customers. I think someone else mentioned nesting boxes as well which would be a good idea. I have a large collection of gift boxes in Christmas and general themes for birthdays as I use them a lot for personal gifts especially for bears and dolls. Also do you offer custom made sizes and designs ? That might be another option, you could also offer a few different sizes and colour options which are made to order by using the variations on a listing.
Gorgeous boxes Christopher. As well as the suggestions from others as presentation boxes for high end products, would they be suitable as keepsake boxes? For people to keep precious papers, kids artwork, or even little trinkets.
If so, could you find some way to personalise them? I read on another thread that people will pay more for something specially made for them, especially if it is personalised with a name, or a special image or motif. I have an element of this in my makes, as I can add embroidered name tags to my Xmas stockings and can add names or phrases to my felt and fabric playmats, as well as fully bespoke design playmats and quilts. Although I’m moving away from kids makes, I’m looking to lean into personalised embroidery over the next year.
You mentioned you already do bespoke sizes. I’m assuming that the paper covers are bought in bulk so less easy to do individual covers for everyone, but maybe you could add a special name-plate or bespoke phrase to the front, or incorporate a customer’s photo on the inside of the lid?
I can see a lot of wooden keepsake boxes on the market - they are robust but pricy, especially if people just want a lovely card box in which to keep precious things neat in a drawer.
Just following on from Sharon’s idea - could you make them into mini chests of drawers for keeping odds and ends in , not tucked away in a drawer but on show on top of the dressing table!
Sorry, not solving your postage cost problem. But we are all so taken with your pretty boxes it has got our creative juices running!
Hi Brenda. Sorry, I misunderstood your coment. I actually send out the decorative boxes I make in purpose built packaging I also make to provide protection during posting. These are themselves simplified boxes which are tailored to fit the decorative box inside it.
Regards
Chris
Hi Debbie. Many thanks for your kind comments and the suggestions on how I could develop further ideas. I am currently experimenting with a number of different designs and, because I handmake all the boxes, I can produce small quantities, even single orders, in a range of different shapes and sizes. The key is identifying what people actually want and I knowI have some work to do on that aspect.
Hi Debby. In my previous shop (Handmade Little Boxes) I did have quite a wide range of different shapes and sizes. I still have my construction notes for these and so will begin featuring them in my new shop shortly. I did offer a few nested boxes and these sold well for Christmas but not outside this period. Something to look at again I think. Because I handmake all of the boxes, producing customised versions is quite possible. So I think I need to make this clear in my shop listings and in the variations, as you suggest.
Regards
Chris
Hi Sharon. Thanks for your kind words. Most of the boxes would be suitable for small trinkets but I would need to create some new, larger designs for artwork and precious papers. The latest thin box I am working on is approximately 16cm square. I would be happy to create a larger, deeper box and am currently looking at how this could be ‘engineered’ - eg. the paper sizes I currently use are limited to a maximum of 12 inches square so I would need to look at alternative sources or use multiple sheets per box. Customising is quite possible and I am now looking at printing my own covers for the boxes by purchasing digital paper which I then print out my self. I have a good quality A3 size printer. I am really grateful for all the idea and suggestions being sent to me and will definitely be using them in new designs.
Regards
Chris
Hi Liz. This is a very interesting idea and one which has got me scribbling various potentail designs already. Not quite the same thing but one of the first largeish sales I made was to a craft jeweller who wanted a series of trays of several different sizes to exactly fit a drawer she used to keep all the various bits used in her jewellery making. I think she baought 30 eventually. So not quite the same thing but motivated by the same need.
Regards
Chris
Thanks Chris, I look forward to hearing from you 
Glad to see you have returned Chris, I bought a few of your lovely boxes from your previous shop, and was sad when I couldn’t find you to buy some more. 
Hi Nikki. I’m afraid life’s demands dictated that my Handmade Little Boxes venture had to end. However, my new shop will have lots of boxes and some other items as well. I learned a lot from the previous shop and I hope to put those lessons to good effect in the new one.
Chris