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cody · February 21st, 2008

This may sound stupid, but is there any free box services (like in the episode of the The Simpsons where Bart & Lisa called A.S.S. - American Shipping Services) for free boxes to ship your goods in?
thanks

Girlzndollz · February 21st, 2008

The only means of free shipping supplies I know of is the free priority mail tyveks and priority boxes from USPS. Sorry.

Oh, have I ever wrapped a PB in brown paper in a pinch? But then I shipped it with USPS.

greyhorsewoman · February 21st, 2008

Yes, USPS provides free boxes in a variety of sizes and shapes as well as tyvek envelopes. They also offer flat rate shipping on several boxes and will give free delivery confirmation if you generate your shipping label online (clicknship).

Priority boxes are ONLY to be used for domestic and international priority paid shipping. If it is discovered, the receiver WILL be charged the additional postage and you could get a very NASTY gram from the USPS.

(Just an FYI, I have a friend who told me she TURNED in a shipper when she received an item in a priority envelope turned inside out ... you see, she happens to be a POST OFFICE employee.)

Girlzndollz · February 21st, 2008

You're right, Grey, and it wasn't recommended as a means to an end. In a pinch, I have done it. No harm, no foul, nothing happened. But a good disclaimer to those that may not see the instructions on the box that advises it is for Priority use only. It can work out poorly.

I use poly bags from Ebay for shirts that are smaller than the Tyvek Priority bags and when not shipping priority.

Unik Ink · February 21st, 2008

I can never seem to fit all of the tshirts into the box they came in after I print them and ship them off.

tim3560 · February 21st, 2008

Free boxes would be great. I went looking for some at Office Max today and to my surprise, they started at $1.99!

binki · February 22nd, 2008

USPS will give you free shipping materials for priority and express mail and they will deliver them to you free also.
UPS and FedEx will also give you free boxes.

ULine has a ton of stuff if you want to pay for it. We get our padded evelopes from them.

greyhorsewoman · February 22nd, 2008

Ebay is a good source for shipping supplies, but be sure to do some research. All sellers are not created equal and watch hidden 'shipping' charges!

I also use Sam's Club for some of my plain and padded envelopes for other items we ship. I SAVE packing materials from things that come here and haven't had to buy much in the way of shipping materials, overall. That really helps with my bottomline.

For packing the individual printed shirts, we have some uline bags, but my favorite is still the gallon (nonzip) baggie from the grocery store. Just a bit of tape to hold.

tim3560 · February 22nd, 2008

I've done some recycling of incoming boxes myself. We're about to get a Sam's here so I'm excited to see what they have.

Xeon · March 19th, 2008

You can always get free boxes from UPS and then get plain wrapping paper to wrap them up.

greyhorsewoman · March 20th, 2008

Xeon, as mentioned above, USPS priority boxes are ONLY to used for Priority mail. Using them any other way is a federal offense.

The least that could happen is your customer will be charged Priority rate difference (postage due) if the post office discovers it.

My concern is misusing this service could result in the USPS deciding to charge for boxes. They used to have rolls of tape you could order online, no more, folks used it for everything! They now print on BOTH sides of box so you can't just turn them inside out. Next step could be 'forget it' ~ no more free boxes.

Remember, you have NO IDEA who your customer works for~!

tim3560 · March 20th, 2008

Good post grey!

PAWKarma · March 20th, 2008

Um...this idea might suck, but hit up your local grocery store. I know the Trader Joes in my area gets stuff in small boxes which worked great for packing heavy books and breakables when we moved. Sometimes a logo is printed on 'em, sometimes a label. I'm sure you can strike up a deal with management to pick up some of their stuff on their shipping days, maybe they'll charge, but I'm sure it'll beat 1.99 boxes. I'm sure it isn't a steady source of packaging, and some management might say no, but it doesn't hurt to try.

P.S. - Retail establishments, not so much. They use their boxes, usually, to ship damaged items back to the warehouse. 'least, that's what I learned from going to Old Navy and Barns and Noble before I tried the grocer's.

gilberto · March 20th, 2008

Yup grocery stores and restaurants and sometimes even schools are great but you can't be too choosy. They usually will break them down but if you go in and ask management if you can come back in a few days they'll usually set them aside for you.

markthenewguy · March 20th, 2008

we cut a ton of boxes at the retail store where i work.

we use 1 box a day to send broken junk back to our warehouse and we cut up 10 sometimes 20 a day.

any retail store will probably hook you up as it takes more work to cut them down and throw them away than it does for them to just give you the boxes

try smaller retailers first they might be easier to talk to and more willing to help you out