Professional Packing - How to Pack for 5 Star Feedback

• I am a top rated ebay seller and power seller, and have been selling on ebay now for almost 5 years.  Here's a few tips I've learned the hard way on how you can use even how you PACK you package to help gets higher DSRs and 5 star feedback.  I'm a country gal, and never shop at fancy stores so didn't know how fancy stores shipped until I ordered a couple of clearance items..  You don't want your customers to know you are a country gal working out of you basement.  You want to portray yourself as a professional like Nordstrom's or Macy's so they will feel confident they are getting quality merchandise. 
• Ask yourself,  "How would CJ Banks package this?"  I ordered from them and noticed they used tissue paper and wrapped in real shirt bags, NOT garbage bags  (Hey, I had pink and blue fragrance garbage bags I used to ship in! :)  I ordered Tissue Paper and Shirt bags from U-Line at a huge bulk discount  (5 cents a shirt bag if you order 1000 and it packs most everything from medium stuffed animals to almost any clothing but suits and all)  Tissue paper is like 1000 sheets for $14.99 and I cut them in half often like the department stores do.
• I ordered padded priority mail envelope instead of squishing in flat rate envelopes for 20 cents less.  If its only a few cents different in shipping price, I'll switch to boxed priority mail. The padded priority mail packages look much more professional than cardboard flat rate envelopes covered in tape.  You order them on-line from the USPS.  They also hold more.
• I wrap EVERYTHING in plastic so there is no chance if the package is in the rain or snow, the item will get ruined.  In priority mail flat rate padded envelopes I always put the garment INSIDE a priority mail tyvek envelope - same for express mail.  One time I sold $300 dollars of Boyds Bears collectibles in a huge box and the buyer emailed me,  "Good thing you put them in plastic as the mail delivery left it sitting in the snow."  I wrapped each stuffed animal individually in a bag, then put everything inside and lined the box with a giant garbage bag.  (Sometimes you still gotta use those garbage bags! But because each one was wrapped invidually - over 100 bears - it still looked professional.)
• ALWAYS include an invoice.  If you order from any "real store" other than ebay,  you ALWAYS get a packing slip.  But 90% of the time when I order from ebay, I never get a packing slip and often have to guess at what item or seller it was if I have a lot of things ordered. 
• Use the ebay packing slip to include a message.  You can edit the ebay packing slip and it will stay that way until you change it.  Include a message to avoid negative feedback such as,  "Thank you for purchasing from us!  If you have ANY problems or questions, please feel free to contact us so we can make it right.  Our goal is 5 star feedback."  THIS REMINDS THEM THAT YOU WILL WORK WITH THEM.  They are less likely to threaten you if you have reminded them to contact you again at the crucial time when they open the package and decide whether they got a deal or ripped off.  I always include my personal email address and phone number -- I've only had 2-3 person phone me out of thousands of transactions, but it makes them feel you are a real person not some phony person trying to scam them out of your basement.
• Include a thank you postcard or business card.  That let them know you are a professional.  Vistaprint really does do free business cards of postcards -- they add a $5-$7 shipping fee and try to get you to buy other stuff that matches, but if you ignore them you can get 500 business cards for just the shipping.  I've used them for years.
• If you don't use waterproof labels, put a piece of tape over the shipping address (I use labels and just tape across the shipping address from side to side - also tape along the edges of some soft packages if it looks like they will come up.)  That way the address won't smear in rain and snow.  The USPS says not to put tape over the code last I heard.