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Stuff the toes, wrap each shoe, put the pair in the shoebox, then put the shoebox in a slightly larger shipping box. Shipping in the shoebox alone is the classic mistake: the box gets crushed, the label ruins it for collectors, and there is no room for cushioning. The outer box adds protection on every side, and the label goes only on the outer box.
| Do | Don't | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Stuff the toes with tissue or paper | Ship shoes loose in a bag | Unstuffed toes collapse and crease, which hurts resale value |
| Wrap each shoe individually | Let the pair rub together | Soles scuff uppers; studs and hardware scratch leather |
| Ship the shoebox inside an outer box | Stick the label on the shoebox itself | Collectors pay for the box; a label ruins it, and there is no crush zone |
| Put the label on the outer box's largest face | Tape over the barcode or wrap it around an edge | Scanners need a flat, unobstructed barcode |
Clean them first: knock off loose dirt and wipe the soles, because nobody wants to open a box of someone else's mud, and a quick clean photographs better for a sale. Stuff each toe firmly with tissue paper, packing paper, or the paper the shoes came with, enough to hold the shape without stretching anything. Wrap each shoe in its own layer of tissue or a plastic bag, especially if the soles are dark: black rubber marks light uppers permanently. If the shoes have laces, tuck them inside rather than tying them around the shoe, which leaves pressure marks on soft leather.
Then the shoebox step is skipped, not the outer-box step. Wrap each shoe, place the pair heel-to-toe (one facing each way) so they nest compactly, and choose a box with a few centimetres of space around the pair on every side. Fill the gaps with crumpled paper so the shoes cannot slide. Heel-to-toe nesting matters more than people think: two shoes facing the same way waste space and let the heels dig into the other shoe's upper. For boots, stuff the shafts with rolled paper or pool-noodle segments so they do not fold and crease in transit.
A boxed pair of shoes is light, usually well under a 5 kg flat-rate label, so the box choice is about protection, not weight. Use a proper corrugated shipping box for the outer layer, not a repurposed cereal box: thin board crushes under stacking weight in the truck. If you are reusing a shipping box, obliterate every old label and marking completely, not just crossed out: Canada Post will refuse a package whose old markings show through, and a half-covered barcode from the previous shipment can misroute your parcel. Seal with packing tape along the centre seam and the edges, the H-taping pattern, so the box cannot pop open if it lands on a corner.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
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