selectiblecollectables
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posted on August 23, 2004 06:02:08 PM new
I haven't bought a box yet. Here's why. The Branch Manager at my 2 closest Post Offices gives me 2 sacks of foam peanuts and 10-12 boxes, weekly. Also, my network marketing friends give me their foam peanuts and boxes; and, the local animal hospital gives me their packing materials, too. Here's the funny part: they all thank me for taking this stuff off their hands. So, use your head and get your boxes for free! Good Luck, Gordie
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popnrock
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posted on August 23, 2004 06:22:44 PM new
Some items I ship by Priority (free so far). My larger items go by UPS and I am charged for boxes. Other boxes I get free from my brothers company. They break down tons of boxes everyday so I snag them.
Miss J
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stopwhining
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posted on August 23, 2004 07:28:21 PM new
i dont practice safe sex and i am not infected with AIDS,gonorhea,syphilis,clamydia,herpes.
Better ,i survived the bubonic plague of the last century!
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
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toybuyer
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posted on August 23, 2004 07:39:28 PM new
So, use your head and get your boxes for free! Good Luck, Gordie
How have I made it selling and shipping via eBay since 1996/1997 without you? I had to wait until now for you to post this!? You wasted time with this post but you manage to save really big money on your boxes and peanuts.....I hope this is an assignment on The Apprentice this season. Just like the enormous success of his flea market assignment.
(yes, read my post with sarcasm as intended)
not toybuyer on eBay
lived without my head since eBay was AuctionWeb!! Why without people like us in 1995-1997, Gordie would have no reason to use his head and save money on boxes and peanuts.
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iareateacher
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posted on August 23, 2004 07:51:06 PM new
I think this was a reaction to a comment in another thread where the poster mentioned s/he had just bought hundreds of boxes.
The OP here obviously thinks everyone runs the same kind of business he does and ships the same way. I used to buy thousands of very small boxes to ship in because, believe me, no one was giving them away.
--
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 23, 2004 08:52:20 PM new
I've never bought a box.
[ edited by Roadsmith on Aug 23, 2004 08:53 PM ]
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bunnicula
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posted on August 23, 2004 10:15:25 PM new
I'm incredibly fortunate when it comes to boxes. I get a lot free from work (the acquisitions person knows to automatically send individual book-size boxes my way), my godson keeps bringing book-size boxes home from the temple he works at, and a friend who works at another library drops off boxes, too.  Once in a bluemoon I have to use bubble envelopes for the relatively few weird-sized books I sell.
____________________
"Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim." --Charles Buxton
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Libra63
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posted on August 23, 2004 10:41:16 PM new
While walking thru Walgreens the other day a clerk was stocking a shelf and she had the nicest small boxes. I asked her if I could have them and she said yes take them all. If it is true that the PO is going to charge for boxes I am going to stock up. Easy to break down and tape is a lot less expensive then boxes are.
I hate to say this but I can't wait for my stock to deplete so that I can quit selling. I guess I am just worn out. Haven't been to a sale in a long time. I think it will take me about a year before I can quite but at least there is a silver lining to everything. Does anyone else feel this way? Thank goodness I don't have to depend on eBay. I wouldn't survive.
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lindajean
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posted on August 23, 2004 10:51:42 PM new
I'm sorry to hear that Libra. Maybe you just need a little break
I was at Walmart last week and was looking over their smaller boxes. The person unpacking them told me they recycle all their boxes and I couldn't have any
I'm so spoiled with my little postcard envelopes I'm having to start from scratch with my buttons, records and books. I'll have to check with Walgreens. Maybe they can save me some.
I for one appreciate any and all suggestions that can save me time or money and thank the OP for posting.
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selectiblecollectables
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posted on August 24, 2004 05:40:15 AM new
If you need BIG strong Boxes - like I need for antique clocks and radios. Call the Purchasing Dept at your nearest hospital or Police Dept.
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neroter12
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posted on August 24, 2004 06:43:03 AM new
Libra it can be a grind at times. I dont think its a very reliable source of income like a regular job is. Seems to me that you cannot securely rely on sales or bids unless you've got a certain customer base built up. And even then, certain days or weeks can be iffy. But that can be said of sales in general I think. But if you dont have a targeted customer base, it is definitely a kind of haphazard roll of the dice, imo.
..
..
~~ Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues(forces)of life..Proverbs 4:23~~
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etexbill
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posted on August 24, 2004 07:22:16 AM new
Whoa, toybuyer. Chill out! Having a bad day?
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micmic66
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posted on August 24, 2004 07:45:37 AM new
I get all of my boxes from our local supermarkets "Box Rooms" I have little trouble loading up on good strong unmarked cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes. I keep a box inventory (Strewn accross my garage) of about 30 boxes at all times....
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neroter12
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posted on August 24, 2004 08:20:34 AM new
micmic, a good source for really sturdy boxes are the liquor stores. The boxes they ship glass bottles in are strong! Like the wines or the whiskey's(but they weigh alot too!)
..
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~~ Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues(forces)of life..Proverbs 4:23~~
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micmic66
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posted on August 24, 2004 08:26:49 AM new
neroter12,
they are indead good strong boxes but as you probababy know, you have to remove or cover any printing on the box indicating the contents of booze.......UPS & USPS...
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MAH645
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posted on August 24, 2004 08:37:15 AM new
We use lids from can items in the supermarket. My hubby makes all my boxes. Other than that I buy bubble mailers.
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on August 24, 2004 10:52:35 AM new
I'm the one that posted that I just purchased several hundreds of dollars worth of boxes.
I sell many very large items and the last time I paid $55 to UPS for 3 36" square boxes. With Uline I got 5 of the same box for about $27.
I got so tried of trying to make this or that box fit. Spending an hour adjusting the box to save $3 or $4 is insane.
I also sell very small items (jewelry) - which I could ship priority only but it saves my customer $2.00 or $3.00 if I ship in a small box 1st class and that's even charging them the cost of the box.
If this is going to be my business - I'm going to treat it like a business. This is, of course, just my opinion.
Don't get me wrong - I never turn down a good free box. I just don't make it a second job to go look for them.
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southwesttradingcompany
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posted on August 24, 2004 10:56:50 AM new
" i dont practice safe sex and i am not infected with AIDS,gonorhea,syphilis,clamydia,herpes "
i must be dense because i don't get what this comment has to do w/the subject @ hand. can anyone explain.
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JaperTon
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posted on August 24, 2004 10:57:57 AM new
I use Priority packaging. I hate having a stockpile of boxes.
I do have three large garbage bags of carefully folded bubblewrap from my move. And of course, since I now live in upper buttcrack, I love keeping the odd box, you never know...oops, I am building a stockpile of boxes!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~
Avatar wish list....
...and he must possess a kind eye...
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trai
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posted on August 24, 2004 11:05:59 AM new
I just don't make it a second job to go look for them.
Good point. Some boxes I can get for free but overall I do buy them as it I just do not need all that printing on them plus I get the sizes I need.
Like that clean neat look when I mail them. From a business point of view it just works better for me.
Nothing worse than some boxes that look like they came out of a garbage can. It never does cease to amaze me what some people do ship their stuff in.
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 24, 2004 12:24:30 PM new
In defense of those of us who don't pay for boxes, I just want to say that I live in a very small town, no traffic lights etc. ON MY WAY TO THE P.O. every day (no home delivery), I know where the boxes and packing materials are! (I'd never make it "a second job" to search for boxes.) When I'm running low on boxes and bubble wrap, I stop--takes maybe 3 minutes--and get them. One gift-shop even saves small sturdy boxes for me and then breaks them down for easy storage! Another gift shop is just opening, and I'm getting all the bubble wrap I'll need for months, there. Mind you, both gift shops are within 50 feet of each other, and the P.O. is 2 blocks further along.
In other words, No Second Job to get these good boxes and packing materials.
I'm sure it would be different if I had to drive miles for the stuff.
___________________________________
"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. You can see
that when you think how the friends that really listen to us are the ones we move
toward, and we want to sit in their radius as though it did us good, like
ultraviolet rays.
"Our communication skills improve when we can open to be aware of the needs of
the other person. When we listen, we can release the filters that serve our
own needs for security and receive the message with our compassionate heart.
And when we speak, we can choose words that the listener is able to receive.
True communication happens when we harmonize with the other individual."
-- Brenda Ueland
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paws4God
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posted on August 24, 2004 01:23:33 PM new
The very best thing I started doing recently is wrapping books in corrugated cardboard. I bought a 250 ft. x 18" roll for $23.50 at a local box/paper company. It also comes in 24" and 36" widths. All I have to do is cut it a little wider than I need, cut the extra length down, lap it over, tape it down the length of the cardboard, staple it 3 times on each end and cover the stapled end with tape. It sure beats hunting for a box the size I need. It is so compact and easy my books usually get to their destination in 4-5 days even though I send media rate. It works out to about $.10 to $.20 per book and saves loads of time. The time it saves in hunting for a box and sometimes cutting it down that I don't mind paying a little extra for the convenience.
I have also found it works on wrapping record albums if you wrap the album in bubble wrap first. It would work for other things I'm sure. Just be sure to cover the staples with tape so the post person doesn't get stuck.
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stonecold613
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posted on August 24, 2004 09:32:52 PM new
Who's Paying for Boxes
So far, not me. I just went to the USPS site and ordered the boxes that I normally do. Nothing seems to be different and the order did go through. I am beginning to think that this might be a nasty rumor.
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sparkz
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posted on August 24, 2004 10:05:37 PM new
I don't even use boxes any more. I bought a box of plastic Hefty garbage bags and they work great. Just wrap that tea set in a bunch of newspaper, throw it in the sack, tie it off with a twist tie, smack on a label and it's a done deal. Saves all kinds of time and leaves the customer speechless.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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bunnicula
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posted on August 24, 2004 10:13:15 PM new
____________________
"Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim." --Charles Buxton
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