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Materials guide for LEGO selling & shipping including postage box sizes


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17 hours ago, BrickLegacy said:

Thanks.

This seems like a decent price on bubble wrap:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PBKUBG/ref=ox_sc_imb_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JFE6EN10LBEH

Might as well start packing like the pros.

I don't know what a good price is for bubble wrap as I usually just reuse whatever I have received in shipments, but I often will compare prices to Costco and if it is cheaper than I make the assumption that it is probably a good price. Costco.com has this same thickness, width, and length of bubble wrap for $23.99 including shipping so this Amazon price looks pretty good. Anyone finding it at a better price than $12.49 shipped?

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In case you missed it on Daily Deals.  Staples $200 for $170 (4x eBay bucks for some, too)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200-Staples-Gift-Card-for-only-170-Email-delivery-/281848050639?hash=item419f73f3cf:g:4nMAAOSwjVVVqP9a

Also, coupon code for Staples 20% off Packing and Shipping Supplies: 61715

Don't forget to order enough ($50 after discount) to qualify for free shipping.

 

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I don't know if this has ever been mentioned before, but I have been using this site called FitShipper that is really helpful for determining box size and the most cost effective shipping method.

http://www.flippertools.com/fitShipper/fitShipper.html

They also are working on another tool that may be helpful related to Best Offer sales on ebay. You can enter the ebay item number or the URL for the item and it will give you the offer history.

http://www.flippertools.com/tools/ebayOfferHistory/ebay-best-offer-actual-price.htm

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This thread saved my life.

I just packed six advent calendars using the staples boxes and packing paper Exciter recommended on his OP.  I cut my packing time down by at least 75%.  No hunting for boxes, no looking for packing materials.  Yes, I had to expense these items but its more than worth the time and its definitely lowered my stress level when packing multiple orders.  Plus, its nice to have the same size box when entering dimensions into eBay postage calculators.

Better yet, storing the paper roll and neat/flattened boxes is WAY easier than the alternative. 

Highly recommend you read this thread if you haven't already and strongly consider the value of a few minor expenses to help your business or hobby.  The Staples deal g3man posted above makes it a great time to pick up some supplies, especially if you took advantage of the Staples gift card last week!

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this thread.  One of the best on the site.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is one if my fav topics (aka threads) on Brickpicker since it helps everyone.

FYI...

I did want to share something important for those who ship in bulk to 1 location.  A somewhat popular shipping box size is 26"x26"x26" for bulk selling & is very cost efficient if using UPS Gound or Fed-Ex with their business account .  For those who saw my pics in the "What did you sell today" topic, know I regular use this box size.  However, I will NO longer use this size anymore.  Why? 

Both UPS & FedEX now use automatic laser measures for verifying package size since going to dimensional weight about a year ago.  They also do random audits using manual measurements.  The issue with the 26"x26"x26" box is if it 1 of the 3 measurements exceed 26" (even by 1cm), UPS will round up to 27" which then puts this box into the Large Package category that adds a $50+ surcharge.  Thus my $55 shipment now costs $105. 

My last 2 26"x26"x26" boxes had the large package surcharge.  My previous shipped boxes didn't have this problem.  Luckily, my UPS Biz Account Rep helped me by getting the fee waived since I take pictures with a tape measure and had previous 26"x26"x26" shipments in my history.

To avoid this hassle going forward, I'm switching to 24"x24"x24" boxes.  Sure, I lose precious packing space but avoiding the surcharge is totally worth it.

https://www.ups.com/content/cb/en/resources/ship/packaging/dim_weight.html

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gang,

I'm planning out a box purchase from Staples.  I'd like to buy some new boxes for SSD/DS. How do you guys normally ship these sets to your customers?  If you have them in a LEGO carton, do you double box, ship the carton, or remove from the carton and pack it in a new box?

LEGO (and sometimes Amazon) ships the set inside the LEGO carton inside a separate shipping box (double boxed).  This is my preferred method to receive them.  It seems like that reduces the chance of damage.  My second choice is shipping the set in a new box (not recycled from purchases).  These are large purchases so I don't want to mess around by cutting costs on boxes or shipping.

The OP lists a box size of 24x20x8 for SSD/DS.  A box to fit a SSD/DS LEGO carton would have to be at least 24x22x8.  Staples has a 24x24x9.  Is that my best option? 

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41 minutes ago, BrickLegacy said:

Gang,

I'm planning out a box purchase from Staples.  I'd like to buy some new boxes for SSD/DS. How do you guys normally ship these sets to your customers?  If you have them in a LEGO carton, do you double box, ship the carton, or remove from the carton and pack it in a new box?

LEGO (and sometimes Amazon) ships the set inside the LEGO carton inside a separate shipping box (double boxed).  This is my preferred method to receive them.  It seems like that reduces the chance of damage.  My second choice is shipping the set in a new box (not recycled from purchases).  These are large purchases so I don't want to mess around by cutting costs on boxes or shipping.

The OP lists a box size of 24x20x8 for SSD/DS.  A box to fit a SSD/DS LEGO carton would have to be at least 24x22x8.  Staples has a 24x24x9.  Is that my best option? 

Just from what you outlined, 24x24x9 sounds like a great option.  I would definitely ship in the LEGO carton if you have them.

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I think I just got screwed out of a Staples gift card.  Purchased a $200 for $175 from Paypal digital gift cards back in November.  Used about $75 of it on one order in November.  Went to place another order tonight.  Gift card loaded at checkout (as guest).  Realized I was missing something in my cart, went to check out again, tried re-applying the code, didn't work. 

Tried to check the balance online: invalid information.  Tried the 1-800 number: invalid pin.

Either Staples has some bizarre way of disabling gift cards if you begin to checkout as guest and don't complete the purchase, or their gift card system is down right now.  

Anyone else have a Staples gift card and able to check your balance?

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i had the same thing with a microsoftstore.com card buying xbox stuff.  I applied the code, fixed my address, went back to checkout, and code would not work.  Different browswers, cookes etc.... had to call them via phone and I think they just handjammed in a code for me as it was obvoius I wasnt lying.

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3 hours ago, remy1492 said:

i had the same thing with a microsoftstore.com card buying xbox stuff.  I applied the code, fixed my address, went back to checkout, and code would not work.  Different browswers, cookes etc.... had to call them via phone and I think they just handjammed in a code for me as it was obvoius I wasnt lying.

Thanks.  Must have been a system issue because I tried just now and it worked.  Weird.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is for us UK peeps, I'm always curious where other sellers buy their boxes for large sets, me personally I buy mine from ASC Direct, you can custom design your boxes in various sizes. I tend to buy 600-400-100mm side opening boxes ( they roughly cost £1.20 each, shipping included, ) because they cover a lot of medium to large Lego sets. For the really large Lego sets, I save the Lego shop order boxes, and for the smaller sets I order them off eBay in large amounts for the volume discounts ( these tend to be between 20p-55p. )

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