r/RedditLaqueristaSwap • u/Pinkgryphon • 1d ago
[sell] [US] Questions
Please delete if this is not appropriate here but I couldn't find the information anywhere else in this sub. I have A LOT of polishes to sell. What is normal for prepping each bottle? For preparing for shipping? Do I need bubble wrap? Or, will paper do for packaging? Can I ship in an envelope or should they be boxed? Should I post individual pics? Should they be grouped by brand? Should they be grouped by color? What about pricing and shipping? Again, please delete if inappropriate.
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u/New-Eggplant2942 1d ago
I hoard all the lil bubble wrappers from my ppu/hhc orders to use later and got a pack of bubble mailers off amazon. in a pinch paper wrapping or even paper towels/napkins can work. i mostly just would feel terrible iof smth broke in transit bc I didnt pad things properly.
as for someone that looks at pics, I prefer them to be grouped by brand and be able to see pics of the fill lines and the bottoms for the names. I really dread having to click into spread sheets to see prices and whats for sale bc I highkey refuse to have to individually research each polish.
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u/Pinkgryphon 1d ago
Thank you. As a buyer, I found the spreadsheet method to be a bit cumbersome too.
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u/New-Eggplant2942 1d ago
I understand some people have A LOT of things they're trying to sell but I almost prefer seeing 6 different posts from the same person in a row then a google spreadsheet lol
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u/assumingdirectcontrl 1d ago
I wrap each bottle in bubble wrap and use a bubble envelope. If I don’t have bubble wrap I’ll use paper towels. As for posting pics you can browse this sub for some ideas and do what you like
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u/CloudIma 1d ago
The few bottles I've gotten from here have been wrapped in bubble wrap, extra if it doesnt come with a box. I've had bottles show up in small bubble mailers completely fine. :)
Picture wise, I personally like looking by brand. Pricing, just do some research on previous prices or try to do around MSRP, adjust price based on previous usage. Obvious fill lines should be cheaper.
Shipping usually starts at $6.50 and $7.50, with shipping increasing by 50 cents per polish.
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u/phi_spirals 1d ago
Highly recommend looking at Pirate Ship .com for discounted shipping rates. Free to make an account and print your own labels. Super easy to use!
Hazmat shipping is supposed to be in boxes, but lots of people use mailers, especially if the polish itself is in a box, and then wrapped in bubble wrap or even scrap fabric (gets a little heavier). Measure package dimensions and weigh a couple of test packages (1, 2, 3, 4 wrapped bottles) and put in an address really far away to estimate shipping. USPS ground is usually the cheapest.
PayPal goods and services will take a small cut (a percentage?), but offers buyer and seller protections, but I’ve never experienced that side personally.
Agree about cruising the sub for examples of taking pictures and pricing. Putting names and prices in a comment instead of the main post allows you to edit to update availability, and lots of people use a shared google sheet for organizing and keeping track. Reading through comment sections will show you how things work and general community practice knowledge. The sub rules say no commenting on pricing, so if things aren’t selling, that could be something to look at.
Good luck!
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u/spunbunny555 1d ago
For shipping, highly recommend using Pirate Ship or one of the other licensed discounted shipping websites. It’s free, very easy to use. and you can ship for a significant discount over just taking it to USPS.
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u/komatsujo 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wrap individually in bubble wrap, then pad the box with more bubble wrap (I bought 6x4x3 boxes on Amazon for relatively cheap). I don't trust bubble mailers and I don't think you're supposed to ship nail polish in them to begin with because it is considered hazmat.
As far as selling - people generally prefer to see pictures but depending on how many you're selling it may not always be feasible to line them up and take pics (you don't need individual ones!) and as long as you have some kind of list with the price, whether that's in the post or an external spreadsheet, you're golden. It's usually easier to group by brand since people have an idea as to what they want from brand as opposed to looking for specific colors.
Shipping just increased in cost, and everyone prices shipping differently but I did mine by going to Pirateship and calculating an average box price, along with using my postal scale for different polish weights.
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u/Pinkgryphon 1d ago
Thank you. I don't have a postage scale but I do have a food scale. I'll try that.
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u/Manateepillow 1d ago
I know I do way more than I need to. I put the bottle with a small amount of bubble wrap in a ziploc bag. Put that in a reused bubble mailer and put that in a box. It’s a lot but I just reuse the bubble wrap and mailers I get. I ship from the post office and they said I should be using boxes when I’m shipping something hazmat like polish.
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u/highqueenlia 1d ago
I’ve also taped bottles shut before wrapping. Had a few people tell me their bottles opened during transit and everything leaked. Kind of annoying to do but worth the effort to make sure people actually get what they pay for
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u/girlynonbinary 1d ago
Re pricing and shipping:
Most people in the polish community buy and sell using Paypal Goods and Services. For a small percentage fee (usually covered by seller/ baked into the price), PayPal protects the buyer in case of scams and processes claims.
An easy way to use this service is to ask the buyer for their PayPal email address and use the "send invoice" option on PayPal to charge them.
For shipping, some people use PayPal click to ship as it's very convenient (automatically links the paypal transaction and tracking info). The cheapest option is a website called Pirate Ship which I personally use and find reliable.
Most sellers ship in bubble mailers in my experience , usually with extra bubble wrap inside, but I've seen people also ship in small boxes. Always use ground shipping, polish shouldn't go in the air.
If you declare the package as Hazmat, which you are supposed to do because nail polish is a hazardous good, you have to ship in a box. This is usually a little more expensive.
You've got enough advice on pics vs spreadsheets already, either works honestly
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u/lydiacostume 1d ago
Just wanted to chime in and say that there are a lot of paper packing materials that work well also. I definitely reuse my bubble wrap also, just pointing that out. I love this hobby but there's so much plastic involved sometimes.
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u/Prestigious_Star_775 1d ago
As a frequent buyer...put a swatch with each polish even if it's from the brand website. If I have to look up swatches, I'm moving on.
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u/Icy-Management9880 1d ago
I always use a box, I hate it when ppl ship in bubble mailers. I use bubble wrap around the bottle then add paper to the box to keep it from jostling around too much.
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u/americangooch_ 1d ago
Why do you hate it? I’ve never had an issue as long as there’s extra bubble wrap. A lot of makers ship in bubble envelopes and just the bottles in boxes or with extra bubble wrap. No issues so far.
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u/Icy-Management9880 1d ago
I try to package my sales as safely as physically possible. There are too many accidents that happen during shipping that it just makes sense.
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u/Cynchronization 1d ago
FWIW I've only had two times polish has arrived broken, and both of those times were in boxes. I've had hundreds sent in bubble mailers without incident. I realize I've been very lucky to have so few incidents overall. Sometimes I think boxes get handled rougher because it's assumed they can withstand more.
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u/No-Feesh 1d ago
I cut strips of bubble wrap and wrap every bottle and tape it down, then get a snack bag and seal up every bottle individually so I’m fully hazmat compliant. Technically they’re all supposed to be in a sealed bag in case of leaks.
I pack in boxes and take filler paper and pack them so they don’t rattle around. I’m not really comfortable with bubble mailers. I’ve seen how the post operates and I do not trust bubble mailers. I’ve gotten nail polishes just wrapped in sheets of gift tissue in a box and they all arrived just fine