Your first order has arrived — what to do next

The listing is ready, the price is set. And there it is, the first notification. An order.

Many people freeze at this moment. Here is what to do, step by step.

Packaging

Mercado Libre has a mandatory rule. Packaging must be opaque and dark. Not white, not transparent.

A black polythene bag, black stretch film or self-adhesive black bags all work. You can buy them in the Once market, on Mercado Libre itself or in any wholesale packaging shop.

Get them in advance, before the first order. The order always comes when you are not expecting it.

A personal trick

Put something personal in the parcel. A branded business card, a sticker, a thank-you note, a small gift like a keyring. It costs pennies, and the buyer remembers and comes back.

And the main thing: a small touch like that nudges people into leaving a good review. Someone opens the parcel, sees that you thought of them, and wants to respond in kind.

Reviews lift you in search, and that means sales. A single branded sticker is sometimes worth more than any advertising.

The label

As soon as the order comes in, an “Imprimir etiqueta” button appears in the app. Press it and a PDF downloads. The label has the buyer’s address, a barcode and your details.

The print shop

That is what we did at the start. You go to the nearest place that prints on A4, print the label, cut it out with scissors and tape it to the parcel.

It works and costs pennies. For the first orders, while you are still working out whether this is for you, it is an excellent option.

A thermal printer

Once the orders started coming, we bought a thermal printer. It prints straight onto self-adhesive labels. No scissors, no tape, no trip to the print shop. Press a button and the label is ready.

We got this printer, and for it labels 100 × 150 mm, 6 rolls, and we bought the tape in packs of 10.

For the first orders a print shop and A4 are enough. At volume a thermal printer pays for itself in a few weeks.

Shipping

Packed, labelled, and off to a drop-off point. There are plenty across the city, and the app finds the nearest one.

The main rule. Ship within the time stated on the order. A delay hits your reputation, and reputation is money. With poor reputation the shipping subsidy is smaller, and on orange you pay the full rate yourself. The difference can be twofold.

After shipping

If you shipped through a Mercado Envíos point, the status updates by itself after scanning. If you deliver by hand, yourself or via envío a acordar, press “Entregué el producto”.

Several items in one order

The buyer took several items in one order, so you pack them in one box with one label. That is the right way, and it is easier for the buyer, everything arrives together.

Count the packaging in advance

These costs are often forgotten, and they come out of every sale. A black bag costs about 250 pesos, depending on size. A label about 22 pesos. That is around 270 pesos per parcel.

It seems trivial. But over a hundred orders it is already 27,000 pesos. Put packaging into your unit economics as a separate line, before you set the price.

What I do

• black bags bought in advance;
• I got the thermal printer straight away and never regretted it;
• I ship the same day as the order, the next day at the latest;
• if I deliver myself, I always press “Entregué el producto”;
• several items go into one parcel with one label.

The next article is about money. When the payouts actually arrive.

Questions and discussion in our chat.