I was again chatting with my fellow wholesaler, Jay from New Jersey and todays topic was the totally annoying things online sellers are still doing when it comes to shipping. So I thought this would make such a fantastic blog topic! If you’re an online seller, here’s the 5 things you MUST stop doing ASAP:

1. GLITTER ANYTHING! For the love of God, stop shipping in glittery tissue paper, adding a glittery Thank You Card or literally adding glitter to the parcel! Yes, it looks glam when YOU ship it but after being beaten up in transit it turns into a sparkle-flake-mess. When the buyer opens the parcel and pulls out the item, glitter gets all over their hands, counter, carpet and, of course, the inventory they purchased. Nothing is more repulsive than ordering some mens workout shorts and having them arrive looking like they were previously at a rave festival. Seriously, nobody likes glitter all over. Plus, it’s damn near impossible to get glitter off of everything. Those tiny metal flakes embed themselves in your life and they'll be there almost endlessly. This is why so many rental banquet halls make you sign a waiver promising not to have any form of glitter. So keep the flakes out of the parcel and instead save the glitter for the next gender reveal party.

2. TISSUE PAPER! Ok, we all totally get that you want the items to look beautiful. If you absolutely insist on paying for tissue to wrap the item, so be it. BUT tissue is becoming an annoyance to buyers in 2020 for the following reasons:

• It takes them longer to get to their item
• It’s just more trash in their kitchen garbage can
• It doesn’t make any difference whatsoever on their level of happiness. Honestly, when is the last time someone contacted you to say “Such gorgeous tissue! Where did you get it?” or left a review saying “I was going to leave 4 stars because it’s not what I was seeking, but the tissue paper was so nice I have to change my review to 5-stars!” Keep in mind that Amazon, Walmart and other leading online sellers ship their merchandise in a box. Sometimes you get an air pocket. On rare occasion you might get bubble wrap…. And sometimes the bubble wrap is just thrown in the box, not even WRAPPED around the item.
• It’s more landfill waste at a time when so many companies are trying to go eco-friendly.

On top of all that, it costs you more money. I guarantee if you took a poll of your buyers and asked “Would you rather have 2-cents off or your items wrapped in cute tissue paper?” they would all vote for the couple pennies savings.

On top of that, if the tissue you're using is also GLITTER, you just pissed someone for no reason at all.

3. PSYCHO THANK YOU CARD - Back in the mid-2000’s the Thank You Card was traditional. People damn near expected that handwritten praise. But fast forward to 2020; they’re NOT reading it. Here’s why you gotta stop adding the Thank You card (and what to add instead!):

It’s even more waste. Not only is your mailer / box going in their trash, but so is your tissue paper and now a friggin card…. All of this garbage over buying a $12 lipstick?

They already know what it’s going to say! Thank You cards have been added to orders since at least 2005 (when I started selling). Your card is nothing new, nothing exciting and nothing to invest time on. Did you know that our current average watch time on a product video is only 30 SECONDS? Yes, people decide within 30 seconds if they want to spend hundreds of dollars on the merchandise we sell. AND, only 8% of people watch the full product video. This means that the more you write the less that will be read. You’re lucky if they read the entire first sentence… yes, honestly.

Let's not forget that the buyer doesn't actually "KNOW" you. They bought something.  All they expect was that 
something".  They never expected, nor asked for, a bunch of frilly packaging.  They just want the Nike sunglasses to arrive ready-to-wear.  So when you give the buyer needless praise for buying something they wanted, it's kind of creepy... like when the drunk guy at the gas station compliments your shirt and you're thinking, "Bro, I'm just trying to pump $10 in.  I don't need to discuss my looks with you" but you instead say "Thanks so much!" just to be cordial. 

In 2020 everything is fast-paced, Fear of Missing Out, on-to-the-next and skip ahead. You are sincerely wasting your time and money by providing beautiful 1975-style Thank You cards.

INSTEAD, check out our article about getting mega cheap order inserts - these are nifty little cards you can add to your outgoing orders that take place of a Thank You card and also encourage your buyer to take an action, such as leaving a good review, subscribing to your mailing list, following your co on instagram or whatever. These cards cost LESS than a thank you card + you don’t have to invest any time into handwriting!

4. INVOICES - Some companies might debate this with me but BigBrandWholesale and Amazon have both stopped adding them to orders. In my opinion, what’s the point? Did you know (in 2019) the average American received 21 total parcels per year? Thats 1-2 parcels per month. Do you sincerely believe that someone receiving one to two parcels in a month cannot remember what they ordered?

This is me when a parcel arrives:

*rips open box*.... “Oh cool, it’s the fish food I ordered.” *throws out everything besides the fish food without a single glance*

Of course there will indeed be the people who want an invoice, but through the magic of the internet, as far as I am aware, every eCommerce website in existence sends receipts upon purchase via email and also allows the buyer to login and download / save / print their invoice. I have yet to find a site that doesn’t offer any way to see transactions or receipts.

With that being said, when you add invoices you are now paying for even more waste, you are now spending even more time, and, when it arrives to the person like me I don’t even look at it because I am well aware I have been waiting on the fish food to arrive. You know how many people complain to us about not having a printed invoice in their order per year? At best I would guess 2 total people. That means, in the 15+ years we have been in business, 30 total people have asked about a printed invoice. And, you know how many people were happy when we re-sent it via email or told them they can login to get it? ALL OF THEM. Literally, 100%.

INSTEAD you can use the exact same card we discussed previously and use one side of it to provide your contact information. This way, if a customer is confused they can reach out to you directly and ask. And when they ask you about a printed invoice, simply tell them to check their email or login to the site and get it. They’re always like “Oh! Ok! Thanks!!”. (TIP: It helps if you tell them to Search their email for (your company name). Some people do not realize they can type your company name into the search box to find the invoice receipt. 

5. THE FREE GIFT SURPRISE -   You do NOT need to add an unexpected free gift!  Your buyer was 100% happy with paying the price you offered for the item you sold.  Adding a free gift does not change their desire to own the item you had listed!  

You can give away free stuff when, either:

1. You are running a promotion, such as "Free gift with purchase"

2. You are promoting something you need buyers to have a sample of, in hopes that they will come back and buy more

3. The free gift is a logo item that promotes your business directly, such as an ink pen that says your company name.  

If you have not made the buyer aware that a gift is coming with the purchase and if the free item has nothing to do with anything, all you are doing is WASTING INVENTORY.  I absolutely guarantee you that the stuff you are giving away for free is NOT going to change the buyers feedback score if they love or hate the thing they actually bought.  Heck, here's a true store:  About 15 years ago I was giving out a free piece of jewelry to "surprise" the buyer.  I genuinely thought the free gift would make them happy... until the day came that I was left a bad feedback!  The feedback wasn't even about the item the buyer purchased, it was instead a complaint about the free gift!  They buyer said "It's ugly and tarnished" because she didn't realize the free bracelet was meant to look "weathered".  Regardless, all of this could have been 100% prevented by simply shipping the buyer what they ordered and nothing more.