I think I am switching shrink wrapped to boxed soaps

[Catscankim]

I really hate shrink wrapping, more than anything. I have a lot of soaps ready to sell and my biggest problem is shrink wrapping them, and then when I finally do...the soap shrinks a little more and I have to hit them with the heat gun again.

I have struggled with this for a while. I really like the look better with them shrink wrapped and they are easy to label after they are finally done. Every time I even think about my website, I step away..like ugh then I have to shrink wrap all those soaps LOL.

I'm not lazy, just busy.

I ordered 50 boxes from amazon just now to test them out. They have oval windows on the front. How do you boxers label your soaps?

Plus I presume that amazon is not the best source of boxes, because I went to find boxes that I ordered last year and those ones do not exist anymore, so I need a solid source to be my supplier.

 

[dibbles]

I don't sell, but this is what I use.
Boxes: Crafter (I wait until they are on sale and then buy them. They go on sale a couple of times a year and I order 100 at a time, sometimes more if I have it in my budget at the time). I like the natural look of the kraft boxes, but use the white ones too.

Labels: I use this size label. Product Result It will fit vertically on the back of the box, or horizontally on the front below the window. If I want a cleaner look, I will put everything on the label in the back (again, I don't sell so don't have to have a label on the front). But I have also just listed ingredients on the back label (with a 'keep soap dry' instruction) and then for the front listing the name (usually just the fragrance) of the soap and the weight I use these Product Result

Some time back, I realized that I don't have to be listing the weight, etc on the front and generally just use a back label now. I think I still have some of the smaller size left, but I've stopped ordering them. Since you are selling, you would need to figure out what works best for you, but I like the way this looks.

 

[glendam]

I have gotten the boxes with a rectangular window from papermart. They are kind of small though, so not all of my bars fit on it.
For the rest I get them from two wild hares in Etsy. They have several different cut out shapes. I also get their square boxes for loofah soaps, I use those for my round thicker soaps.

 

[Megan]

I use the crafter's choice square and rectangle boxes and just label the back with all the relevant info and the top with the scent. I prefer the square box because they have an awesome huge cutout in the front for my design.

I don't really think it has to be pointed out, because we are all pretty aware of the issues with a certain supplier, but if you are going to order the Crafter's boxes...order like 2 months in advance.

 

[Cat&Oak]

I also use crafters choice soap boxes with the rectangle window. They are sturdy and high quality. For labels I use Online Labels with their Maestro software to design and print.

 

[TheGecko]

I've tried lots of different things...shrink wrap, "cigar bands", decorative paper, soap boxes. Disliked the shrink wrap for the same reasons...PITA, easy to screw up, have to reshrink. The bands were okay but I'd still have to wrap the soaps for shipping and then there was the issue of having people handle your soap...even before Covid. I really like decorative paper, but found it difficult to buy off the shelf without having to cut the paper. And the one paper I fell in love with and thus was willing to deal with...supplier was not reliable. Then Elements was having a huge sale on their Large Black Leaf Soap Boxes. Or rather, they were having a sale on a shipment they received that was really Dark Brown instead of Black and so I bought a crap load for $0.19 each. The color wasn't ideal of course, but the size of the box and the cut-out were. The Leaf cut-out is at the top which leaves room for to stick my 3" x 2" label (a bit wider) on front and an 'address label' (ingredients) on the back.

Now I like the boxes...they are flat packed which makes storage really easy and I can pre-label them in no time at all. Then I just pull out however many I need, fold the bottom, drop in my soaps, fold the top and pop on a second clear label for the name of the soap and I'm done. But I've been rethinking things.

I still like the boxes, but honestly, unless I'm selling in person do I really need a cut-out on my box? The price difference, depending on supplier and quantity can be anywhere between $0.05 and $0.14 a box. May not seem like much, but it adds up real fast.

 

[cmzaha]

While boxes look great they tend to get very shopworn and can considerably add to the cost of your product. I tried them for a while but doing up to 5 markets per week in the past, with packing and repacking hundreds of bars boxes did not last long. I usually waited 8 weeks before shrink wrapping and it would be several months before I would have to hit them with the heat gun again. This was making soap with a 33% lye concentration. Once in a while I would pull a batch and completely re-wrap them if they look to warn. It was much more cost-effective than boxes. My daughter used boxes for her online business selling M&P. Even online orders of my bars were shipped in shrink wrap.

 

[CreativeWeirdo]

I used to work at a gift boutique YEARS ago; we sold many products made by local artisans. Most of them bought their boxes from Uline. I'm not sure if the selections are what you're looking for, or even if they are the same as they used to be, but check them out. The individual product numbers link to their respective pages with more information and pictures.

 

[Catscankim]

I used to work at a gift boutique YEARS ago; we sold many products made by local artisans. Most of them bought their boxes from Uline. I'm not sure if the selections are what you're looking for, or even if they are the same as they used to be, but check them out. The individual product numbers link to their respective pages with more information and pictures.

Cool, thanks. I must have visited the site before because it popped right up as I was typing. Doesn't seem like they have soap boxes with windows, although they certainly have a large variety of boxes. I ordered a catalog (I like paper catalogs lol).