Sourcing cheaper, shipping supplies

[flowerofdestiny1990]

so I was reading, a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with this one, and I realized a lot of people were talking about the cost of shipping supplies.

it got me thinking… Why is shipping supplies cost such a big thing for some of them? And then I realize that a lot of you probably buy your shipping supplies - maybe from eBay and maybe from usps.

so I would just like to leave some of my tips here that saves me a lot of money on shipping supplies.

1. I get them for free OR I buy in bulk - there is no in between. 
 You either get them in bulk or you get them for free. I buy my tape in bulk from Sam’s club or Walmarts. I get the big packing tape and getting it in bulk saved me money and it lasts me a LONG LONG TIME. 
I don’t order eBay envelopes. I know it looks cute but I’m a penny pinching snob and I’m sorry but it’s a waste of your harder money, having the cute little logo on the envelope go to usps.com and order your envelopes of ALL sizes for FREE. 

boxes - most places have a box been outback, or they are more than happy to help you locate empty boxes. I go and snipe boxes from my local pharmacy and dollar general Family Dollar stores.

i reuse diaper boxes, cereal boxes, Sam’s club corndog boxes. You can use ANY box - so long as it can close, it’s sturdy, and there is no alcohol or nicotine brands on it. 

Ink and labels. Guys. Idk about where y’all are but my post office can now scan QR codes and print the label right there at the post office. 

save yourself some time effort and change - have the Post office print your labels. 

and! That’s all! I hope it helped someone! ❤️

[tdrake]

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@flowerofdestiny1990 wrote:

Ink and labels. Guys. Idk about where y’all are but my post office can now scan QR codes and print the label right there at the post office. 

save yourself some time effort and change - have the Post office print your labels. 

and! That’s all! I hope it helped someone! ❤️

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I would quit selling if I had to go to the post office every day, schlep my packages in and stand in line while the clerk prints my labels.  Just driving to and from the PO when you can have your stuff picked up is penny-wise and pound-foolish.  If I see the inside of my PO more than once or twice a year I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

[mam98031]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

@stainlessenginecovers 

I buy my labels on Ebay for about half that price.  Where are you buying yours?

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@mam98031 From some seller here; the one I used to buy from went byebye, but I usually search for '500 labels' (full sheet, adhesive 1 side, receipt other side) and $50 for 500 is the cheapest I've found (.10c ea)...if you know if another, can you send me a private message with the item number? always looking to save a buck. Thanks

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I use to use that style of label years ago.  However printing a receipt I found to be unnecessary since the info was obtainable online.  So I then went to the 2 labels per sheet.  That was great for a long time too, but then I discovered thermal printers.  I now buy the labels on a roll and I never have to purchase ink.

I bought my printer probably 12+ years ago off Ebay, used.  It is still going strong.  It likely paid for itself in the first year with the savings on ink and labels.

With that said, I still find the labels you are using for less than 10 cents each on Ebay.

These are just a couple of the listings I found.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285031282499?hash=item425d303743:g:T4QAAOSw~zdezXi5&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0G...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285030307100?hash=item425d21551c:g:T4QAAOSw~zdezXi5&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0M...

[ifyouloveit]

I told all my neighbors and friends that I sell online and I am always in need of sturdy small boxes, clean bubble wrap, tissue paper, air pillows, etc., and they are happy to save them for me. Keeps their trash cans roomier and my wallet a bit more padded. Wee bit of padding there but I'll take it.

Ask your friends and neighbors, you might be delighted with the assortment of supplies you receive.

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

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@retro_entertainment_collectibles wrote:

As to printing labels, use a laser printer, far more cost effective than any inkjet's and dont bleed ink all over if they get wet.

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That's what I use, laser printer. Cost is about 3c per (plus the .10c per sticky label/w receipt) so the .13c is well worth it (avg sale is $95) so well worth the 'sticky labels' (printing on paper, cutting, taping was such a pain). 

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I've a Cannon 113 I believe... It printed in excess of 1000 labels along with normal printing usage with the factory toner!  I just recently bought a two pack of third party toners on here, $32 to my door.  Ink jets blow through cartridges and its mainly due to the continual clean of the print head/prime.  Most all of them when they hit the print head "wiper" for a clean they spit a little ink.  Of course when turning them on they go through a short clean/prime.

One of the things I love about the 113 is that it doesn't seem waste toner.  I'd a brother cheapie beepie long back which worked just fine.  But it had a hopper for waste toner and boy did it waste toner!  I mean it wasn't terrible in that the toner cartridges real easy to refill at like $8 and just had to reset a physical gear flag towards "number of prints done."

I've probably all total had 1200-1400 prints out of this Cannon before replacing the toner.  Me like!

[frankenhobbit]

I use a thermal printer. Super handy. Takes a few seconds to print. Peel and stick. No need for a receipt as there is a PDF.  Printer was not even $80 and works great. Labels work out to 3-4 cents a piece. No faffing around trying to cut out the label and tape it to a box (I though FedEx etc didn't like tape over the labels anyway). Print, peel, stick, done. 

Watched the video about customizing boxes. I'm familiar with that technique, but it took him a good 10 minutes for each box and they looked pretty bad. Probably takes a little longer to do it right. I've done it a couple of times and it took about 20 minutes including finding the right box.  I also cut down the flaps (using the existing ones as templates) so that they would meet properly when closed and not overlap like in the video.

But that was 'one off' circumstances. Time is money. The extra weight in cardboard/padding probably only adds a buck to the stuff I sell, so would rather not mess with all that. Value my time higher than $4 - $5 an hour.  

Other than that, the only trick I use from the video is the 'make a box longer' method as that only takes a minute. 

I cannot imagine anyone using a cereal box to ship. That makes no sense at all. May as well just use a poly mailer. In fact, at least the poly mailer would resist tearing and offer protection against rain. Maybe the OP means the box that the cereal cartons are shipped to the store in? 

However, some good tips in this thread about sourcing boxes and materials for casual sellers like me!

[strugglinlikeyou]

As a smalltime seller I am all in on scrounging for boxes. I get them at my grocery store. Near the entrance they have bins for customers to leave boxes to recycle. I sell a variety of items so the standard boxes at  retail stores don't work out for me. I often customize boxes to perfectly fit the item in order to save money for me and the customer. Never had a complaint, but have had compliments regarding Packaging.  

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@strugglinlikeyou wrote:

As a smalltime seller I am all in on scrounging for boxes. I get them at my grocery store. Near the entrance they have bins for customers to leave boxes to recycle. I sell a variety of items so the standard boxes at  retail stores don't work out for me. I often customize boxes to perfectly fit the item in order to save money for me and the customer. Never had a complaint, but have had compliments regarding Packaging.  

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I'll recycle boxes as need be, really depends on whats being ordered. DVD Cased like items I'll use a bubble mailer unless its a very pricey item in which case it gets a box.  Jewel Cased stuff I make a box for, takes all of two minutes and so much more protective than a bubble mailer its night and day.  More collectible like things get a nice box, dont want send something to someone who's paid a decent buck in something looking ramshackle

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

@stainlessenginecovers 

I buy my labels on Ebay for about half that price.  Where are you buying yours?

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@mam98031 From some seller here; the one I used to buy from went byebye, but I usually search for '500 labels' (full sheet, adhesive 1 side, receipt other side) and $50 for 500 is the cheapest I've found (.10c ea)...if you know if another, can you send me a private message with the item number? always looking to save a buck. Thanks

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I use to use that style of label years ago.  However printing a receipt I found to be unnecessary since the info was obtainable online. 

These are just a couple of the listings I found.

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Very nice; thanks for the links. I like the 'receipt half because I write what they purchased, size of box and how it went (many buyers purchase more than 1 item and the 'receipt' side only shows 1 items, for 2 reasons:

a. When a buyer has an issue with 'delivery' I can dig it out and look at what they bought as well as 'how it went, and what to look for etc. and

b.) as well as for the IRS should I get audited 2,3,4 years later, I have the 'shipping' info

[aspme]

I'm a Proud 2nd generation Dumpster Diver!  my shipping supply costs are minimal.  and once you locate a couple good sources, it takes very little time/effort.  since I started shipping more items "cubic rate" I've gotten quite handy at custom sizing cartons.  I do use some Ebay branded stuff, which use to be kinda free with the quarterly coupons before the price went up. but still a value!    I pride myself on well packaged, professional looking shipments.  on the rare occasion it's too obvious I recycled a box ,I have stickers that tell you how I'm saving the earth!🙂      and a hard NO on cereal boxes etc        

[lakefor94]

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@aspme wrote:

I'm a Proud 2nd generation Dumpster Diver!  my shipping supply costs are minimal.  and once you locate a couple good sources, it takes very little time/effort.  since I started shipping more items "cubic rate" I've gotten quite handy at custom sizing cartons.  I do use some Ebay branded stuff, which use to be kinda free with the quarterly coupons before the price went up. but still a value!    I pride myself on well packaged, professional looking shipments.  on the rare occasion it's too obvious I recycled a box ,I have stickers that tell you how I'm saving the earth!🙂      and a hard NO on cereal boxes etc        

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Presentation is a huge portion of the selling kaboodle. 

[mam98031]

I completely agree.  Buyers like secure packaging and eye pleasing packaging.  My buyers comment on how I ship items all the time.  Sometimes my buyers are having me ship their purchase to someone else because it is a gift for them.  IMHO it would look rather tacky for that gift to show up in a cereal box or something like that.  But just my opinion, nothing more.

[krazzykats]

1. I use a laser printer, the thermal print will fade out as it ages, or light exposure.

2. Brand new, not used, Pizza boxes are great for shipping LPs in. (Plain ones are available on eBay.)

3. I get the ick factor when receiving recycled food boxes and grocery packaging.

4. Check the thickness (mil.) and length before purchasing bulk carton sealing tape on eBay.  I end up paying less than $1.00 per roll for a case of 36.  Some packing tape sold on eBay is too thin and breaks easily, so thickness does matter.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@krazzykats wrote:

1. I use a laser printer, the thermal print will fade out as it ages, or light exposure.

2. Brand new, not used, Pizza boxes are great for shipping LPs in. (Plain ones are available on eBay.)

3. I get the ick factor when receiving recycled food boxes and grocery packaging.

4. Check the thickness (mil.) and length before purchasing bulk carton sealing tape on eBay.  I end up paying less than $1.00 per roll for a case of 36.  Some packing tape sold on eBay is too thin and breaks easily, so thickness does matter.

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I bought some 'cheap' packing tape and find out after 24hrs, the tape starts to just 'come off' the cardboard. Was also paying $12 for 12 rolls,  plenty thick enough, but adhesive was not good.  

[iamalwaysright]

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@krazzykats wrote:

2. Brand new, not used, Pizza boxes are great for shipping LPs in. (Plain ones are available on eBay.)

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I don't ship LPs nor buy them online but I would agree that brand new pizza boxes would work great for shipping them. Do you also get and use the little white GI Joe dining table that comes with the boxes? 😀

[fm2000]

If you print your own USPS labels, they can pick them up your USPS packages for free. Not even figuring in what someone's time is worth, the cost to drive a car with gas and wear and tear figured in is about 50-75 cents a mile. If you need to drive 2 miles to drop off 10 packages, you are paying $2.00-$3.00 (round trip) instead of paying 10 cents per label x 10 packages = 1.00 by printing a label on a thermal printer.  Using QR codes to print labels at the post office are handy if one's printer goes down, but it is not efficient to use everyday.

Cereal boxes are not corrugated cardboard; not only are they completely unsuitable for shipping, it is far easier to find proper corrugated cardboard shipping boxes that it is to find lots of empty cereal boxes.