Etsy & Craft for Small Business

Handmade sellers juggle making, photographing, packing and posting, so the gear that helps most is the gear that makes packing and posting fast and consistent: mailers and boxes in the few sizes you actually use, a thermal label printer for postage, tape and cushioning, and simple materials storage for the making side.

Standardise on two or three packaging sizes that cover most orders, and buy those in bulk. A 4 x 6 thermal label printer removes ink costs and cuts the time per order, and printing postage from the marketplace or carrier site avoids queueing at the post office.

Know your real cost per order. Materials, packaging, postage and marketplace fees all come out of the price, and small items are where fees bite hardest. Our profit margin calculator shows what is left after costs.

What to look for when buying

• Stick to two or three mailer and box sizes and buy them in bulk.
• Plain kraft packaging looks handmade and costs less than custom branding at low volume.
• A thermal label printer pays for itself once you ship several orders a week.
• Weigh packed orders; postage bands change at weight thresholds.