Save on packaging: 4 tips from the Gympie Post Office

“We have one business customer who makes hand-sewn hair wraps. We have customers that send rare and exotic plants that can be worth thousands of dollars. And another that makes Viking drinking cups. So there’s a really big range of items being posted,” says Caitlin Price Davis, manager at the Gympie Post Office. 

Working with so many different types of businesses means Caitlin knows her packaging, inside out. Here are her top four tips for saving on packaging.  

Tip 1: Look for technology to help you with labelling

Your time is valuable. So any technology or tools that can help you package and label your parcels efficiently will save you in the long run. 

“A lot of our customers have been asking about an easy and affordable way to print labels. So I’m really looking forward to offering them the label printer” says  Caitlin. 

“And part of my job is to see if a customer would be better off with a MyPost Business or eParcel account. They have online platforms for generating labels which saves a lot of time.”

Tip 2: Find the right packaging for your items

“You could have a small but heavy item. That’s going to be better in a flat-rate box than your own packaging because your own packaging will be charged by weight and Australia Post packaging is charged by size,” explains Caitlin. 

“I have a customer who sends fishing sinkers and he was using his own box to send them. It was just a little box, but he was paying the full 5kg rate. He moved over to Australia Post boxes and all of sudden those same parcels are just over $9 instead of over $19.” 

Tip 3: Try it on for size

There are lots of different packaging options to try and you might have different size products you’re sending. So it’s a good idea to try all the different options before you buy, to make sure they fit.

“I tell customers to bring in one of everything you send, and we’ll play around with the packaging and see what fits what,” says Caitlin.

Tip 4: Buy in bulk 

“Flat-rate satchels and tracking envelopes are really popular with our business customers. And you save on most of our packaging if you buy it in bulk.”