Crystals vary in their shape, structure, and reaction to temperatures and substances. While they may also have different levels of hardness and durability, they're all generally fragile. They must be handled with great care.
If you're new to selling crystals, here's a handy guide on how to properly wrap and pack crystal products to protect them from damage during transit. Keep the below tips in mind to ensure your items reach your customers' hands in great condition.
What You Need, What to Prepare
Packing Station
You need a space designated solely for packing. At the Stonebridge Imports store, there are 2 packing stations situated at the back of the store. These are basically large counters with adequate space for packing small to large items.
Always keep this space clean and orderly before and after packing orders.
Equipment
- Computer - For tracking and inputting orders
- Shipping label printer - For printing orders, invoices, and labels to stick on the boxes when an order is validated
- Tape dispensing machine
- Scale
- Scanner
- Carts and baskets - For storing and moving packed orders around
Tools
- Masking tape/scotch tape
- Tissue
- Bubble wrap
- Box knife
- Stapler
- Cling wrap
- Tape measure
- Tape gun
- Gloves (not necessary but recommended especially for handling crystals with sharp or grainy surfaces)
Packing Proper
Typically, there are 4 types of crystal products you need to pack. These are tumbled stones and chips, raw/rough crystal chunks, fragile products, and unique products. Let's discuss the steps in packing each product below.
Order Type 1: Tumbled Stones and Chips
These are some of the easier orders to handle. In general, tumbled stones and chips require minimal protection. These orders should be quick to pack.
We keep it simple with these products:
- Scan in your product
- Place them in a “t-shirt” bag (plastic grocery bag)
- Place the bag in the box
- Continue to place items until the box is nice and snug
- Add tissue and bubble wrap as necessary
It's a simple and intuitive process. The challenge is visualizing how big of a box you’ll need. You want your box to have the least amount of empty space to fill after placing the product in it.
You can add a little extra protection like a brown paper bag if you're packing more than a pound of tumbled stones.
Order Type 2: Raw Crystals/Chunks
Chunks will need a little more protection than tumbled stones, but still a straightforward process.
- We classify the size of chunks into 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on (with 0 being the smallest). Place small chunks together in brown paper bags. Put similar crystals together in one bag.
- For bigger chunks (3 and up), consider wrapping them individually in tissue.
- Pay attention to your box weight. Chunks add up fast!
- Once bagged or wrapped, place them in your bubble wrap-lined box.
Chunks will take some thought and planning on your part. Due to the various types and amounts, you’ll need to adjust to the order.
If you have chunks mixed with other types of products, put them in a brown paper bag and arrange them however you see fit.
If you have an order of several amounts of chunks, you can:
- Build your box
- Place a layer of tissue paper inside
- Arrange some chunks in the layer
- Close the tissue
- Add new tissue and repeat
This will save you too many paper bags.
Order Type 3: Fragile Products
Here, things get a little tricky. There are many types of products that require protection, but common sense will guide you well here.
Rule of thumb: If it looks delicate or fragile, it probably is! Here are some fragile products to take note of:
- Selenite sticks/logs
- Pendulums
- Worry stones
- Any carved pieces (angels, pyramids, hearts, etc.)
- Crystal clusters
- Agate Slices
- Salt lamps
- Generators
Instead of going through each product, let's go over some protection techniques.
1. Bubble Cling Wrapping - A flexible approach to protecting items. This can be used for protecting most products.
- Wrap the product in tissue.
- Grab a few sheets of the tiny bubble and wrap them again.
- Using the cling wrap, wrap it all together to keep it nice and tight.
2. Reverse Tuck Boxes - These are the little brown boxes that come flattened. You have to “tuck” in the bottom, hence the name.
- These are great for small items.
- You’ll still want to wrap your product in tissue beforehand.
3. Bag and Wrap - Similar to bubble wrapping except no bubble this time.
Good for large amounts of worry stones and pendulums. The idea here is to have them tight to reinforce them.
4. Inner Box and Outer Box - This applies to nearly ALL fragile products
However you choose to protect your product, the final step to safely packing the items is to double box them. You’ll need an allowance of at least +2 inches for the outer box.
For example:
- 8x8x8 > 10x10x10
- 10x6x6 > 12x8x8
This ensures you can place bubble wrap in the outer box.
Order Type 4: Unique Products
At times, you’ll handle unique items like crystal cathedrals, pieces with a stand attached, large clusters, etc. These typically need one of the protection methods cited above.
- Cover the bagged or wrapped product with layers of bubble wrap. Make sure all parts are protected and well cushioned.
- Place the crystal in an appropriately-sized box.
- Put more bubble wrap at the top, bottom, and sides of the box to prevent movement.
- Close and seal the box.
For maximum protection, double box the package with another box and another layer of packing materials in between boxes to prevent movement. Close and seal the outer box.
Because of the broadness of this category, if you are faced with something like this, it's best to check with an experienced packer. Contact the packing pros at Stonebridge Imports and we'll help you keep your orders safe and in great condition.
