Shipping shops

I cant find a company that does Mail/shipping shops. Please advise.

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It is the big monopoly company that has practically every major gas station now.

If you can't find them then you haven't put 2hrs worth of work into your business.... takes less than that to sign up with the top 20 companies.

I have a question about company that has you mail packages. I have done them for years and have always had extra boxes so do not have to buy one. This time I am away from home and picked up three post office jobs and have no boxes. I have been to two Wal-Marts, dollar store, and family dollar and no small boxes. I can purchase some at Home Depot but they are around 2.50 a box. I know company will pay some but will they pay that much for a box? I sent a note to the company but no response so far and I have to do two of the shops on Monday.

I believe the reimbursement covers the postage and any box you purchase.

@ctalbert wrote:

I have a question about company that has you mail packages. I have done them for years and have always had extra boxes so do not have to buy one. This time I am away from home and picked up three post office jobs and have no boxes. I have been to two Wal-Marts, dollar store, and family dollar and no small boxes. I can purchase some at Home Depot but they are around 2.50 a box. I know company will pay some but will they pay that much for a box? I sent a note to the company but no response so far and I have to do two of the shops on Monday.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

You can use a padded envelope or a poly mailer as well, as long as it weighs between 1 and 2 lbs. That's what I usually do. Those can be very inexpensive.

Also, as someone who often mails things for my own business as well, I used to regularly check the big trash cans at post offices and found perfectly clean, re-usable packaging tossed in there by people who check their PO boxes and open their packages while there. Great way to get free shipping materials - as long as you're not bashful about being seen rummaging through the trash cans, LOL.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2023 08:42PM by shopnyc.

The reimbursement is for both shipping materials AND postage. SO if that amount is $14.00 & shipping is13.50 plus box is 2.50 you will be reimbursed 14.00. If shipping is 16.00 and box is free you will be reimbursed 14.00. I have taken (with permission) empty boxes from Dollar Tree. granted I was not away from home. Late December I found gift bags that looked unused at a post office.

If you're near a Staples, they have a nice variety of small sized boxes.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Ipsos on the Shopmetrics side.

Staples has boxes that you can get with discount if you buy 5. They usually run .69 to .79 per box when you buy 5. I just tape my receipt to a piece of paper and list the the shop numbers next to the receipt as I do them until I complete 5 shops to cover the 5 boxes that I purchased.
With the increase in postage costs I would not want to spend too much on a box and risk going over the reimbursement amount.

This has been my experience as well, only the reimbursement fee is given to us, if it is within the price of shipping and box purchase you are lucky.

@AWhitman wrote:

Ipsos on the Shopmetrics side.

There’s also another company that does the brown parcel delivery shops, however they are not as frequent as the government shipping shops.

Thanks, I'm not near a staples but will keep that in mind when I go home. I tried Office Depot, but the smallest one they had was 2.49

@ctalbert wrote:

Thanks, I'm not near a staples but will keep that in mind when I go home. I tried Office Depot, but the smallest one they had was 2.49

Walmart has boxes in the office section ranging from $0.59 to $0.98 each.

CVS also has a lot of boxes but in my store they keep them behind the pharmacy. If you are there when the right person is there they will look for you to see if there any you can use. Or if you need boxes regularly find out what the best time to come in which would be after stocking shelves and they may be willing to save them for you. Also schools tend to get a lot of boxed items so if you are visiting anyone with a school aged child the office may have some boxes.

Or, since you signed up for the shops, you could read the guidelines and KNOW how much they will reimburse for the cost of a box or a mailer.

Why do you have to be nasty all the time?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

If you can't find them then you haven't put 2hrs worth of work into your business.... takes less than that to sign up with the top 20 companies.

Why do people have to be lazy all the time?

@AWhitman wrote:

Why do you have to be nasty all the time?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

If you can't find them then you haven't put 2hrs worth of work into your business.... takes less than that to sign up with the top 20 companies.

I bought few days ago 5 boxes from Staples. They cost me $1.05 per piece

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

If someone is asking a question about which company does what, that hardly constitutes as someone being lazy. It sounds like someone who needs help finding work.

I’m not sure why that should bother you.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Why do people have to be lazy all the time?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

If you can't find them then you haven't put 2hrs worth of work into your business.... takes less than that to sign up with the top 20 companies.

[/quote]

Reimbursement is $14. So long as the total is at or below this amount, you'll be reimbursed. I buy my boxes at Staples. Buy 5 or more of two small sizes, prices are 75 cents.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

We are all business owners, COMPETITORS! stop thinking we are co-workers.

Too many people in this industry treat it like a w-2 job. It isn't. We are responsible for building our OWN business. You don't see Walmart CEO calling Amazon and telling them 'hey, this is the new hot market & this is the marketing strategy that's working for us'....

Aaaaaaand it's actually prohibited by the ICA that you signed with each company.

@AWhitman wrote:

If someone is asking a question about which company does what, that hardly constitutes as someone being lazy. It sounds like someone who needs help finding work.

I’m not sure why that should bother you.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Why do people have to be lazy all the time?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

If you can't find them then you haven't put 2hrs worth of work into your business.... takes less than that to sign up with the top 20 companies.

[/quote]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2023 07:11PM by luckygirl0100.

I use the small USPS boxes and just rewrap them. I buy a roll of brown wrapping paper for $1.25 and can overwrap many boxes. Sometimes I just put a piece of paper over he address and return address from a box that someone sent to me.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

You don't see Walmart CEO calling Amazon and telling them 'hey, this is the new hot market & this is the marketing strategy that's working for us'....

I agree with your original post as the OP appears quite entitled based on the wording of the post. “Please advise” made me think this person is either a) an @#$%& or b) someone for whom English is their second language or c) a generally rude person in everyday life.

I don’t mind pointing someone in the right direction as the statistical probability of them being in my area and snagging the shops I want prior to me getting them are slim to none.

Onto this quote, many company’s do competitor shops, benchmarking and they often collaborate. While the CEO isn’t calling up his buddy at Amazon for the details, I am sure they sit on the same boards, hit the golf course together and talk shop and strategy.

I know in my industry, we often collaborate with competitors to learn what’s hot in the industry.

To sum this all up, it isn’t a ruthless dog eat dog world out there as many may seem and the OP rubbed me the wrong way which is why I didn’t initially respond.

Completely agree people within the same industry talk to each other. But I'm pretty sure one isn't saying 'tell me the easy way' & the other going 'yeah, all you have to do is......'

This forum is definitely needed for talking about the industry but lately it's been FILLED with posts that basically say 'you've done all the work, now give me the info'...
The number of posts lately from people complaining about things like supposed age discrimination, low pay per hour, long payment terms, etc is just unbelievable. Those are things moderated by laws for w-2 employees, not us.

@Capurato wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

You don't see Walmart CEO calling Amazon and telling them 'hey, this is the new hot market & this is the marketing strategy that's working for us'....

I agree with your original post as the OP appears quite entitled based on the wording of the post. “Please advise” made me think this person is either a) an @#$%& or b) someone for whom English is their second language or c) a generally rude person in everyday life.

I don’t mind pointing someone in the right direction as the statistical probability of them being in my area and snagging the shops I want prior to me getting them are slim to none.

Onto this quote, many company’s do competitor shops, benchmarking and they often collaborate. While the CEO isn’t calling up his buddy at Amazon for the details, I am sure they sit on the same boards, hit the golf course together and talk shop and strategy.

I know in my industry, we often collaborate with competitors to learn what’s hot in the industry.

To sum this all up, it isn’t a ruthless dog eat dog world out there as many may seem and the OP rubbed me the wrong way which is why I didn’t initially respond.

When I first joined the forum, I quickly learned to not ask questions. I couldn't believe how nasty some people were. I think it's better now, but there are still some mean posts. I guess if nothing else, mean snarkiness will teach many newbies not to ask questions.

Dollar tree is another good place fo cheap mailing supplies.

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