You did it. You thought of a great product that you wanted to share with the world, and you made it. Not only did you make it, you made it available to the world, and the world wants it. You built a great website, found great suppliers, and you are actively shipping your product. CONGRATULATIONS.

The sad truth is, though, you might be making some mistakes. Hey, nobody is perfect, but here are a few things to consider as you examine what you are doing to see if you can do it better. Call them common mistakes that are being made.

1. Over Packaging – You love the environment as much as the next person, so make sure that you are considering that when you choose your vessel. Less is more.
2. Neglecting the details of returns – One of the most important aspects of on-line shopping is the ease of returns. So, make sure that you provide all the directions, labels, and return packaging so that sending it back is just as easy as getting it in the first place. Same goes for refunds – make sure they get processed, pronto.
3. Under protecting – there is nothing worse than ordering something, waiting, and then opening the box only to find that the contents are damaged. I take that back, the only thing worse than that is being the company that worked so hard to make and sell the thing only to have it be damaged and unusable, and then having to deal with the bad feelings that experience conveys to your precious customers. Make sure that you are protecting your cargo in the best way possible.
4. Underutilizing your surface space – your box has 6 sides, and an INSIDE. Make the most of the space by using it all. Challenge your marketing and design people to figure out what you want to say on that box and say it.  Say it well, say it cleverly, and say it repeatedly.

It will come as no surprise to you that we are telling you this information because we are experts in all these aspects and can help make sure that you don’t make these mistakes anymore.  Any partner worth their salt will analyze your current products and ask questions and make observations and suggestions for continuous improvement.  We would be honored to look at what you are doing to discover if there are ways to improve yours as well.