Shipping Product

[jiarby]

Hey gang.... got a question for those that ship product.

I have been doing more wholesale work and would like to develop that part of the business but a hitch I have been running into is shipping..

We usually ship using the customers UPS account number so they do not have a problem paying for shipping. Specifically our problem is the packaging. We usually ship 4 different products:
1. Printed & Hemmed banners of various size that we ship using tubes from Uline or those triangle UPS boxes. No problem there
2. Poster prints mounted on coro, fomecore, or 3/16 gator. These are usually 24x36.
3. Regular coro signs, small quantities from 1 to 20. 24x18
4. Vehicle magnets... usually 12x24 sets.

So far I have been frankensteining whatever boxes we have here, usually a box we have saved and are recycling. Unfortunately (or not) I am running out and need a REAL box solution, but have not been in love with the ones I have seen at Uline. A 50pak of boxes for the 24x36 prints costs plenty (S3397, S-13355), but then they want $75 to motor freight it here! Yikes!

I guess I need three package solutions... 24x36 (usually 1-4 pcs), 18x24 (1-20pcs), and 12x24. We already buy 3" Uline tubes 60" long (S-5574) and also the heavy 60" kraft paper bags from Uline (S-12585) for the banners.

Any ideas??

What do you guys use that ship alot of product?
Where do you buy them (besides Uline)?
Do you do anything to protect the product (like corner protectors, kraft paper wrapping, etc..)?
Should I pay whatever Uline wants, then just pass the buck?? Is 6-8 bucks for a box crazy for a 24x36 print on fome?

thx for you help!!

 

[Rooster]

From what you've listed that you need to ship it looks like you need a bunch of 18 x 24" boxes than can be combined to create a 24 x 36, or easily cut down to 12 x 24"

UHaul sells mirror boxes that can be combined to ship larger flat products. Maybe grab a couple of them and see how they fit together and have your 18 x 24" boxes manufactured the same way. Bubble wrap works great to keep everything safe and in place. You may wish to grab some larger flat sheets of corrugated to sandwich the foamcore in particular. That stuff is a bitch to ship.

If you're not charging a fee for shipping and handling you should definitely consider it. This stuff takes time and money. Add it to your bill to cover your time and material costs. As long as it's reasonable, customers have no problem paying for it in my experience.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

you may want to look locally for a box manufacturing company. i spent years of my life working in conjunction with a packaging company designing packaging for a mutual client of both of ours...i learned more about corrugated boxes than i ever wanted to...good times lol.

but all of those should be standard sizes, nothing too odd ball. i know that when i lived in the big city we had a manufacturer that sold boxes by the piece so that you didnt have to buy large quantities but it was still substantially cheaper than u-line.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Look locally for a box company, most cities have several places. If not, group your Uline orders together, order enough of what you need for a year, bite the bullet and pay the freight. In the long run it's still cheaper than having to redo one or two signs because of failed homemade packaging.

 

[jiarby]

I already buy 12x18x12 boxes from Uline, $1.45 each with shipping...flattened out they are 24x30

They also have a 24x14x14 for $1.37 that would work for a 24x36... but I'd still be kludging them together.

When we buy Rowmark & trophy metal (12x24 quarter sheets) it comes in a perfect box that I have been unable to find anywhere. The ends fold up into a tube and the top flaps seal it all up. It is about 1" thick

 

[jiarby]

Dan,

yeah there are a couple box mfgers here in Phx, but I thought I's have to buy 1000pcs to get them to call me back.

 

[SurfaceSigns]

Google "Picture Cardboard Box" and it comes up with a few solutions, mostly US based. I am assuming you don't need them to be very deep (<5 inches). I get a lot of my boxes shipping boxes from wholesale shipping supplies companies, which seem to have every box know to man available.

Here's a few links I came up with...

http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/product_listing.cfm?CategoryID=10160
http://www.cheepcheepboxes.com
http://www.custommadecorrugatedboxes.com/
http://store.cspackaging.net/shop/C130.aspx

best of luck!

 

[pixel_pusher]

I used four small mirror boxes to package a stack of 3'x4' coro panels just this afternoon, and it worked pretty wel, but didn't seem like the most efficient solution.

I have also struggled with the packaging issue over the years. It seems like most of the jobs I have to ship are the oddball sizes and quantities, so we can't really stock up on one or two popular sizes. As a result I end up building these frankenboxes that make packaging the job take almost as long as printing and mounting it.

How do the rest of you guys handle this? Do you use foam and a hot wire cutter to make the jobs fit better in normal boxes, or build wooden crates?

 

[jiarby]

On the recommendation of Corey from Signburst Computers (a merchant member) I contacted Advanced Packaging Specialties... they can make some OPF boxes (one panel folders) in whatever size we need with a low minimum.. they are about 25 miles from me. A great local solution. A custom solution, low quantities, no shipping charges, and as cheap/cheaper than Uline.

www.apsaz.com ask for Drew!

 

[Mosh]

http://www.uline.com/
We get all of our boxes here. Great prices and low minimums.

 

[jiarby]

The closest Uline warehouse to me is Los Angeles.
A bundle of 24x36 is too big to ship UPS, so they use a freight carrier. They $77 to ship a bundle of boxes that cost $60.

I like Uline, but just for stuff we can ship UPS. The local guy is going to be great.