It’s a Wrap!

Bless my grandmother’s heart. She had almost 20 grandchildren, and somehow managed to bring us all perfectly wrapped Christmas presents every year. These gifts weren’t just wrapped – they were made into mini-sculptures of holiday cheer: shiny, crimson-red paper tied with gold ribbons and multi-tiered bows, topped with embellishments like little sprigs of holly or tiny ornaments. It was almost a shame to open them – but we did, every year ripping open the gifts to find our surprises inside.

Oh, if only I’d saved all that paper for my eBay sales! This year, think twice before you throw away tissue, ribbons and boxes. As an eBay seller, you can recycle every bit of it for the items you’ll be selling in the coming year.

First, save the outside boxes. If you’ve been buying online you know that vendors like Amazon and Target.com rely on heavyweight boxes to send your purchases safely to you. Open those boxes carefully, cut the seams, fold the boxes, and store them for your eBay sales. When the boxes are flat, even an apartment dweller can find a little spot (I keep mine behind a bookcase) to store them. Next, the inside boxes are great, too. Remember, these are for shipping, not re-gifting, so they don’t have to be perfect, just clean and sturdy.

Tissue is always good to have on hand. I save all of mine, and save money on bubble wrap and Styrofoam “peanuts” throughout the year. Most electronics come with foam padding; save that to fill in the spaces around fragile items. Even crinkled up bows and ribbons are lightweight and make good filler. It’s cheerful, too!

This holiday season, you can be kind to the environment and at the same time save money on eBay shipping costs for the entire year to come.