How to ship handmade products without breakages: with packaging chosen for the material, a tracked service and a shipping price that covers the carrier, the materials and your time. The piece must not move inside the box, the box must survive a knock, and the buyer must know upfront what they pay and how many days it takes. Everything else is craft.
This guide is for makers who want to sell online without a website. Handsome is the Italian marketplace for creative workshops where, since 18 September 2026, every Maker with a verified Italian VAT number, a connected Stripe account and accepted selling terms can also sell their pieces from their profile, with zero commission. Shipping is in your hands: here is how to do it well. Updated September 2026.
How to ship handmade products: the rules that always apply
Whatever you make, the parcel has to pass the shake test: close the box, shake it, and if you feel anything move, it is not ready. Pack for the worst possible journey.
- A new, rigid box, double-wall for heavy or fragile pieces.
- A few centimetres of padding on every side: knocks come in through the corners.
- Every piece wrapped on its own: two objects that touch will break each other.
- Gaps filled with crumpled paper or air pillows.
- Wide, strong tape, sealed in an H pattern on top and bottom.
- The card with your profile link goes inside the parcel, not outside.
Packing by material: ceramics, jewellery, textiles, wood and candles
Every material fails in its own way, and your packing has to answer that specific weakness. If you have not yet chosen which pieces to take online, start from the guide by craft, where shipping weight is one of the criteria.
Shipping ceramics and glass
To ship ceramics, the rule is the double box: the wrapped piece goes into a first box, inside a second, larger one with padding all round. It is the basis of packing any fragile item. Fill cups and vases with paper, protect handles and spouts separately, and wrap lids separately. Glass follows the same logic, with more care on the corners.
Jewellery
A piece of jewellery rarely breaks: it gets lost, tangled or scratched. A small rigid box inside a padded envelope is enough, with necklaces and earrings fixed to a card. Never label the contents outside. For gold, silver and stones, read the carrier's prohibited items first: some services refuse them, others accept them only insured.
Textiles and knitwear
Here the enemy is moisture, not impact. Fold the garment with tissue paper, seal it in a bag that keeps water out, then put it in an envelope: a light envelope often costs less to send than a box.
Wood
Wood suffers on corners and finished surfaces. Protect the corners with cardboard edge guards, wrap oiled or waxed surfaces in paper that will not stick, and wedge the piece so it cannot slide.
Candles and soap
Candles and soap fear heat and scratches. In summer, ship early in the week so the parcel does not sit in a depot over the weekend. Candles in glass are treated as glass; soaps are wrapped one by one.
Shipping costs for small parcels: what to charge
The amount you charge for shipping has to cover three things: the carrier, the materials and the time you spend packing. Forget one and every order costs you something.
The carrier's price depends on weight, size and service. On Poste Italiane's official parcels page, checked on 28 September 2026, domestic shipping in Italy starts at 10.30 euros at the post office and at 5.65 euros online with Poste Delivery Web, home pickup included. These are starting prices: check your real parcel, with other carriers too.
- Weigh and measure your typical parcels already packed: carriers charge for the finished parcel.
- Get a quote on the carrier's website, always with a tracked service.
- Add the materials: box, padding, tape, card.
- Add your time: the minutes it takes to pack properly, and what they are worth.
- Pick a single figure, built on the typical order rather than the smallest parcel.
On Handsome shipping is one charge per order, however many pieces are in the cart, and you set it yourself up to a maximum of 50 euros. Each cart holds pieces from a single Maker, so they all leave in the same parcel. If you enter 0, shipping counts as included in the price. How to fit it into your price is covered in how to price a handmade product; how to stand behind that price, in the value of handmade.
Free shipping: when to set a threshold
Free shipping makes sense above a threshold you choose: below it, the buyer pays for shipping; above it, you do. A threshold a little higher than the price of your best-selling piece invites people to add a second one.
On Handsome the threshold is compared with the subtotal, meaning the value of the pieces without shipping. Above the threshold the carrier's cost does not disappear: it stays with you. Set it with the maths from what it costs to sell one piece online. If you leave the field empty, shipping always stays paid.
Set shipping, threshold, delivery days and pickup once.
Open your free Handsome profileDelivery times: what to promise
Promise a range of days that includes the time you need to prepare the parcel, not just the journey. Better a "3 to 7 days" you keep than a "2 days" you miss.
On Handsome you set delivery as a minimum and maximum number of working days, and the buyer sees them before paying. If you only go to the post office on certain days, widen the range. When the parcel leaves, mark it as "Shipped" in the orders on your dashboard: the buyer gets an email. Keep the receipt and tracking until it arrives.
Pickup at the workshop: the alternative to shipping
Pickup at the workshop removes packing, carrier and the risk of breakage, and it is free for the buyer. It works for people who live nearby and for pieces too large or delicate to travel.
On Handsome pickup is switched on once for the whole shop, with a note on where and when to come, and the buyer chooses between shipping and pickup. You can also keep pickup only: one of the two options just has to be active. Whoever comes to collect sees where you work and may discover your courses: how classes and pieces feed each other is covered in workshops and products together.
Damaged parcel: who pays and how to protect yourself
If you sell to a consumer, the risk of the piece breaking or getting lost in transit stays with you until the buyer physically has it in hand. That is what Article 63 of the Italian Consumer Code says: the carrier is the seller's problem, not the buyer's.
On the Handsome shop, if an order arrives damaged the buyer reports it to Handsome with photos, and replacement or refund are on the Maker, as stated in the Terms. So prevention pays:
- Photograph the intact piece and the open box before sealing it: you need them for any claim with the carrier.
- Always use a tracked service, with a signature on delivery for valuable pieces.
- For expensive pieces, consider the carrier's insurance, reading what it covers for fragile items.
- Keep the receipt and tracking code.
- If a damage report comes in, agree straight away with Handsome on replacement or refund, and file the claim with the carrier, with your photos.
Returns and the right of withdrawal: the basics
Anyone buying online as a consumer has 14 days from delivery to withdraw without giving a reason. Goods made to the buyer's specifications or clearly personalised at their request are the exception.
Mind the boundary: a catalogue piece remains subject to withdrawal even if it is handmade and one of a kind; the exception covers what you make on the buyer's precise instructions, such as an engraved name or a requested size. If the buyer withdraws, you refund price and standard shipping within 14 days of their withdrawal (Article 56 of the Italian Consumer Code). According to Your Europe's returns page, the official EU portal, return postage is the buyer's only if they were told before buying; otherwise it is yours.
On the Handsome shop the buyer exercises withdrawal by writing to Handsome, which forwards it to you. Withdrawal needs no defect. The irregularities of handwork matter for the legal guarantee: if the listing describes them, they are not defects, so describe them well, as we explain in how to write a product listing that sells. For grey areas, ask an adviser or your trade association.
Checklist before you seal the box
Before sealing the box, check four things: contents, photos, address and stock in your shop.
- Piece and quantity match the order.
- Photos of the intact piece and the open parcel: taken.
- Address copied from the order, with postcode and province; order marked as "Shipped".
- Stock in the shop is real: for a one-off piece enter 1. When someone starts checkout the piece is held for 30 minutes, so you never sell it twice.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
- How do you pack ceramics so they do not break in the post?
- With a double box: the wrapped piece goes into a first box, inside a second, larger one with padding on every side. Fill cups and vases with paper, protect handles and spouts, wrap lids separately. Then shake the box: if anything moves, add padding.
- How much does it cost to send a small parcel in Italy?
- It depends on weight, size and service. On Poste Italiane's official page, checked on 28 September 2026, domestic shipping starts at 5.65 euros online with Poste Delivery Web and at 10.30 euros at the post office. These are starting prices: get a quote for your parcel, already packed.
- Who pays if the parcel arrives broken?
- If you sell to a consumer, the seller pays: under Article 63 of the Italian Consumer Code, the risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer only when they physically receive the parcel. So photograph the piece before sealing the box and always use a tracked service.
- Can a buyer return a handmade piece?
- Yes, if they chose it from your catalogue: they have 14 days from delivery to withdraw, even if the piece is one of a kind, and you refund the price and standard shipping. Withdrawal does not apply to goods made to their specifications or personalised at their request. Return postage is theirs only if they were told before buying.
- Can I ship abroad from the Handsome shop?
- Not at the moment: shipping from the Handsome shop is set up for Italy, and at checkout the buyer enters an Italian address with postcode and province. You set one cost per order up to 50 euros, delivery days and, if you like, free pickup at your workshop.
- Can I sell with workshop pickup only, without shipping?
- Yes. In the delivery settings you can switch shipping off and keep only pickup: one of the two options just has to be active. It suits pieces that are large or too delicate to travel, and it brings people who live near you into your workshop.
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