Reddit mentions: The best box mailers

A comic shop I used to buy from would give away fold up boxes that are like the BCXW star-folio, but I think better in that they open from the front. I would usually bubble wrap expensive books and then pack that into a backpack. CGCs easily fit in the laptop section of just about any backpack nowadays.

Also, it's best not to roll around with an expensive looking briefcase or roller. Vendors can smell the money from your wallet when they see that. I've literally had a dealer throw me price on a book that was ~2x what it was worth because I was wearing a polo...

An decent backpack is what I would recommend.

Here is a link to a set of the boxes that I was mentioning. They work great, just have something in there to keep them from sliding around.

https://www.amazon.com/Aviditi-MFL1182-Corrugated-Deluxe-Literature/dp/B00BT5J4IO/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1519024727&sr=8-15&keywords=cardboard+box+for+documents

Welcome to the party! You can find the Etsy Seller Handbook here: Handbook!

As far as boxes go... I would get USPS Priority Mail (use version 2) FREE boxes for the smaller size clicky but you have to send them priority (always purchase shipping online, it's easy via etsy).

The larger versions could go in something like this: clicky. I've had good luck with Pratt and you could find a size for the smaller woodworking too, I just prefer free boxes if I'm going to be shipping them priority anyways. This allows you to send them through other shipping providers at your leisure.

If you’re doing long distance shipping like that, first thing you should look into is probably if the shipper offers insurance, it’s nice to have just in case.

For shipping, if you fit them in a box or a few, I’d recommend alternate between one record and bubble wrap or some other protector, and make sure the protector is also on the bottom of the box and the top before you close it. Amazon also sells these record shipping boxes here and I’m sure there’s a few others you could find there. Or if you have the cardboard to make your own you could do that as well.

Hope that helps you a little :)

First, if you haven't done it already, I would suggest getting some cellophane bags to put the cookies in. Helps keep them fresh. :) You can use ziplock bags, too, if you want.

I've shipped cookies several times without any breakage. I use these boxes, they're very sturdy and good quality.

Also, a lot of bubble wrap. Two layers of bubble wrap on the bottom of the box, a layer of cookies, another layer of bubble wrap, another layer of cookies. Usually I can fit three layers and then a final layer of 2-3 sheets of bubble wrap on top. Then I tape the box with packing tape and write the address directly on the box.

The cookies shouldn't move or slide around when you shake the box. If they do, you need to add more bubble wrap. :)

It usually costs about $16 to ship them USPS Priority 2 Day. I hope that helps.

I put it within a cardboard box surrounded by packing foam or tissue paper, then put the box in a black poly mailer sleeve (and put the shipping label on the poly mailer.) The boxes I use are sometimes not large enough for a shipping label, hence the sleeve.

EDIT:
I use cardboard boxes like this and I use these poly mailers. I like the boxes because they are sturdier and have a more quality look/feel, and the poly mailers are unique looking and extremely economical in terms of price. They are thinner than a lot of other poly mailers but since I pack everything in boxes that isn't an issue for me.

I also print out my invoice and put it inside of a decorative #10 envelope with my logo printed on it, and my invoice always has a hand-written note on it. I put that in the poly mailer next to the box. So when my customer opens the mailer, he or she can either open up the invoice and see my note or open up the box to get to the (wrapped) goodies. I also make sure to put a little free gift with a thank you sticker in each order, usually tucked on top of the wrapped up item within the box.

Between shipping, packing, and invoice materials it comes out to about $1.25 an order (I buy in bulk so that helps)...all costs passed along to my customers in the handling and shipping fees.

Almost anything should work. Cheaper but still strong would be fibreboard: amazon link and I'm sure you can get it at any hardware store. Even cheaper/thinner is chipboard which is pressed cardboard.

If you're even more low-commitment than that and don't care what it looks like in the back or how long it would last, I'm pretty sure any cardboard, flat plastic or any other sturdy flat material would work just fine in a pinch too with some glue or screws.

Don't listen to the other person about "markets". There are bathbombs being sold for $17 dollars EACH with free shipping and the seller has 11k sales in less than 2 years.


Etsy isn't about being in a race to the bottom with other sellers. If you want to, make your items more than $10 and add on the shipping into the total OR just do the thing Etsy is promoting where the shipping is free after $35+ and price your items in a way that suits you. I promise you, having free shipping as a option (such as with a set minimum to meet) is tens times more enticing to buyers and benefits you a lot more (especially for lightweight items) than just selling one $6.50 + $4.50 shipping item. I have over 80k sales and make 12k a month out of ONE of my shops. I've never once let my competitors pricing influence how I "value" my work, and when I opened my shop I charged more than most people, and I've surpassed all of them in daily sales (30-60 orders a day) for over 2 years.

Okay, enough of my rant, as for shipping extremely lightweight items (with a focus on bath&beauty), these boxes are fairly popular, and you can find them on uline in larger amounts once you start selling regularly: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M5B91Q3/?coliid=I15B0YY5IERKN5&colid=3LI4KLG3587E8&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it with these bubbles https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Original-Cushioning-Perforated-1061835/dp/B0021L9M1Y/ They come in 12 inches, but you can cut it down so that each 'roll' is only 3 inches across (so it turns into 3" x 60', 4 rolls), that gives you a ton of bubbles to use. Use it to 'wrap' around your product - left to right, top to bottom, like an X sandwich. As for liquids use something like 3M No Residue Duct Tape around the caps to keep it from slipping open while it's being shipped (they have it on Amazon, but it's wayyy cheaper at home depot or lowes) squeeze the lid to make sure the tape is stuck good and then put then in plain generic ziploc bags, such as these https://www.amazon.com/Plymor-Heavy-Plastic-Reclosable-Zipper/dp/B0194CUNCO

They should be relatively safe being shipped this way. I used those boxes for (unrelated to beauty) another product I sell and they are extremely difficult to crush.

Glad you found some savings there!

Yes, I'll cut down boxes to save on shipping pretty often. Check out this box reducer at Amazon. Best $15 I spent!

https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Box-Carton-Reducer-Sizer/dp/B00OI9RO94

I sell a lot on eBay and i buy a lot too. The best way to package them (my method):

• use a 8x6x4 box these are my favorite to use
  
• get some bubble wrap (2ft for a pop)
  
• wrap the 2ft around the pop
  
• secure the bubble wrap with tape at the top and bottom
  
• then for some extra room in the box once Pop is in, use some tissue paper
  
  I have never had complaints using this method and most sellers I buy from use something similar to this. Also, make sure you're taking pictures of any and all angles of the pops box, that usually helps buyers a lot so you don't have refunds later on.

Honestly if you ship enough orders, it's going to happen at some point. I wouldn't spend more money on heavier-duty boxes, personally. 1 out of 20 is not bad at all for a fragile item, and that one was likely just a fluke.

I ship mugs in standard cardboard boxes (not smash-proof ones like you use), wrapped securely in a few layers bubble wrap. One key is to use a slightly larger box than you need (I like these 7"x6"x6" boxes), because if it's packed tightly in a box only slightly larger than the mug, it's actually more likely to break. I like to have a little room around the bubble wrapped mug to stuff some kraft paper.

Don't tell you cat, but you can buy piles of boxes at Amazon. Some assembly required to make a truly great cat fort.

Agreeing with this. I use a slightly different one, but same brand and they're great. Sturdy and perfectly sized for a bubblewrapped Pop + some packing paper. I've shipped around 50 Pops via USPS First Class and Priority and not had a single one get damaged, including shipments overseas (US to Aus).

STATUS UPDATE - JUNE 25, 2016 3:33 PM US EAST COAST

Alright guys, I just finished sorting all the books. Essentially 90% of the books are accounted for. There's essentially 1 redditor who slipped through the cracks on me and I'm going to be making one last trip to several LCS's on Monday to get their books sorted out (you'll know who you are because I've PMed you)

Here's a before picture of all the books.

And here is the after shot now I've sorted the books

Also, I was going to run out of bags/boards, so I picked up a 100 pack of bags/boards. So everyone will be getting brand new bags/boards with their books. Would be kinda shitty to get your new comics and something happened to them in transit.

I was going through my closet of boxes/packages I have to ship books out, and I've only got enough supplies for about 10 packages. Rather than go to the post office, pick up a bunch of boxes, come home, and start cutting them to the correct size, I've purchased these comic books mailers from Amazon

I ask that everyone have a bit of patience with me, I just placed the order for those today and once I get them, I can start sending out the books. I know I mentioned that I would try to ship the books out early next week to you guys, but it will take me a lot longer to gather the correct supplies from the Post Office and start cutting boxes up for the right dimensions of the comics. The mailers will save myself a bunch of time in packaging the books and I've also used these mailers in the past, they're good mailers.

The seller unfortunately doesn't do Amazon prime, so I have to wait a few days to get them.

Here's the confirmation of the order for the mailers from Amazon


Again, I'm not going to be asking anyone for any PayPal information until I'm ready to ship these out. If you have any questions, let me know and thanks for being patient.

-AlphaZulu

1. I don’t know, sorry. All I do know is that vinyl collectors are picky! So don’t over-estimate condition
   
   
2. Use these (or something similar) for the records, and get something like this to Mail them
   
   Hope that helps!
   
   EDIT: I just realized you were talking about 45s and not 33s. My advice still stands, just use stuff for 45s instead of 33s like I picked out.

i do not use buble wrap mailers. i put them in bags and boards, all the online stores i buy from seem to love them for some reason. first thing i do is remove them so i've usually got a huge pile of them. and then i put them in a specially made mailer for comics.

something like this
https://www.bagsunlimited.com/p-5313-comic-mailer-holds-up-to-14-comics.aspx
or this
http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Flash-Mailers-Sizes-Digests/dp/B007JAV8YQ

which i get with my online orders and carefully open allowing me to reuse them once i remove the shipping label with my name on it.

Typically I get records in the mail in boxes like these: http://www.amazon.com/Record-Mailing-Boxes-Mailers-FingerPop/dp/B0034PU6Y8

If you don't have any or can't find any locally, you can always just take 2 squares of cardboard, put the record between them and tape up the edges.

There's a pretty good vinyl shipping guide here: http://reviews.ebay.com/shipping-lp-records-packaging-tips?ugid=10000000000209124

I recommend these from personal experience: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034PU6Y8/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_DX.Wub1S475KV

Just remember to remove the sleeve from the vinyl and place it on top of the cover. Wrap everything with bubble wrap. Place two cut out scrap cardboards a bit bigger than the vinyl on top and bottom and tape together. This protects the corners and sides from damage. It's a perfect fit. Just place everything inside the mailer.

Get yourself a carton/box resizer. It makes resizing a box super easy!

1 X Cardboard Carton Box Sizer and Reducer by Unknown https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CLW8ZK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_yLVqzb9EYVEEW

You could ship in the Corrugated Cardboard boxes inside a larger box. https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Storage-Box-800-Count/dp/B00F3BCN8S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495107584&sr=8-2&keywords=trading+card+corrugated+cardboard


I buy those at my LGS for like $1.25 each. Else I'd recommend saran wrapping bricks of cards. Key is to make it easy as possible for whoever is receiving your cards.

This is a good size box and free shipping if you have Amazon Prime

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E81LBCS/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Less valuable for Poshmark where box size constraints aren't as much of an issue but a box resizer is a quick and elegant solution for a lowish volume seller:

Amazon Link

I bought one of those moving boxes from amazon comes with a ton of foam and threw in a bunch more bubble wrap in between and it worked out great.

it was one of these

https://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Box-UBlox-Foam-8449/dp/B01ENR62NY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=DABQ3YAR5OLH&keywords=flat+screen+moving+box+kit&qid=1563245140&s=gateway&sprefix=flat+screen+moving%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-3

I will say that you can get practically the same boxes in a various amount of sizes on Amazon. I got the same size boxes they talk about for much less than ULINE, especially because of Amazon prime (free 2-day shipping).

The trick with amazon is their prices are constantly fluctuating - so what's $15 today could be $22 tomorrow. And when you split that across 50 boxes, that's a $.15 difference in price per box, which is huge.

These are the specific boxes I bought.

You want this stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/Sheets-Chipboard-Medium-Scrapbook-Cardboard/dp/B00YO0GUM4

It's called chipboard, and it's awesome. This is the same material they make book covers, etc. out of. You can get it in "natural" color, or coated with white.

this is what i use, love em.

there are special carton boxes for it, like this one
http://www.amazon.com/White-Record-Cardboard-Multi-Depth-Mailers/dp/B001J595VK

As a buyer, I like it when my LPs come in boxes like these: http://www.amazon.com/White-Record-Cardboard-Multi-Depth-Mailers/dp/B001J595VK

I use these 8x6x4 boxes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B016N37PXC/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're about 30 cents per box with free shipping.

Here is some ! https://www.amazon.com/Variable-Depth-Record-Mailers-White/dp/B0034PU6Y8 . I see you post on vgmvinyl let me know what you are selling I might be interested!

Is it slabbed? If so, I'd wrap it in bubble wrap, then put it in a USPS 1092 box, then bubble wrap that box inside a USPS 1095 box.

If it isn't slabbed, I would sandwich it in between two (or four) sturdy, crease-free pieces of cardboard (or, even better, put it in a gemini mailer), then bubble wrap it inside a 1092 box, then bubble wrap that inside a 1095 box.

I would get signature confirmation (not just delivery confirmation) and give the buyer the option of paying for insurance (which would be about $30, I'm guessing).

Those are hard to find and pretty expensive when you can find one. I found that a closet shoe organizer like this one can hold a couple card storage boxes on each shelf.

The Boxery 8x6x4'' Shipping Boxes 25 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016N37PXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kz2kybNQCMSK1

I use these! But you can get them at like a staples!

Not sure of a shipping company to suggest, but depending on how many she's sending, they do make boxes specifically for LPs like these.

Pokemonerd nailed it, try to group the commons. I downsized from 283 pops to 159 and it was rough. The largest groups I sold were 5 pops. After 5 shipping just gets very expensive and you either take a bigger loss or people bail because they don't want to pay the cost. Start with your local Facebook pages for the groups if you can.

These boxes were great for shipping singles and are relatively cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Boxery-8x6x4-Shipping-Boxes-Pack/dp/B016N37PXC/ref=pd_nav_hcs_bia_t_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QB3F8MPDS50Q1YCZ60TY

For my print and plays I just use this cardboard from Amazon

Something like this.

These might not be the right size, but amazon has a lot of boxes for $0.25 to $0.50.

Don't know about the rest, but baseball caps I would suggest picking up boxes like these 9x6x4:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E81LBCS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They can still be sent First Class and it protects the hat from damage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E81LBCS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

these are the boxes I use, actually bigger than what you recommended. They are thick and sturdy. I wrap the pop in bubble wrap(like a gift), tape it up. I then use packing paper around the pop to act as bumpers so it doesnt get dinged from something hitting the box.

No.

Options:

• buy a new record. Reuse the mailer it comes in (not the cheapest option, but most fun!)
  
• buy them from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/White-Record-Cardboard-Multi-Depth-Mailers/dp/B001J595VK
  
• buy them from Reverb: https://reverb.com/item/7290354-reverb-10-pack-lp-mailers
  
• or, if you only need one or two, go to your local record store and ask if they have any you could buy/have.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016N37PXC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are close to the same as the one you're using. I've never had any problems shipping in these

The Boxery 8x6x4'' Shipping Boxes 25 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016N37PXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_iRR62aZJVzitv




For one at a time these are the boxes I use, they are only around 30 cents apiece

https://www.amazon.com/White-Record-Cardboard-Multi-Depth-Mailers/dp/B001J595VK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536686167&sr=8-2&keywords=vinyl+shipping+boxes

Not endorsing one product or price, but there are a ton of options out there.

Also, grammatically "vinyls" is not correct. What you're selling is a record album pressed on vinyl. So it can be vinyl records or vinyl albums, but the word vinyl cannot be pluralized.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E81LBCS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I use these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001J595VK/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

My sister knows I ebay and hooked me up for Christmas last year and it made this type of thing so much easier.

One of these, and one of these will do you wonders

Anyone ever tried one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Box-UBlox-Foam-8449/dp/B01ENR62NY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550121755&sr=8-5&keywords=tv+shipping+box#customerReviews

The questions section even has 3 answers saying it'd work with thin OLEDs.

Here you go.

Here's 25 of the 9x6x4: https://www.amazon.com/Pratt-Recycled-Corrugated-Cardboard-Standard/dp/B00E81LBCS/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1506435576&sr=8-16&keywords=shipping+boxes

A box reducer will save you loads on shipping. That might not be the best price, it's just the first google result. I think I paid $9 from my box guy.

Protip: tape over the corners where you reduce the box. The box is a little weak there, and more likely to break.

Going to ship 2 records internationally, how should I box 'em? Can't find a box to ship them, I'm getting frustrated.

Looking for a box like this but I only need one. Where do you guys think I should be able to find some?

.69 on my last order, but I only buy 50 at a time..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034PU6Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That said 100 for .465 a piece:
https://www.amazon.com/FingerPop-Mailing-Boxes-Box-LPBX100/dp/B0141LY27A/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=12%22+Variable+Depth+Record+Mailers&qid=1557326857&s=office-products&sr=1-8


I'm not sure how this trade is logistically easier/cheaper than just buying in bulk, but I could be missing something...
Shipping alone seems like it's going to eat a lot of costs...