Reduce Packaging/ Combine Orders

Discussion in 'Bug Reporting' started by designerica, Jun 29, 2010.

  1. designerica
    designerica Member
    My metal parts used to come in a nice small package wrapped with a plastic film and attached to a flap of the slim cardboard box. Now they are coming in boxes that are altogether too big for the items, filled with styrofoam peanuts. When two of my orders arrive on the same day, I get TWO of these boxes despite the fact that all the stuff would fit in one box.

    My first suggestion is to combine orders that are going out on the same day. I can't imagine this would be hard to implement and it will save you the cost of shipping.

    my next suggestion is to reduce packaging size for metal objects-- if they are going to break in transit then they're too delicate to begin with.

    Finally, in cases where you must use packing peanuts, switch to cornstarch peanuts which dissolve in water. styrofoam is SO bad!

    Thanks! Erica
     
  2. pp
    pp Member
    Hi Erica,

    Thanks for your feedback. We strive to combine orders as much as possible. Specially if they are shipped in the same day!

    Currently we are looking at improving our packaging to best fit... well basically all aspects of packaging.

    Looking at packaging with air, paper etc..
    finding a general packaging to best fit all different options possible is a nice challenge.
    materials * models (size*customizeability*production time)

    So if you have any suggestion please feel free to share them

    Peter Paul
     
  3. designerica
    designerica Member
    let me start by saying, I love what you guys are doing with the packaging. It's really come a long way.

    HOWEVER, I sell the vast majority of my stuff through avenues other than shapeways. I place orders that deliver to me, and the first thing I do is remove each item from the shapeways packaging and put on my own tag. I end up with a pile of plastic bags that go into the trash bc I have WAY too many to save and a pile of little white glossy cardstock labels that go into the recycling. The black velvet bags go to the store to be reused. I know it adds yet another step to your process, but is there ANY way to NOT include all that excess packaging only when you're sending the package to the shop OWNER? Your packaging is great for promoting shapeways to others, but I already know all about shapeways and i'm the only one seeing it. It just feels so wasteful to me to dispose of a whole pile of packaging that has served absolutely no purpose. In a way, this relates to a kind of bridge-the-divide identity crisis. shapeways is both a wholesale manufacture and a retailer. For me, you are primarily a wholesaler, but for others you are solely a retailer. I think many of the difficulties that I have with shapeways would be resolved if there were separate owner and shopper portals so that I could organize the way I see my shop separately from the way others see it and so that when I place an order from shapeways you will automatically know that it does not require the same treatment as when someone else places an order from my shop.