Inexpensive shipping supplies?

[Cwadda]

Hi Folks,

I've been selling a lot of things on Amazon lately. I've been using shipping containers I find around the house as well as old bubble wrap. But I'm starting to run out. What's a good place to get shipping materials for a good price? Bubble wrap, bubble mailers, envelopes, etc?

Thanks in advance.

[tb43]

I run a small online business- never buy anything in retail stores, ever. Staples, etc. is over 10x more expensive for the items I use to ship. High volume sellers get supplies from china, and there are a few good ebay sellers who essentially charge the same thing for these items who are located in the US. I personally use the US sellers because their markups are worth the convenience.

eBay is your best bet for sure

[oldladystache]

Check the dumpsters behind department stores. I've always been able to find more bubble pack than I could use, plus cardboard boxes.

[Engineer_Erik]

I buy shipping supplies from Uline.com.    Much cheaper than Staples but you have to buy in larger quantities.  Also, if you ship anything priority mail, flat rate boxes are free at the post office.

[Ricky]

Besides dumpster diving, check with small retailers directly and I'm sure they'll have plenty to give you. They do shipping of their own but probably still have a lot of excess that just goes in the garbage! If you make it a habit you can offer to pay.

[hay_otsuka]

Zpacking has cheap envelopes a bit thinner than others but usually still less to use two for very fragile items

[JeffC]

I tend to ship USPS Priority for everything, I find it to be the cheapest and fastest.  If you go on the website, you can order an array of different size boxes, by the bundle of 25, shipped right to your door, for FREE.  It is a very good deal.  If you need boxes in other dimensions that they do not have, Wal-Mart has some decent selections and they are cheaper than Uline.  If you get into some serious shipping, like daily, then it makes sense to order from Uline.  Uline is only economical if you are ordering a freight-sized amount of stuff or you will spend almost as much on shipping the shipping supplies to yourself as you do on the supplies themselves.  Enormous bags of packing peanuts that barely fit through a household door are 27 bucks each vs. the tiny ones at Staples for 45. Freight will run probably about 75-150 depending on where you live.  I live in Atlanta where there is a Uline(but also a 2.5 hour each way drive for me) and have actually had the shipment arrive the same day as the order!

I ship often, multiple times a week, and I try to get at least 6 month supply of materials at a time so that I don't spend too much on freight.  I have a dedicated shipping room in my house so I can store it all out of my living space.  If you are not on that level, one thing to try would be to track down peanuts locally.  Most "gift shop" type businesses get a lot of things shipped in and then they have to figure out how to get rid of the peanuts.  Often they are happy to save them for you.  Starting a relationship like this with just 1-2 places could supply you indefinitely and also be recycling.  Sometimes people save them and sell them relatively cheap on craigslist. Anything more than $1 per cubic foot is a scam. 

[Cwadda]

Update: I hit up a local Joanne Fabrics and the Dollar General. Neither of them could give me boxes right away but one of the workers suggested another local package store. Apparently it has a closet full of various box sizes. Come and go as you please and take whatever you'd like.

Stay tuned.

[catccc]

depending on what you are selling, poly-mailers are really cheap.  I purchased from Amazon.  But they offer little protection.  Usually I'm shipping stuff that doesn't need it, though.

Another vote for USPS priority packaging.  Also check out regional rate boxes, they are often a deal if you get lucky and your buyer isn't very far away from you. 

For lighter items (under 13 oz) first class parcels in poly mailers are a good way to go.

[Cwadda]

depending on what you are selling, poly-mailers are really cheap.  I purchased from Amazon.  But they offer little protection.  Usually I'm shipping stuff that doesn't need it, though.

Another vote for USPS priority packaging.  Also check out regional rate boxes, they are often a deal if you get lucky and your buyer isn't very far away from you. 

For lighter items (under 13 oz) first class parcels in poly mailers are a good way to go.

About 7 cents apiece. I could wrap the item in bubble wrap first!

[Syonyk]

Most of my stuff ships out USPS Priority Mail in flat rate boxes.  As mentioned, they're free to order from the website, and come in a wide range of sizes.

For anything larger, I'll find a random box it fits in (I save boxes that things arrive in for this reason), or if it's really large/heavy, I'll build a box out of UHaul boxes I cut up to fit and 1" or 2" foam insulation from your local home improvement store.  It's a bit pricey, but pads a lot of things, and takes serious postal service or UPS abuse.

For tape, just get decent packing tape and a tape gun.  Cheap packing tape isn't worth the pain.

[Dicey]

When I was a sales rep, I always had loads of packing materials to get rid of. I used to give it away via freecycle. I'd highly recommend asking there and then cultivating a relationship with the giver(s). If they get stuff regularly you can just work out a pick up schedule and skip the FC step all together.