The Ugly Truth About Ugly Packages

Have you ever gone to ship something and hesitated? Have you stood in line at the post office around Christmas time and felt cheap as you looked around at the other people with their pretty boxes all wrapped in nice brown paper ready for the receiver to rip off in one excited motion?

Have you gathered together the items that your business needs to ship TODAY but wished you had more time so that you could package them better? They say the package is as important as the item inside and even though I’m not entirely sure who they are, I do wonder if we should listen to them. After all, there are entire marketing strategies based on packaging (just think Tiffany’s).

But does this mean you should use overwrap on all your shipping boxes? No. My advice is quite the opposite actually.

In the shipping industry overwrap is a definite NO. Why?

Sure, the box looks pretty but if it never reaches its destination what good is that to anyone? Believe it or not, using overwrap greatly enhances the likelihood that the package will get lost in the mail. Overwrap is easily ripped off, can get stuck in conveyor belts or get wet enough that the address then becomes un-readable. What happens then? Remember the post on overgoods?

So what? You want that package to look nice? We all do, but overwrap isn’t the way to make that happen. You know your customers (or family and friends) best. If the appearance will really make a difference, invest in nicer boxes and consider it a necessary cost of doing business. Unsure if you can afford the extra cost? Let us help - you’re one click away from a free shipping estimate.