Packaging has two jobs: get the thing there intact, and cost as little as possible while doing it. Most businesses over-invest in how it looks and under-invest in whether it survives.

Pack for the worst realistic journey

Assume the parcel will be dropped, stacked under heavier things, and handled by somebody who has not read the label. That is not pessimism; it is the normal life of a consignment moving through a sorting facility.

The rule of thumb is that the contents should not move when you shake the box, and no part of the product should be touching the outer wall. Void fill is cheap and damage claims are not.

The costs you are trading off

  • Materials — the box, the fill, the tape.
  • Time to pack, which is real labour and usually uncosted.
  • Dimensional weight. Carriers charge on volume as well as mass, so an oversized box costs more to send even when it is light. Sizing boxes to the product is frequently the largest single saving available.
  • Damage and returns, which is what under-packing actually buys.

Standardise on a few sizes

Three or four box sizes that cover most of what you send. Buying them in quantity is far cheaper than ad hoc, packing becomes faster because it is routine, and you can quote shipping accurately because you know the dimensions in advance.

Reusing incoming boxes saves money and looks it. That is a reasonable trade for some businesses and the wrong one for others — decide deliberately rather than by what is lying around.

Label properly

The address printed rather than handwritten, a second copy of the address inside the box, and your return details on the outside. Where the parcel needs handling instructions, put them where somebody carrying it will see them.

A parcel whose label becomes illegible is a parcel nobody can deliver or return, and it becomes your loss.

The unboxing matters more than you think

Not expensive packaging — considered packaging. A parcel that opens easily, is not full of loose material, and includes what the customer expects reads as a business that knows what it is doing.

Include the paperwork, and include the returns instructions. A customer who has to email you to ask how to return something is a customer having a worse experience than necessary.

Watch what actually breaks

Keep a simple note of damage claims and what caused them. Most businesses find the failures cluster on one product, one route or one packing habit — and once you know which, it is usually a cheap fix.

General guidance on commercial practice.