That's right, shipping doesn't have to cost a furtune.   By saving money on shipping supplies, you can charge less for shipping & open your sales up to a wider group of buyers!  I've used lots of different types of boxes to ship lots of different sizes & weights of items. 

RECYCLED BOXES???   I use loads of  'recycled' boxes... boxes I get when I buy everyday things.  Some of the best boxes I've found for shipping out smaller items come from Market Day, Schwanns & the Angel Food Ministries.  Many people would look at these boxes, with loads of writing all over them & say it was too much trouble to reuse them... by the time you blacked out all the words, you would have used up an entire marker... But these are thick, sturdy boxes & it's a shame to just toss them out!  Besides, you don't want to add more junk to the landfill any more than I do...  Instead, look for heavy boxes that are NOT glued together - the kind that are folded together - then, JUST TURN THE BOX INSIDE OUT!   Most boxes that are NOT glued, are very easy to reuse. 

• On the outside of the box, locate the small tabs (usually 2 of them) that protrude slightly thru the bottom of the box, usually at the front of the box, on the bottom
• next, push these tabs up into the inside of the box, until they pop out of the slots
• then, unfold the entire box - it should unfold easily
• finally, refold the box, with the blank cardboard to the outside, making sure you fold the front flap down & lock those tabs into place
• pack your item & tape the box shut as you usually do 

NEW BOXES - I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that I also purchase boxes right here on Ebay!  When you're selling odd sizes & need a specific size box on a daily basis, look for a box to fit your need, right here on Ebay.  I've even found a great low cost box for shipping 12 x 12 scrapbook items, along with large zip top bags to fit the same size... it's not something I can just run out to one of the big retailers & pick up.   I use the 13x13 Record Album boxes for my scrapbook supplies.  Just do some research, compare prices & shipping costs, too.  You'd be surprised how big a difference there is in pricing for the exact same items!

PRIORITY MAIL BOXES - These are totally FREE & they'll even ship them right to your door for FREE!!!  They come in lots of different sizes - there's a box to fit nearly any item.  There's even free Priority Mail Packing Tape & labels!   If, like me, you ship items that are just under one pound, consider giving your customers a FREE upgrade to Priority Mail... Each time I upgrade them, it saves me 3 cents, plus the cost of a box & tape!  How is this possible???   I use the shipping service thru Papypal, so I can keep track of all shipments & give my customers tracking info.  If I ship a 14 or 15 oz. box, via Parcel Post, I have to provide my own box... hopefully I have a recycled one laying around to fit, or I have to use one I've paid for... Next, I pay $4.50, plus 18 cents for tracking = $4.68.  If I send that same package, in a FREE box, via Priority Mail, I only spend $4.65, because tracking is automatically provided at no extra cost.

If you ship small, or flat items that are also heavy, consider Priority Mail FLAT RATE BOXES and ENVELOPES.   Again, theses are all FREE.  They now come in several different sizes.  The envelopes ship at the one pound rate.  Two of the boxes ship for $9.80, and the NEW LARGER SIZE FLAT RATE BOX ships for $12.95.... use the shipping calculator.  Some boxes that weigh 3-5 pounds, that are shipping to a location close to you, may still be cheaper to ship in a standard Priority Mail box, rather than the Flat Rate Boxes.  Usually, if I'm shipping something that weighs over 5 pounds & it's going across the country, it will be cheaper to use the FLAT RATE BOX.  I ship lots of Scrapbooking supplies.  Even though they don't take up a lot of room, they can get really heavy.  Same holds true for things like Saw Blades & Stained Glass - you get the picture.

PRIORITY MAIL SHOE BOXES - I've found that the new SHOE BOX from Priority Mail can hold lots of scrapbooking supplies... not if I fold it up it into a shoe box, but if I leave it flat, just the way it arrives.  I cut off  both sets of end flaps, then tape one end shut, and slide my 12x12" bag full of  items inside.  I seal up the other end & put my label on... How easy & again, the shipping supplies are FREE!

MANILLA ENVELOPES -  Maybe you use a bunch of one particular size, say 6 x 9.  You go out & buy a box of 100 of the 6 x 9's for $8.99.  That means each one costs you roughly 9 cents, not bad.  Next time you go shopping, really check out ALL the envelopes, including some of the other sizes, too.   My local store has lots of different size, some with clasps, some without... some with self-stick flaps, some with the old fashioned kind you need to moisten. 

Now, if you're shipping out 20 or 30 envelopes a day, buy exactly what you need & save yourself some time... however, if you're shipping a couple every day or maybe just a few a week, you might want to consider buying a different size.  I just got a box of 100 of the 9x12 catalog envelopes, on sale for only $6.99.  I can simply use them, as is and save a little money, plus I already have them on hand if I need to mail a 8x10 item.... OR, Since they are roughly twice the size of the 6x9's...  I can cut them in half...  Now I have 200 envelopes... after I fold over 1/2" to make a little flap, they're now 5 1/2 x 9, a perfect size for many of my items... 200 envelopes, for just $6.99.  Since I tape all my envelopes flaps shut anyway, I just make it a point to overlap the tape when I adhere the shipping label.

PACKING MATERIALS - It can be really expensive to buy packing noodles, bubble wrap, etc.  Yesterdays newspaper can be really messy & the ink can even damage some items.  You can sometimes pick up what the newspaper calls End Rolls - litterally the ends of the rolls of BLANK Newsprint paper - These usually weigh quite a bit & have hundreds of feet of paper on them.... sometimes for only $5 - $10 at your local newspaper office. 

The cheapest way I've found to safely & securely ship my items is to RECYCLE!  Save ALL the packing material you receive... whether it's a used bubble mailer, packing noodles, styrofoam from when you bought the new blender, etc.  Ask your family & friends to save them, too. 

I even save empty cereal boxes, tissue boxes, etc.  These are really easy to cut down to make custom sized boxes for delicate items.  When shipping a large item, I cut cardboard to size to make custom corners - you know, like when you buy a painting or picture frame at the store, & they have the little cardboard corners that keep the item from getting damaged.   Make your own from leftover cardboard.  Those flaps I've cut off of the shoe boxes can be used to make my own corners.  Simply crease the cardboard against a 90 degree corner - the countertop, or edge of the computer desk work for me.  Tape cardboard to itself, or to the plastic you've wrapped your item in, so as to not damage the item you're shipping.

Many businesses get regular shipments that contain packing noodles or bubble wrap.  Most throw them away.  Some are happy to give them to you - Especially if you know the owner or the manager.  It saves them the expense of trash bags, garbage collection, etc., plus they know it's one less thing in the landfil.  It doesn't hurt to ask!

I've even been known to reuse Envelopes!  Many of the padded mailers can be reused.  Sometimes I just pull off the old labels & they're nearly as good as new.  Others have seen better days, but can still be used inside a box as padding, or inside a manilla envelope as padding.  It's easy to cut off any old address info.

• Please remember that any time you reuse an envelope or box, you need to do a few simple things to make sure your shipment gets to where it's going.
• Remove, or completely black out any addresses that do not apply to this shipment (even if it's just being used as inside packaging... if the box breaks open, or outside label falls off, your items could end up in the wrong place)
• Same hold true for the original postage, get rid of it
• Use good quality tape to secure your boxes, envelope flaps, and labels

I hope this information has been helpful.  If so, please vote at the bottom!  I welcome any questions or comments.  You can contact me thru my Ebay store, Laure's Scrapbook.  I hope you'll take a look - I'm adding new items all the time.  You never know what you might find in Laure's Scrapbook!