How To Package Vinyl Decals To Sell
I have shown my packaging process in my day in the life and week of the life videos, and I mention it in more detail in my course, How To Create Vinyl Decals To Sell, so I’ll just do a quick overview of how I package up my decals in this post!
Watch the video below…
The below content contains affiliate links and we may earn a commission if you shop through them, however this won't cost you anything, it just helps us to keep the site running for free. For more information on affiliate links, see the disclosure here.
Or read more below…
Just a note that I’m not going to go into shipping in this post - it really depends on the size of your decal, where you live, and where you’re sending it to. But if you’re just starting out I would weigh up your different options and check costs with different postal services. And remember you may not necessarily need to pay for or provide tracking if it’s a small decal - just make sure you can get proof of postage or choose a shipping option that ensures your envelope is covered up to a certain amount if it goes missing.
What To Include In Each Envelope
So I send all of my decals with transfer tape already applied.
I think that just makes it easier for customers, as it’s one less step to worry about. And I provide all of my instructions digitally on my website as both a written blog post, and with a video, and I send them a link to that as soon as the decal has been sent.
I’ve had really good feedback on this and people seem to love having video instructions so I never added decal instruction cards into my packages. However, I do still think they’re a great idea, so that’s why I offer a few different designs in my Vinyl Decal Etsy shop - both editable on Canva and with the ability to print instantly.
Check the full selection out below…
In each package, I also add an Etsy order form, but if you sell locally or need an order form I also have some of those in my shop too.
I use Etsy ones in particular because they have an address on the left-hand side, and I have these integrated forms that mean I can just peel the label off and use it as the address on the envelope and that saves me lots of time. I get them from Priory Direct in the UK.
And then the last addition within the envelope is a little thank you card. I’m actually still finalizing my own thank you cards as I designed some new ones for myself and I’m getting them printed elsewhere, but these ones are also now available on my Vinyl Decal School Etsy shop too alongside a few others.
Let me know if you want to see any other styles!
And then for packaging, I have 4 different types…
For Small Decals
So I sell small labels, name decals, that sort of thing, and for those I use these little C6 (162 x 114 mm) envelopes (pink to match my branding).
I then also have these C5 (162 x 229 mm) envelopes which actually got sent to me by accident…
the company sent the wrong size and just said I could keep them rather than send them back, and they have been so useful that I actually just bought another box full.
Both C6 and C5 get sent as a small letter as long as they’re not stuffed full here in the UK so I have been using them for the designs that are kind of small-medium size and saving my customers a bit on postage costs by using them.
You can also get cardboard backed versions of both of these which I have but don’t use as often, because I find that the thank you card and order form makes the envelope rigid enough that it doesn’t bend in the post. You may want to consider this though if your postal service has a habit of bending packages!
For Medium Decals
Then for anything a bit bigger I use these cardboard-backed C4 (324mm x 229mm) envelopes - I cut quite a few of my designs into sections to be able to fit them into these ones so that I only have to charge customers for a large letter rather than a parcel.
For Large Decals
But then anything larger than those I roll up and put into a cardboard tube and they get sent as a small parcel.
I always make sure I roll with the vinyl and transfer tape facing outwards which helps it to stay as uncreased as possible. You may just need to let customers know that they may need to flatten it out before application.
Finishing Touches
And then my order form, thank you card and decal go into the envelope or tube and I seal it up. I occasionally will give away some free small decals if I have time to make them, and have lots of excess vinyl I need to get rid of. Check out my post about what to do with Vinyl Scraps if you need some ideas for that…
And then once the envelopes are sealed, each one gets a return address label in case it goes missing (I get those printed at a large printing company) and then also a thank you or a happy mail sticker gets added too.
You can make these yourself on your machine if you are able to print and cut, or there are tonnes of ready-made designs you can buy online. I don’t really have time to make my own as I go through so many so I get mine from another very lovely small business on Etsy called Tipsy Turnip.
Then once that’s done, I mark them as ‘in progress’ on Etsy and they get placed in my out tray for when I’m ready to take them to the post office.
And then repeat!
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, or any other tips for sending decals!