Packaging your products

Have you ever thought about how the products on a shelf are packaged? The way an item is presented has a lot to do with whether or not you purchase it.

So first, when do you even *need* to package something?

For conventions, it depends on the product and most of it is up to personal preference. There are a few standards that are generally expected, but nothing is required as long as it doesn’t get damaged on the way to the customer. Many people prefer art prints (especially thin papers or glossy finishes) are in a sleeve to protect it, and bonus points if you include a backing card to prevent it from bending. Same goes for any thin paper product that may be easily bent, scratched, or fingerprinted.

For large items or when a customer purchases many items at once, bags are super handy. Not all cons allow backpacks or may limit the size of bags entering the building, so some kind of bag with a handle is perfect. I prefer clear plastic bags with handle holes, so as the customer walks around with my work, other attendees can see it. You can also use reusable totes, although I recommend doing this only with large, expensive items or with orders over a certain value as it can add up quickly.

The items are displayed on my table are generally how they are handed to customers. Stickers and buttons are loose, prints are sleeved, stationery is plastic wrapped, and enamel pins are protected on backing cards. 

Now when you’re talking about consignment or wholesale where your items will be put on display to be picked up and purchased, there are a few different things to consider.

Your packaging needs to do a few things: keep the item safe until purchase, show what the item is, and tell who made it. For me that mostly means a mostly-flat item like a sticker, notepad, print etc gets placed in a sealable plastic sleeve. Depending on the setup I can use staple some cardstock to the top of the sleeve and hole-punch it to hang off of a hook, and use thermal labels to quickly label and price my items. You can even design your own cardstock labels that have everything printed onto it. Alternatively, there are plastic pouches that come with hanging tags on the top, and even individual hanging tags that stick onto the item itself

There are tons of different variables depending on the product and how/where it’s being displayed, so try some things out and adjust as needed!