Packaging Knives For Shipping

[bestgear]

I've been using these Indestructo Mailers (https://www.uline.com/BL_1351/White-Indestructo-Mailers) for many years with no reported issues. The cost of a 5" x 2" x 2" box for 1 knife is about $0.40 when you add the cost of shipping 100 boxes to your house.

Over the weekend I was shopping for shipping tubes for some fly rods that I'm selling on eBay and discovered Yazoo Mills, a company founded as a yarn and textile mill in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1902 who eventually settled in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1936. They make a 1.5" x 12" tube (http://www.yazoomills.com/mailing-tubes ... kraft.aspx) that could be cut in half to accommodate shipping 1 knife for about $0.28. Their prices includes shipping charges to anywhere in the Continental USA and includes the plastic end plugs.

While a $0.12 difference isn't a huge difference, I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience shipping knives in tubes vs. boxes? I'm generally a "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" kinda guy so I'm skeptical about giving up my current Indestructo Mailers, especially since I have a good amount of them in-stock. Thoughts?

[TripleF]

Over the past years, like 5, I've used cereal box (cutto fit) in a 6 x 9 envelope, with bubble wrap around the knife then stuffed inside the reinforced 6 x 9 envelope.

Recently I've been buying tins at estate sales, and other plastic snap shut containers ......

No problems whatsoever....

I also buy my tape and cleaning products at estate sales for pennies on the dollar.

You'd think I'd have some sort of financial worth, but not the case.

Oh well.

[jerryd6818]

Same size as the tubes GEC uses (I just measured one). Good fit for most any pocket knife and very sturdy, however, I see issues with all the labels that have to go on a package. Address label, postage label and tracking number label. I also don't know if the post office charges more for odd shaped packages (i.e. not square or rectangular).

[Railsplitter]

The tubes aren't bad but I would stick with the boxes. It seems like it would be frustrating to tape an address label to the tube and I wouldn't trust one to stick to it without tape.

[supratentorial]

Those boxes look good.

[peanut740]

Boxes.

[XX Case XX]

If I'm shipping a knife in a box, I always use a sturdy box like Uline, in either brown or white. If I'm shipping an older knife without a box, a padded envelope works fine. I wrap up the knife in bubble wrap and then place the entire thing in a plastic baggie to keep it secure.

My main concern with a knife/box-knife/tube, is that I want to protect the box or tube from damage during transit. No one wants a new knife in a smashed up box/tube. Therefore, a sturdy box is a must. I also place large amounts of "packing peanuts" in the box to keep it from shifting as the box is undoubtedly thrown about. I try to package my knives in the same way I would hope a seller to me would package his.

Uline has been one of my favorites for years.

__________
Mike

[Paladin]

For several years I have used the small flat rate boxes furnished by USPS. No problems but with rising prices I wanted to start using a sturdy cardboard box and mail 1st class or whatever they call it at the USPS.
Using the USPS site, I calculated the price and it came out as within pennies (in one case it was just 3 cents) of the flat rate price. As an online purchase, I pay $6.25 for a small flat rate mailing to anywhere in the USA, incl Alaska and Hawaii.
Am curious how this compares to the experience you have using regular mail.

Ray

[philco]

Tom if you were to utilize the tubes and cut them in half, wouldn't you need double the number of end caps that are normally provided ?

I'm of the mindset, it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'd stick with the boxes.

[jerryd6818]

Ray, a small flat rate box is now up to $7.15.

[bestgear]

Am curious how this compares to the experience you have using regular mail.

If I ship first class with no insurance the cost is typically about $2.50 for the postage. Insurance is:
$0.01 to $50 - $2.10
$50.01 to $100 - $2.65
$100.01 to $200 - $3.35
$200.01 to $300 - $4.40
$300.01 to $400 - $5.55
$400.01 to $500 - $6.70
$500.01 to $600 - $9.15

So on a $50 knife that sold on AAPK and paid for with PayPal, the total cost is $7.95 (see details below) not including any additional packaging materials and fuel to/from the Post Office. That almost 8% of the sales price!

Packaging - $0.40
Shipping -$2.50
Insurance - $2.10
AAPK - $1.50
PayPal - $1.45

But to answer your original question, apples-to-apples:
- first class with $50 of added insurance and your own packaging is $5.00
- flat rate box with $50 of insurance included and free packaging is $6.25
but you can fit more than one knife in that flat rate box whereas my packaging is for just one knife!

You might want to reconsider shipping options for transactions that are for just one knife

[Railsplitter]

Am curious how this compares to the experience you have using regular mail.

If I ship first class with no insurance the cost is typically about $2.50 for the postage. Insurance is:
$0.01 to $50 - $2.10

My packages are close to that price for First Class with no insurance. Usually around $3.20 but I use a 8" X 3 1/2" X 4" box.

[Paladin]

As an online purchase, I pay $6.25 for a small flat rate mailing to anywhere in the USA, incl Alaska and Hawaii.

From Jerry, "Ray, a small flat rate box is now up to $7.15."
Jerry,
If I print the label online and if it is an eBay transaction that I can print starting in their system, the cost is $6.25.

Ray

[Paladin]

Am curious how this compares to the experience you have using regular mail.

- first class with $50 of added insurance and your own packaging is $5.00
- flat rate box with $50 of insurance included and free packaging is $6.25
but you can fit more than one knife in that flat rate box whereas my packaging is for just one knife!

You might want to reconsider shipping options for transactions that are for just one knife

For the $5.00 can you ship anywhere in the USA? No limits?

Ray

[Paladin]

As an online purchase, I pay $6.25 for a small flat rate mailing to anywhere in the USA, incl Alaska and Hawaii.

From Jerry, "Ray, a small flat rate box is now up to $7.15."
Jerry,
If I print the label online and if it is an eBay transaction that I can print starting in their system, the cost is $6.25.

Ray

Jerry,
I stopped before I was finished. If, for whatever reason, I cannot print my label online and have to pay at the USPS counter, the price is $7.15.

Ray

[bestgear]

CONUS, not Alaska and Hawaii, that's been my experience. FYI, I'm shipping from Annapolis Maryland and most of my customers seem to be east of the Mississippi River.

[jerryd6818]

As an online purchase, I pay $6.25 for a small flat rate mailing to anywhere in the USA, incl Alaska and Hawaii.

From Jerry, "Ray, a small flat rate box is now up to $7.15."
Jerry,
If I print the label online and if it is an eBay transaction that I can print starting in their system, the cost is $6.25.

Ray

Well there you go then. I don't sell on eBay or any other way so I don't have that option available to me. Should have known I guess.

[Paladin]

As an online purchase, I pay $6.25 for a small flat rate mailing to anywhere in the USA, incl Alaska and Hawaii.

From Jerry, "Ray, a small flat rate box is now up to $7.15."
Jerry,
If I print the label online and if it is an eBay transaction that I can print starting in their system, the cost is $6.25.

Ray

Well there you go then. I don't sell on eBay or any other way so I don't have that option available to me. Should have known I guess.

Guys,
I hate to beat this dead horse any more but the new postal prices have pushed me to re-explore this subject.
The USPS counter purchased cost of mailing a small flat rate box is now $7.20. The recent price adjustment by USPS was $.05. yet by reducing the discount to eBay, printed online for the same small flat rate box is now $6.85. My previous printed online flat rate fee was $6.25, there is a $.60 increase.
I called eBay to inquire about the reduction of discount from about 12½% to 5% and got no real answer.
Anyone out there know if this discount is regulated by the USPS or is it regulated, and adjusted, by eBay?
I charge my customers $6.50 for mailing the small flat rate box and eBay takes 10% of that amount. So all computed, I go in the hole by $.65 and $.35.
One benefit of the small flat rate box is that I can combine shipping and send 4 or 5 full size knives for the one price. If I use the 5x3x3 box, mentioned earlier in this thread, I cannot do that. Those of you who mail using that size box, do you print a label online? Does it fit on the small box?
Do you just write the mailing address directly onto the box? Or what?

Ray

[LongBlade]

Ray - I do not sell on eBay (and actually only buy a small minority of my knives on eBay as I am tired of that game for many reasons) so sorry to stick my 2 cents in here as I do not have an answer. BUT why on earth does eBay have the right to keep a percentage of a sellers shipping fees??? Just makes no sense to me and in my mind just plain wrong ....

[Paladin]

Ray - I do not sell on eBay (and actually only buy a small minority of my knives on eBay as I am tired of that game for many reasons) so sorry to stick my 2 cents in here as I do not have an answer. BUT why on earth does eBay have the right to keep a percentage of a sellers shipping fees??? Just makes no sense to me and in my mind just plain wrong ....

I absolutely and 100% agree with you on this. I have railed against the system with absolutely zero results. Don't forget that PayPal also takes a cut of 3¼%.

Ray

[jerryd6818]

[zzyzzogeton]

ebay did not originally collect a fee on shipping, but unscrupulous sellers started overcharging on shipping to pay for the ebay fee and get more money as well. Items would sell BIN for $5 or $10 and have $10 or $15 shipping for something that would cost only $5 (or less)to ship, screwing ebay out of their share, so ebay essentially said, if y'all are gonna pad your shipping rates we'll charge you for it.

So "we" did it to ourselves (charges of shipping fees) due to scammers.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

maxresdefault.jpg

That is the sad truth. I hate selling things on ebay as I never make any money on it, but at the same time it's more likely to sell on ebay due to sheer exposure. It's a crappy deal.

[bestgear]

You should checkout easyshipping.com. If you have less than 50 shipments/month there is no subscription fee and the rates are well below USPS retail and eBay. They charge postage to your credit card, you print your label and drop off in any USPS recipictle. I've been using it for the last couple of weeks with great success.

Plus they capture eBay or PayPal data and import it to create labels. Very easy to use and economical.

[peanut740]

We use stamps.com for M&G shipping.Ken my business partner handles that end of the business.We ship in boxes and a single knife cost us around $5 and that includes tracking and our cost for materials.I Don't know how much it went up with the rate change.