Packaging on Etsy

When faced with a challenge, I am pretty quick to respond and while this is not any different than any other challenge, I have hesitated as much as I have explored what the challenge means.  "Packaging" on Etsy, this is the challenge I face.

Originally I looked with the help of the search bar on Etsy to see what packaging was to the stores that sell on Etsy.  I did not really find what I was hoping for, which was highly creative boxes and containers, mostly I found people in the market of marketing their ability to sell a "how to design your own packaging package" via CD disks and the instructions are found on the disk.  I guess you buy the design, add your own store name to all the parts and pieces and viola, you have a branded look.

Find at http://www.Etsy.com/shop/buddyschild

Then I added a word to my initial search, the word "box" and was able to narrow down my search, finding more of what I have grown to know as packaging.  Later this same day, I went driving and felt inspired by my thoughts, a common occurrence for me, designing while driving that is.  I realized as a Packaging Designer in my "other" career, I have in my Etsy Store a kit, which allows you to make not just an Art Journal, but a Box sized to fit the Journal where you can keep it safe.  Made from recycled materials, the purchaser is encouraged in the instruction provided in the kit, to personalize everything, Journal and box, as part of the Art Journaling process.  This was a project my best friend and I came up with a year ago for therapeutic purposes and I posted the item as part of my online Esty Store products.

Mulling over this thought as I drove, I decided to expand on this project, to create hand made boxes, then create kits for others to DIY with the parts supplies from my hand made creation, all parts included, then also making just the instructions at a nominal cost for others, again allowing the very creative members on Etsy to put their own spin on a hand made box.  Blogging about all of this is the fourth key to my journeyed challenge, "Packaging on Etsy".

Fast forward to today, I click on the Flicker link for Etsy Success Blog and discover a whole new world, Sellers on Etsy who are taking into consideration the product they sell must have a unique presentation when the buyer receives their purchase in the mail.  For a person like myself who is in the business of presentation and has counseled others on a sellers presentation, I realized I have not established a true packaging  "brand" for my store products for a couple of reasons, I have not sold very much and the cost of shipping of my pieces are often a make or break it when it comes to making the sale.  Extra added pieces (i.e. special packaging) will add weight to a package and raise the shipping costs of the product ultimately.

Some of the packages I have sent in the past, always have one business card, I prefer to include two.  Hopefully the recipients will keep the card(s), go look at my other websites noted on my business card and talk about my store to their friends.  So far I have not heard through the grapevine that a buyer got a friend to buy the products in my store, at least not yet, so hope does still spring eternal.  I  have personalized each package with a gift, some got stickers, others a pencil, something I feel works with the sale because it is a way of saying thank you, as well as providing a short but handwritten note saying thank you, this is always a must!

Now with this challenge I face, I am re-thinking about the creative counseling I provide to my clients to whom I suggest the making an effort to create a memorable experience with their buyers.  When a client receives their package in the mail, opening this package is as important as the purchase itself.  My Etsy Store is not really that much different than a store in a mall and my customers will appreciate my Etsy Store more with personalized packaging from my heart to their home, just like in the mall when they carry their purchases out of the store to their car and into their home.  It is all about advertising and marketing and memories.  I have more work ahead of me and it has a beautiful horizon for me to chase after!