Bubble Blog and News

Shop By Category

Come Join Us At:

Facebook Twitter

Robin

Bubblefast has had its headquarters in a relatively small office/warehouse space near our home in Gurnee, Illinois since 1999.  We love our office neighborhood – and our neighbors.  Bubblefast’s home is in commercial/industrial strip filled mostly with family businesses, each with its own unique style and story.

Allow us to introduce some of our wonderful neighbors –

The Little Gym – Tracie and Dave from The Little Gym have been our neighbors “forever”.  We’ve watched their sons Drew and Brock grow up (well, Brock’s only 3 but we’ve known him since he was born).  When our kids were younger The Little Gym was a great place to go play.  Drew and Brock are still frequent visitors.  When Drew walks in with Brock on his shoulders we know it’s time to take a break and play.  Drew fills us in on all the news in his life and Brock sets himself up on the floor to play with the cars and football that are always on the shelf waiting for him.  This week they stopped by when we were particularly busy.  No problem, the boys from the gym jumped right in to help.

Luckily, Sara was there to capture their hard work on video.  First video from my iphone- I think it’s a keeper!  Bubblefast Neighbor Video

Carpet Basics – This is the home of Brent and his family.  We’ve known Brent and his brothers and his mom for over 10 years.  They used to occupy the space next door to us.  They moved last year, but luckily only to the end of the parking lot.  This is a great family business providing all kinds of carpeting and flooring supplies.  The Carpet Basic dog, Quartz is a good friend of Kelev’s.  These are the folks that Steven goes on the road with in the summer.  We used to always know how the Cubs were doing because Brent would bang on the wall if anything good happened.  He has to bang a little harder now – we’re working on a new communication device.  Brent is also the one who took many of the pictures for the Bubblefast website – a man of many talents!

Sinobrite – This is one of our newer neighbors.  Sean moved in a couple of years ago.  He sells beautiful table runners, doilies, placemats and other home décor items.  We’ve met a lot of the family.  Sean’s, wife, daughter and dad are all frequent visitors.  Kelev looks forward to Sean’s daughter’s visits because that always means he’s going for a long walk.

Ekor Enterprise – Another family business.  This is the home of Ayol, who, along with his wife and his dad, sell a great variety of auto supplies.  When we need a replacement windshield wiper or headlight for one of our vehicles, we only have to walk down a few doors and we’re all set.  Steven has started making some deliveries for Ekor.  Ekor doesn’t have a website yet, but if you need any auto supplies, let us know and we’ll be happy to hook you up!

Six Color Print – This is where Steve “lives”.  Steve has been our neighbor for a few years.  Steve presents us with packaging challenges.  He often needs rather unusual shipping supplies for his big signs.  We love working with him to try to figure out how to safely and inexpensively protect his sign projects.  Steve also did the lettering on our door to let people know where they are when come to visit.

House of Prayer – These are our newest neighbors.  A friendly group under the religious leadership of Pastor Marc.   We were happy to welcome them to the neighborhood.  Never hurts to have a divine presence on the block!


What makes our neighborhood so special is the spirit of “family” that exists among us.  If anybody needs to borrow a forklift, pallet jack, a few extra hands to help unload a truck, somebody to put a sign on a door to say the owner is running a bit late, we’re all ready to lend a helping hand.  We’re so lucky to have such wonderful neighbors.  If you’re ever in the area, stop by and visit us.  We’ll be happy to give you the Bubblefast grand tour and to introduce you to our neighbors in person.

Quick lesson in Boxes 101.

  1. Never use a box that isn’t designed for shipping.  Gift boxes or display boxes are not meant to handle the kind of tossing around that happens regardless of the shipping service you use.

Corrugated shipping moving boxes

So you’ve just decided to start selling online.  Before you list your first product you have several decisions to make regarding shipping.  What shipping service to use and how to calculate the charges will be discussed in another post.  This document will address what you need to know to properly package your product using the best, most economical supplies to make sure it arrives, safe and sound.

How do you decide what shipping supplies are right for your product?   One way is to start paying close attention to the packages you receive. What kinds of products are being used to protect your packages?  Bubble wrapPacking peanuts? Foam?  Paper?  Corrugated pads or dividers? Air pillows?  Are there products that did not provide adequate protection?

In addition to checking your own incoming packaging there are many resources you can use for determining the right supplies.  eBay and most other selling sites have discussion boards where experienced sellers are often willing to share their advice and best practices.  Or, you can call or e-mail a supplier like Bubblefast.  We are always willing to talk to customers about their specific packaging needs and offer advice.  In fact, please feel free to leave any comments or questions to this post and we will do the best we can to help you.

There are several factors that need to be considered when choosing packing supplies – protective properties, weight, aesthetic appeal and, of course, price.  No matter how wonderful your item is, if it arrives shattered or scratched or stained with newsprint or damaged by moisture, your customer is not going to be happy.  But, you don’t want to add unnecessary weight.  A DVD, for example, does not require a double-walled box and a pound of bubble wrap to insure its safe arrival.

Remember:  Proper packaging is an art form.