Sourcing Shipping Materials in Canada

[gorilla-scales]

Hello everybody,

I am having a hard time finding a good source for boxes and bubble wrap, mailers etc.  Can anyone here recommend a good wholesale company in Canada and better yet in B.C.?

[rockp5233]

I use Uline for numerous years now... Very complete line of products, good pricing and VERY fast shipping !

See: uline.ca or by phone 800-295-5510.

Good luck !

[mr.elmwood]

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@gorilla-scales wrote:

Hello everybody,

I am having a hard time finding a good source for boxes and bubble wrap, mailers etc.  Can anyone here recommend a good wholesale company in Canada and better yet in B.C.?

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I scrounge sheet cardboard and make my own custom fit boxes. The rest of the time I use bubble mailers. I get the mailers from Uline. Not very cheap after their inflated shipping, but, convenient.

Bubble wrap is not cheap, any where. I was getting it free from a computer store before I moved.

[Anonymous]

Uline is the best one.  However you can check the Staples website online, some of them are much cheaper than Uline like the mailer, poster tubes, packing tapes.  Check it out to compare the prices.  The problem with Uline is that they use UPS to ship their items which is very expensive while Staples offers free shipping.  Uline won't use Canada Post which is more cheaper than UPS.  I think Uline didn't want to bring stuffs to the post office, they prefer someone like UPS to come to take them.

I bought sturdy corrugated board inserts from my local company that make live chicken boxes and they were willing to do custom-made for me and to my want for the specific sizes which Uline has very limited size and will not do custom-cut to my prefer sizes and is way much cheaper than Uline like 80% less!!

As for the mailer, I use the UPS flat rate envelopes for FREE (the one you use to put documents) and put magazines in and then put in manila envelopes and sometimes I include sturdy corrugated board inserts to protect the brand new magazines from bending or folding during the mail transit.  I usually do that when there is enough room for up to 500 grams.  Lots of my buyers like that as they get their items still in its original conditions.  I didn't like to receive any magazines with no protection as the mail system is very brutal and will crush or bend or folded if there is no protection, not even bubble envelope can offer any protection for the magazine.

Example: Hello Magazine, the thick one weighs over 250 grams and since Canada Post/PayPal Shipping offers the same one rate between 251g and 500g, I can fill protection like corrugated cardboard inserts to protect the magazine and still comes under 500 grams.  So it is ideal for me to use UPS flat rate envelope for that purposes.  I am sure that FED EX has similar envelopes but I wasn't able to have access to them.  I understand the Staples has a koski for FED EX which I need to check it out and see if they have that envelopes that I can use.

In the past I used to use the USPS free mailing supplies (not available to Canadian sellers!) like boxes, flat rate envelopes, VHS, DVD boxes, etc., which I bought at one of the garage sales.  That guy used to go to Grand Forks weekly and got those USPS free mailing supplies which he picked up there and bring to his home in Manitoba.  It was while he was a truck driver going to USA every week, sometimes every 4 or 5 days and he retired and was trying to get rid of leftover of USPS free mailing supplies and I bought them from him which was 3 car loads full!  It was for $20.00, real cheap and the USPS free mailing supplies (expect the poster boxes, don't use them!) are in excellent quality than what Canada Post offers!  I finally ran out of many things since then and of course I have to find the places that sell them cheaper.

I sometimes use the boxes from the liquor stores as they are very sturdy kind.  My next door at the seniors has large boxes for her disopable diapers and I used that boxes to cut out like 2 sides and use them to ship 11x14" items which weighs under 250g.  I also used the small to medium boxes at the MTS outlets (phone company) that they sell cellphones, etc., to ship my smaller items.  They are very strong but very light.  Just make sure you never, never use any boxes by Dollarama, the ones that came from China, Tawian, etc, they are horrible and literally have no protection.

For some reasons the "ABC" icon is not working so I am unable to make any corrections in spelling here. Sorry.

[mdf_jersey]

I have searched for the best price on shipping materials and I have found the best deals was right here on Ebay. There are tons for sale at prices that stores cant compete. Even with the shipping charges , its still a good deal.

[pocomocomputing]

Company in BC in Burnaby. I never used them but they were posted here a couple of times so I bookmarked them. Only seems to do mailing envelopes and tape and labels.

http://www.canadamailers.ca/

I do not know how they compare to Uline or other suppliers or your current supplier. Check them out and post back a review of what you found for others (like me, lol) to know.

I rarely buy supplies as I am a small sellers with low volume and I recycle boxes, packing materials, padded envelopes. I make my own padded mailers and small boxes to fit Lettermail/Light Packet 2 cm thickness limit.

[gorilla-scales]

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@rockp5233 wrote:

I use Uline for numerous years now... Very complete line of products, good pricing and VERY fast shipping !

See: uline.ca or by phone 800-295-5510.

Good luck !

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 Thanks for the tip, but Uline is not in Canada  😞

[38e_avenue]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I think Uline didn't want to bring stuffs to the post office, they prefer someone like UPS to come to take them.

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C'mon, it sounds like a joke 😉

Canada Post comes twice a week to me and pick up the parcels. They can do the same with Uline. I have a simpler explanation - they do money on shipping. Sometimes they charge 3 times more than CP post would.

[38e_avenue]

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@gorilla-scales wrote:

 
 Thanks for the tip, but Uline is not in Canada  😞

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Toronto is definitely in Canada! 😉

They ship from there to me (I am in Montreal).

[38e_avenue]

ULINE locations:

[gorilla-scales]

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@38e_avenue wrote:

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@gorilla-scales wrote:

 
 Thanks for the tip, but Uline is not in Canada  😞

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Toronto is definitely in Canada! 😉

They ship from there to me (I am in Montreal).

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when I just tried to place my order, they came up with AUBURN, WA as warehouse location. They quote me $52 for UPS delivery to Canada for 40 boxes and 100 bubbles. That price works out to be more than just going in to walmart and buying them off the shelf at retail.

[tobyshitzu]

are you going to uline.ca?   I order cases of bubble envelopes from them, but if I was in a bigger city i wouldn't.  Could pick them up from chitchat in the gta for much less.  Uline used to use purolator and switched to ups

[mr.elmwood]

Uline has been in Canada for a couple of years. I have been in their warehouse in Mississauga picking up supplies.

Note that this is ".ca"

http://www.uline.ca/index.aspx?pricode=DB173&AdKeyword=uline.ca&AdMatchtype=e&gclid=Cj0KEQiA7tCjBRDu...

[gorilla-scales]

Yes I am at the .ca site.. it says in my shopping cart that the order will ship from Washington. Perhaps since I am west coast, they figure that WA is a better option that Edmonton??  

I am going to take a look on ebay and see what I can find.

[jyerxa10]

Last I checked ULine is in Canada,,I'm a shipper/receiver for a company ,,we buy 90% of our shipping supplies from U-Line,,I just order what I need when I place a company order,,at least twice a month,,get the company discount so for me it works out the cheapest way to go 🙂

[gifts_of_elegance]

http://catalog.uline.ca/WebProject.asp?CodeId=7.7.4.3&BookCode=ktm14flx#

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@gorilla-scales wrote:

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@rockp5233 wrote:

I use Uline for numerous years now... Very complete line of products, good pricing and VERY fast shipping !

See: uline.ca or by phone 800-295-5510.

Good luck !

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 Thanks for the tip, but Uline is not in Canada  😞

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Yes, they are!  I think they ship from Toronto.  Call them and ask.  I buy from them and have been given the choice.

http://catalog.uline.ca/WebProject.asp?CodeId=7.7.4.3&BookCode=ktm14flx#

[mr.elmwood]

• Uline Shipping Supplies
• Moving Supply Store
• Address: 60 Hereford St, Brampton, ON L6Y 0N3

  Phone:+1 800-295-5510

  Hours:

   

  Open today · 7:00 am – 7:00 pm

  I have been inside their building. Just off the 401 north of Toronto. I am pretty sure that is in Canada.

[friepete.nab2wre]

I find amazon is the best. If your looking for DVD mailers they got for a 25 pack for 14 dollars or vinyl album mailers for 1.40 per box. I mean it helps to look around. Staples is fairly good for your average shipping containers or moving places like Public Storage places.

[gorilla-scales]

I just got off the phone with them.  I'm not disputing that they are or aren't in Canada.. but being that I am in BC, they will only ship to me from the Washington warehouse.  They also don't give much of a discount if you buy even 1000 pc.

Example of the quotation online: $56 to ship 75 small boxes to me. Putting the total cost at $1.33 per box.

I can just walk into Walmart and buy them for $1 ea. off the shelf.  I guess I just expected that being a business or buying in bulk, I could expect wholesale pricing.  But once again, Canadian businesses get screwed and gouged.  I buy these in the states for $0.40 ea by the way.  I can ship them to myself from Michigan to BC for way cheaper than Uline is charging. Its crazy.

[mr.elmwood]

Uline is a retail outlet. I don't know know where you get the idea of "wholesale".

Shippers Supply will move on price. They have for me. They start higher but will move lower.

Uline ships by courier.