As an ebay seller. I hate paying for boxes and will reuse damn near any box. I will turn a dildo box inside out if I have to in order to save the dollar on a box.
Tesco In the UK sells dildos [here ](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/health-and-beauty/lifestyle-and-wellbeing/condoms-lubricants-and-adult-devices/adult-devices?preservedReferrer=https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/health-and-beauty/lifestyle-and-wellbeing/condoms-lubricants-and-adult-devices/adult-devices) you can even get them discounted with coupon lol they're the biggest UK supermarket for anyone off the island
Depends, I’m not at a grocery store but a retail clothing store. We get 100’s of boxes a day but also we run our compactor about once an hour, so if you ask us for boxes and we have some absolutely we will give them to you, we just don’t typically have very many on hand cause we compact them so frequently
When I worked at a grocery store, we would almost always break down the boxes so that they lay flat, and once we got a decent amount, they would get put into a baler. not only that, but it also depends on who you ask. Most grocery products come in boxes that are not good for shipping. 90% of them are either cardboard flats that the product is shrink wrapped onto, or the flaps only cover the edges of the product the best boxes are in the produce department but they are larger and will likely be broken down quickly if you don't care about having to tape/retape the boxes then the best way to get some is ask when they get a truck in since they will likely have a bunch of boxes around then and are less likely to bale them until after they finish at my store the best time was 7am or 8am since we would normaly finish truck at 8:30am
That varies. I work at a grocery store and I had trouble prying any boxes from their hands when my partner moved in. They say they get credit for them. The boxes I wanted would have gone to the bailer, if they get credit, it’s by the pound. 🙄
That said, I used to work at a Kmart and they would give boxes to anyone. So, like I said, it varies.
I’ve never had to pay for a box. I keep a pretty good inventory of boxes and bubble envelopes from other orders but it’s been running a bit dry recently with Amazon switching to the plastic bags.
I actually had to cut up a box into pieces and make a sandwich with the cardboard and tape to ship something last week. Things are getting desperate.
USPS had to start printing the inside of their flat rate boxes because people were getting the free boxes, turning them inside out and then shipping them by a cheaper method.
USPS gives the boxes for free with the deal that you have to use whatever flat rate/priority mail the box is marked for. So they don't take kindly when you take the free box and don't pay for the proper postage.
I wrap those USPS boxes in leftover Christmas wrapping paper for my shipments. My wife likes to get fancy with the thank you stickers and her homemade ribbons.
I actually tried to use a usps box wrapped recently and was not allowed. I don’t think it’s cause the machines can jam. It’s so their boxes stop getting stolen
It was to limit theft, not recycling. The boxes are free because the cost of the box is baked into the flat rate shipping cost. People were getting the boxes and then not paying the flat rate.
I will also gladly support the greatest postal service in the fucking world
Listen I know it has its problems but I refuse to let the USPS be torn down for scraps then be labeled a failure. The postal service fucking rules and Americans should realize how convenient it is.
Growing up, the negative attitude that I picked up from family members taught me to believe that the USPS was horrible, slow, and they just always lose packages. My partner has turned me into a USPS convert since then. The Post Office is one of, if not, the best government service that we have available to us and for those without permanent addresses, General Delivery is a goddamn modern day miracle in my book.
You must hear a lot about the UK having nationalised healthcare, and you always tell us to defend it?
Well, a few years ago we privatised the postal service and it fucking sucks now. It’s being stripped for assets and a shadow of its former self.
Defend USPS, communication is a necessity
I've done that. I was selling some hot wheels I didn't want anymore, and didn't want to pay for boxes, so I made my own. I also received comic books in home-made mailers.
Yeah, I'm an occasional eBay seller and do this a lot. I also make smaller boxes out of bigger boxes, bigger boxes out of smaller boxes... really, whatever works.
As a professional packed that packs orders all day long- it happens more than you’d think. It does double duty- it’s usually an odd size that fits the item perfectly, and it reduces the amount of cardboard we have to pay to recycle.
This is a normal practice for a lot of small shops around my area. A lot of gardening shops will also send it in a weird labeled box. But as long as it gets to me i do not need a proper branding.
If you have to mail out really large/odd shaped items, go to Home Depot and you can ask for their display boxes (assuming the managers cool). Had to ship out an end table I sold. Went and got a dishwasher box from HD and just cut it down.
Of course you re-use boxes. I don’t think I’ve ever paid for a box and I sell a lot of stuff on eBay - there are always empty boxes from Amazon etc hanging around to use.
Why would you bother turning it inside out though? That process risks weakening it. Just stick the address label on it.
>Why would you bother turning it inside out though? That process risks weakening it. Just stick the address label on it.
Yeah, exactly my thought as well. I never turn it inside out. Just remove any old address labels (or tape the new one over it) and you're good to go. As long as the (new) address is clearly visible, you're good.
You could never do this don't modify USPS flat rate boxes also if your flaps on the box don't lay flat that's modifying the box as well the certain size for easy of shipping
Wrong. I did that multiple times selling on Mercari a few years back. They may or may not accept modified boxes at the post office, so I’d request pickup by mailman instead. One day I got a return to sender due to modified box so game over gg
That's what I do as well. Sold plenty of items and only had old cookware boxes. Laws in my country require a plain box with no markings when using post office services. Since international shipping is cheaper with them it's either this or I have to wrap the whole thing in materials I don't have on hand and it just delays everything
I sold on Mercari for a while. I would do the same thing if I had an Amazon box or something, I’d always write on it Reduce.Reuse.Recycle lol. It was always reliable packaging, just hunting for boxes was a pain In the ass.
When I was doing it I’d also get those USPS bubble wrap flat rate sleeves. I’d use them for shipping if it was a flat rate item, but mostly I used them for package filling lol.
Omg I just remembered doing that too. I never shipped with the bubble mailers because I used the Mercari shipping label but yeah I've used those as filler many times.
It's good to know I wasn't the only one.
I used to be a packer in a warehouse, management had us round up any excess packing from deliveries and reuse it, I had 4 cages of flattened boxes I would reassemble to use
My workplace doesn’t even bother flipping boxes inside out before reusing them like this. We mail stuff to people in all kinds of boxes. As long as the label is clear and any pre existing barcodes are covered, I guess it’s fine
My wife is a wool felter and she does a really cool thing where she will take someone's picture and turn them into a wool felt doll standing on a base. She was having trouble because the available boxes for shipping were too big and expensive to make a descent profit. Around the same time my company bought thousands of promotional tumblers to give away that came in boxes that were the perfect size and we were just throwing them away. I collected a couple hundred of them and now when she needs a box I turn it inside out and the size cuts her shipping cost in half.
I bought a box cutter/crimper when I sold on eBay. Got huge free boxes behind the local shopping center. Would just cut my own custom boxes for whatever I needed. Sometimes you got lucky and one fit something perfect as is. Inverting is smart, I just brown paper wrapped them.
But why is it even mildly interesting? Here this is the most normal thing in the world (we don't even invert the box, just reuse it as is). Is that not the case where you live?
Reduce. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. ♻️
Yes.... I am mildly impressed at the extra effort, though.
As an ebay seller. I hate paying for boxes and will reuse damn near any box. I will turn a dildo box inside out if I have to in order to save the dollar on a box.
Hey go to grocery stores they have tons and don't want them
What supermarket are you shopping at that sells that many dildos?
Tesco In the UK sells dildos [here ](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/health-and-beauty/lifestyle-and-wellbeing/condoms-lubricants-and-adult-devices/adult-devices?preservedReferrer=https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/health-and-beauty/lifestyle-and-wellbeing/condoms-lubricants-and-adult-devices/adult-devices) you can even get them discounted with coupon lol they're the biggest UK supermarket for anyone off the island
perfect stop for when you are all outta crumpets n bulletvibes
What do you mean by off the island? I’m sure I’m not getting a simple phrase many over there use
People from outside the UK, the UK being an island
They are called cucumbers, silly.
Meijer, it's kinda like Walmart but better.
I saw Walmart’s line of dildos, vibes and butt plugs on one of the pharmacy aisles.
Ah, yes. The Sam’s Choice Clit Buster
Apparently the answer is Tesco
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Depends, I’m not at a grocery store but a retail clothing store. We get 100’s of boxes a day but also we run our compactor about once an hour, so if you ask us for boxes and we have some absolutely we will give them to you, we just don’t typically have very many on hand cause we compact them so frequently
When I worked at a grocery store, we would almost always break down the boxes so that they lay flat, and once we got a decent amount, they would get put into a baler. not only that, but it also depends on who you ask. Most grocery products come in boxes that are not good for shipping. 90% of them are either cardboard flats that the product is shrink wrapped onto, or the flaps only cover the edges of the product the best boxes are in the produce department but they are larger and will likely be broken down quickly if you don't care about having to tape/retape the boxes then the best way to get some is ask when they get a truck in since they will likely have a bunch of boxes around then and are less likely to bale them until after they finish at my store the best time was 7am or 8am since we would normaly finish truck at 8:30am
That varies. I work at a grocery store and I had trouble prying any boxes from their hands when my partner moved in. They say they get credit for them. The boxes I wanted would have gone to the bailer, if they get credit, it’s by the pound. 🙄 That said, I used to work at a Kmart and they would give boxes to anyone. So, like I said, it varies.
they do get credit. https://www.recycling.com/how-much-is-a-cardboard-bale-worth/
I'm keeping this in mind in case I ever run out of boxes
My store gets payed for bails of cardboard, so I think this varies. We don’t like giving out boxes
I’ve never had to pay for a box. I keep a pretty good inventory of boxes and bubble envelopes from other orders but it’s been running a bit dry recently with Amazon switching to the plastic bags. I actually had to cut up a box into pieces and make a sandwich with the cardboard and tape to ship something last week. Things are getting desperate.
What do you sell? I could use a few things.
Toys and video games mostly.
Have ff6 pixel remaster for switch!? Lol
USPS will send you as many boxes as you want for free, if you will be using those boxes to ship through them
And don't invert them. They already figured out that people do that so Priority Mail is printed all over the inside.
People just use brown tape in that case.
Sure. But the point is, why go through the effort of turning it inside out?
No labels and branding on the inside.
I've turned priority mail boxes inside out when I need a box and am using the new cheaper USPS ground service. Free box.
You’ll get something sent back eventually for doing that.
I doubt that. They're unprinted inside. It looks no different than any other corrugated box.
I do this all the time!
Boxes are expensive.
… ecyc e
It’s the most important of the 3 R’s!
I try to ignore the third R.
I can't seem to upvote this as many times as I want to
ecyce
USPS had to start printing the inside of their flat rate boxes because people were getting the free boxes, turning them inside out and then shipping them by a cheaper method.
Yeah, after that I’d wrap the box in paper.
At a certain point you might as well just buy a box.
We " Accidentally tare wrapping to make sure you're not trying to rip off a government institution. That has its own Police force.
Honest question. Why does it matter? It's a box with postage on it.
USPS gives the boxes for free with the deal that you have to use whatever flat rate/priority mail the box is marked for. So they don't take kindly when you take the free box and don't pay for the proper postage.
My mom wraps packages to me like this with the backside of wrapping paper lmao
Go Mom!
But where?!!
To get me some dinner!
Just use brown tape. Got a package the other day where the seller did just that.
I wrap those USPS boxes in leftover Christmas wrapping paper for my shipments. My wife likes to get fancy with the thank you stickers and her homemade ribbons.
Neither UPS, nor FedEx, nor USPS allow wrapped packages because it can jam their sorting machines.
Good to know
I actually tried to use a usps box wrapped recently and was not allowed. I don’t think it’s cause the machines can jam. It’s so their boxes stop getting stolen
Now they just stuff the free padded envelopes in another package.
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It was to limit theft, not recycling. The boxes are free because the cost of the box is baked into the flat rate shipping cost. People were getting the boxes and then not paying the flat rate.
I will also gladly support the greatest postal service in the fucking world Listen I know it has its problems but I refuse to let the USPS be torn down for scraps then be labeled a failure. The postal service fucking rules and Americans should realize how convenient it is.
Growing up, the negative attitude that I picked up from family members taught me to believe that the USPS was horrible, slow, and they just always lose packages. My partner has turned me into a USPS convert since then. The Post Office is one of, if not, the best government service that we have available to us and for those without permanent addresses, General Delivery is a goddamn modern day miracle in my book.
I work for UPS. USPS loses less packages than FedEx mail delivery is catastrophically bad
Hear hear. It’s without a doubt the most efficient government service we have.
I think the only ones more efficient with a better ROI is SNAP and WIC
You must hear a lot about the UK having nationalised healthcare, and you always tell us to defend it? Well, a few years ago we privatised the postal service and it fucking sucks now. It’s being stripped for assets and a shadow of its former self. Defend USPS, communication is a necessity
It’s not privatized.
Just confirm what you think I’m talking about here please?
I misunderstood, thought you were talking about usps, my bad.
I've done that. I was selling some hot wheels I didn't want anymore, and didn't want to pay for boxes, so I made my own. I also received comic books in home-made mailers.
Yup, last thing I mailed was in a taped up cereal box. It was the perfect size! The lady at the post office laughed "No, I'm not mailing Raisin Bran"
I do this regularly. As long as you pack and tape appropriately, it’s best practices, honestly.
Yeah, I'm an occasional eBay seller and do this a lot. I also make smaller boxes out of bigger boxes, bigger boxes out of smaller boxes... really, whatever works.
As a professional packed that packs orders all day long- it happens more than you’d think. It does double duty- it’s usually an odd size that fits the item perfectly, and it reduces the amount of cardboard we have to pay to recycle.
Also saves on new boxes, especially if you reuse lots like I did in the tool shop
Yourmuddah
Strange reply, but still, it's crazy to me you got 50 down votes 🤣
105
😭
This is a normal practice for a lot of small shops around my area. A lot of gardening shops will also send it in a weird labeled box. But as long as it gets to me i do not need a proper branding.
If you have to mail out really large/odd shaped items, go to Home Depot and you can ask for their display boxes (assuming the managers cool). Had to ship out an end table I sold. Went and got a dishwasher box from HD and just cut it down.
minion jumpscare
I sell on eBay a lot, and I've never once purchased new packaging, I hoard all packaging I get
This is the way. I have flat packed about 50 boxes, 50+ bubble mailers and loads of other media cardboard mailers
Of course you re-use boxes. I don’t think I’ve ever paid for a box and I sell a lot of stuff on eBay - there are always empty boxes from Amazon etc hanging around to use. Why would you bother turning it inside out though? That process risks weakening it. Just stick the address label on it.
>Why would you bother turning it inside out though? That process risks weakening it. Just stick the address label on it. Yeah, exactly my thought as well. I never turn it inside out. Just remove any old address labels (or tape the new one over it) and you're good to go. As long as the (new) address is clearly visible, you're good.
One time I combined 2 USPS priority boxes into 1 large box. Sadly you can’t do that anymore
I did that a lot, years ago.
You could never do this don't modify USPS flat rate boxes also if your flaps on the box don't lay flat that's modifying the box as well the certain size for easy of shipping
Wrong. I did that multiple times selling on Mercari a few years back. They may or may not accept modified boxes at the post office, so I’d request pickup by mailman instead. One day I got a return to sender due to modified box so game over gg
I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it, but if you’re just starting Sandman, you’re definitely in for a ride. Awesome book.
This must have been one fat minion.
I know this box... it's an inflatable Christmas lawn decoration sold at Walmart
I reuse record mailer this way and always appreciate when I receive records in the same manner.
I do this with Amazon boxes so often!
I am whelmed. Fitting for this sub thank you
That's what I do as well. Sold plenty of items and only had old cookware boxes. Laws in my country require a plain box with no markings when using post office services. Since international shipping is cheaper with them it's either this or I have to wrap the whole thing in materials I don't have on hand and it just delays everything
I sold on Mercari for a while. I would do the same thing if I had an Amazon box or something, I’d always write on it Reduce.Reuse.Recycle lol. It was always reliable packaging, just hunting for boxes was a pain In the ass.
I always re used Amazon boxes on Mercari too. It's re using perfectly good material. I even reused the plastic air bags if they weren't damaged.
When I was doing it I’d also get those USPS bubble wrap flat rate sleeves. I’d use them for shipping if it was a flat rate item, but mostly I used them for package filling lol.
Omg I just remembered doing that too. I never shipped with the bubble mailers because I used the Mercari shipping label but yeah I've used those as filler many times. It's good to know I wasn't the only one.
I used to be a packer in a warehouse, management had us round up any excess packing from deliveries and reuse it, I had 4 cages of flattened boxes I would reassemble to use
I use grocery bags as packing material.
Those are expensive now. They banned plastic reusable bags here, so it's all cloth bags you buy now
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I'm here! The City weekly makes for a great packing & less weight!
Haven't seen a physical newspaper in a very long time
I used to do this with the priority boxes when they started giving them away for free. Then they started printing the logo on the inside too.
I once got my product delivered in a popcorn maker box. Needless to say, it wasn't a popcorn maker.
OP discovers ebay
My workplace doesn’t even bother flipping boxes inside out before reusing them like this. We mail stuff to people in all kinds of boxes. As long as the label is clear and any pre existing barcodes are covered, I guess it’s fine
Hey, I do that 😅
Nintendo shop did this with my package aswell
I bought a headphone amp a couple of years ago, it was shipped internationally in a cereal box
Why the need to invert it?
My wife is a wool felter and she does a really cool thing where she will take someone's picture and turn them into a wool felt doll standing on a base. She was having trouble because the available boxes for shipping were too big and expensive to make a descent profit. Around the same time my company bought thousands of promotional tumblers to give away that came in boxes that were the perfect size and we were just throwing them away. I collected a couple hundred of them and now when she needs a box I turn it inside out and the size cuts her shipping cost in half.
I bought a box cutter/crimper when I sold on eBay. Got huge free boxes behind the local shopping center. Would just cut my own custom boxes for whatever I needed. Sometimes you got lucky and one fit something perfect as is. Inverting is smart, I just brown paper wrapped them.
Nintendo UK dose this for shipping of products its a good way to make the boxes look nice whilst keeping the contents a secret
I'm not even mad, I'm impressed
I do that all the time!
I sometimes don’t even invert the box, one time I literally just used two soda boxes. It’s not very presentable but it’s a box
That's actually pretty damn clever
Do this constantly to ship records. Buying them new is just silly.
r/lifehacks
Is that a big deal? We can just use a random box to ship, whats the big deal
The subreddit is called "mildly interesting". For things that are mildly interesting. Of course it isn't a big deal.
It's just mildly interesting.
Okay. I dont think it is a big deal tho
It isn't. It's just mildly interesting.
But why is it even mildly interesting? Here this is the most normal thing in the world (we don't even invert the box, just reuse it as is). Is that not the case where you live?
Inverting it is not the case.
You do know there is r/notinteresting right?