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Who has the best prices for shipping boxes?


teejay

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Yep, the post office gives free ones that are flat rate boxes which means you can ship anywhere in the 48states for the same price. The problem is that you are limited.

I was surprised when I first started selling candles at the cost for boxes, but they can be pretty salty. I once saw a box at Walmart one time that had in big blue writing.."This box cost Walmart $1.23, please do not throw away."

There are a few options and it all depends on where you live and what is close to you. It is probably safe to say that buying from someone online or through a mail catalogue will not be your best best option because shipping cost on boxes can add up quick. So, where ever you buy your boxes, factor in shipping.

Places like your stores that are shipping services will sell you boxes, bubble wrap, kinda like the office stores do. They charge a whole lot more than a lot of other places. Also, unless you go directly to UPS or FEDEX to ship or have a home pick up, it will cost you more to ship at places like FEDEX KINKOS. But, if you are only shipping a few things, then office stores and shipping services will be a place that you can buy a few boxes.

In most cases, the cheapest place you find to sell you boxes will be from local box manufacturers. Look in your local yellow pages or if they are not in there, ask local businesses. These guys usually have the bubble wrap or know where to get bubble wrap. Also, if you look at usually the bottom of boxes you'll see a black stamp that will have the style of box and where the box was made, it's a long shot, but you may get lucky and find a great connection that is close one day by looking at these. I wouldn't go out there looking at boxes hoping to find your source, cause you'll see boxes from all over North America.

International Paper is probably one of the biggest makers in this country, but don't even try it. These guys are huge and don't deal with smaller companies.

Last but not least, if image is not a very important thing, you can go to businesses and get their boxes after they have stocked their shelves. Just ask the manager, and there is a good probability they will direct you to a pile of broken down boxes. I personally use these a lot and I love the feeling of "Cool, saved a dollar on this." I put a sticker on each box that states, though not pretty, our company saved over a dollar and we recycled this box." I also have blue tape that covers other manufacturers information. I wasn't sure if the labor cost was worth going this extra step, but it is. I save a bunch of money every year doing it this way. You do have to be carefull in regards to what box you get. You have no idea where its been and it could have held things like bug spray or something. So, do this at your own risk.

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Yes I do get boxes from the post office. I just wanted small boxes for items that are less than a pound. I have seen boxes in Walmart. I was hoping to get them cheaper. I have shipped some items out before in boxes from Walgreens and Dollar Tree. I was just hopping that I could get them cheaper somewhere on the net. Thanks for all your responses.

Teejay

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teejay, I ordered brown boxes from uline.com. They were for miscellaneous shipments where the free priority mail box couldn't be used. I thought their pricing was pretty reasonable, especially if you get the sizes which are specially priced. Their boxes are pretty sturdy though, and even the small little box weighed 3 oz, so that for shipments under a pound, it wasn't really a savings after adding in the weight of the box! They're good for parcel post or shipping internationally though.

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I just got a delivery from ULine for boxes, bubble wrap, some plastic bags, and what has got to be a lifetime supply of twist ties. :shocked2: Okay, so it's only 2000, but that's the smallest amount they sold. Great Prices, Excellent service, and very fast shipping. They usually go out same day. Unfortunately for my poor UPS lady my ULine order came the same day my order of lip balm tubes came in. It took three trips from her truck even with her dolly. Most of it is still piled in my dining room :embarasse

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  • 2 weeks later...
Yes I do get boxes from the post office. I just wanted small boxes for items that are less than a pound. I have seen boxes in Walmart. I was hoping to get them cheaper. I have shipped some items out before in boxes from Walgreens and Dollar Tree. I was just hopping that I could get them cheaper somewhere on the net. Thanks for all your responses.

Teejay

www.sunshinecontainer.com has the shipping boxeds you are talking about

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