Boxes, Boxes, Boxes
Many online auction sellers know a tidy little secret: The world is awash in free boxes. Astute auction sellers scoop them up like loose diamonds. Yes, you can and often should buy sturdy new shipping boxes at office supply stores and from office supply catalogs. But many boxes can be recycled and used for at least one more shipment, saving trees, energy, and money.
Almost any time you get a package in the mail or have a computer or household product delivered, you end up with a box and packaging that can be reused. When people move into or out of a neighborhood, some of their boxes end up piled at the curb or in the alley, awaiting the next trash pickup.
Cardboard boxes and padding materials often spill out of overstuffed Dumpsters behind businesses and grocery stores and are fair game for auction sellers.
Do not pull boxes and packing from inside Dumpsters, unless you have permission. Business owners often earn extra money by recycling cardboard and other shipping materials stored in Dumpsters. “Dumpster diving” is illegal in parts of the United States. You could be arrested and charged with theft or trespassing.
Saving Through Recycling
There are many ways to get free boxes and other shipping materials. Your friends and relatives get merchandise in the mail or have new household items delivered in sturdy boxes. They have to get rid of the containers and packing materials some way. Encourage them to donate the leftover boxes, cushioning material, and peanuts to you, so you can recycle them through your business and help hold down your shipping costs.
Garage sales and yard sales can be surprisingly good sources of useful shipping items. Foam mattress pads, for example, can often be purchased cheaply. The pads can be cut into pieces of many different sizes and used to help cushion paintings, breakable artwork, and other fragile items.
UPS, eBay, and others recommend using corrugated cardboard boxes to ship auction merchandise. According to the Corrugated Packaging Council (CPC), based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, corrugated cardboard gets its strength and lightness from its easily recognized structure. It employs a layer of arched paper known as “fluting” that is tightly sandwiched between two flat layers known as “liners.”
Fragile items can be double-boxed for added protection. Double boxing is also known as overboxing. The most effective way to double-box is to cushion the auction item carefully inside one box, then place that box inside a larger box that will be filled on all sides with cushioning materials such as bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts, or foam padding. Do not use shredded or crumpled paper.
Your Tax Dollars at Work
The U.S. Postal Service offers a number of free mailing containers and envelopes to patrons who use Priority Mail or Express Mail. Post office lobbies often have a few boxes displayed as flat pieces of cardboard that you can take home and bend and work into shape for your next Priority Mail shipment. The giveaway boxes are labeled “property of the U.S. Postal Service” and are covered with Priority Mail logos. Don't try to use them to ship something via UPS or FedEx. And don't get clever and try to turn the box inside out, so the Postal Service logos are all inside. The Feds have conveniently printed
Always send your merchandise in clean, undamaged boxes. You or the buyer may have a difficult time proving a shipping-damage claim if you have used a torn, dented, or warped container. Cardboard cut from damaged boxes can be used to help cushion and strengthen the insides of good boxes.
