Glenn sells on Amazon, as well as being a regular contributor to Tamebay. Today he talks about a very real problem – how to optimise packaging to keep volumes (and hence shipping costs) as low as possible. However Amazon’s FBA requirements are doing their best to derail his cost saving methods… do you have a solution?
Well more accurately Fluffy is expensive regardless of the colour. As a Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) seller all my clothing items must be packed within clear plastic bags which have the warning message “To avoid suffocation don’t eat this bag”, OK that not the real message but we have all seen the “This Bag is Not a Toy” on Amazon packaging. I have no issue with the message; it’s the holes that are costing me money.
Anybody who has ever used one of those clear vacuum packs which suck the air out of the bag will know just how significantly the volume can be reduced. If only I could suck the air out of the bags containing fluffy items I could pack twice as many in my dispatch boxes.
The only solution I have come up with is to use double walled boxes and reinforce the seals with excessively strong packing tape and then force each fluffy jumper or fleece jacket into the box whilst carefully holding the lid down.
It’s the Amazon fulfillment staff I really feel sorry for because the opening of any of my boxes has a “Jack in the Box” surprise waiting for them.
Hey Ho
One Response
I sell shoes through FBA, and they consistently reject my deliveries, if one shoe box has a little rip on the box. FFS the shoe box is there to protect the contents…a little rip is not going to affect the retail experience of a customer. Its quite pathetic. The result is we have to hand check every box for rips, and it coming to the point where the time taken does not justify the profit made.