1st time shipping and I'm speechless

[lmcgmsing]

@ Brindy,

I just sent 40 favors.....each was a 4" diameter flower, glaze icing with an edible image picture, individually wrapped in cello. I put them in pairs of 2, back to back and inserted a layer of bubble wrap....did it 'upright' in the box instead of flat. I packaged them in a box and put that box inside another. M client said NOTHING broke! (Phew!)


@ ALL.......I recently made a purchase at a local gift store. I asked her what she does with all the packing peanuts she gets with her various shipments. She replied "I usually wait until I have a few big bags of them and then I drop them off at the UPS store." I asked if they paid her for them to which she replied "no." So I then asked if she would ever consider giving me any, explaining that I do a little cookie business on the side and sometimes ship. She said sure and brought me 3 (THREE) huge 40 gallon garbage bags filled with them right then!!!!! So I have plenty for now. Might be worth a try!.

[apronqueen]

I shipped too for the first time just after Christmas with a wedding order. Winnipeg to Ontario. $80.00. Wow, good thing it was for my nephew, I won't be doing that again. I guess I have to see what is out there first.
Good news I put foam on the bottom of the box. Stood cookies up like I learned from this wonderful site. Tucked tissue paper scrunched up around it and not one broken cookie when it arrived. I did make a poster to tape to the box with 2 bears kissing with hearts around it and wrote, Wedding cookies, Please be gentle with me.

[Donna Bailey]

The gift store lady deserves a lil' ol' plate of cookies!!!!!! She's a jewel!!!

[focadima]

I used to work a kind of security gig --so I drove around the backs of shopping centers-strip malls
when I needed shipping supplies like a box or bubble wrap I could always find supplies in the paper dumpsters--so I would say if you are EVER in a store while they are unpacking goods dont be afraid to ask

editted to say--these supplies were NOT used for cookies they were used for packing/selling textbooks

BUT at work I now getting my supplies for free from incoming boxes

[Ruth D]

I use USPS when I ship cookies. When I get a large order, I figure in the cost of multiple boxes for shipping and charge the customer. Too many cookies in one box is too much weight on the cookies and can damage them during shipping. I use bubble wrap and paper shreds for cushioning. I buy boxes from uline to fit my pastry boxes and I sometimes use the Priority boxes from the Post Office. If the cookies are to be a gift for someone, I like to put them in a pastry box with paper shreds. Seems like every shipping order is a little unique. No one set way of shipping them.

[sashasmommy]

The UPS Store is not the same as an actual UPS customer counter, it's more expensive. I tried to send something 1st class mail from one of those places once and it was twice the cost of sending it through the post office! And that was just mailing it, not even buying supplies.

[Jill W.]

@ Brindy,

I just sent 40 favors.....each was a 4" diameter flower, glaze icing with an edible image picture, individually wrapped in cello. I put them in pairs of 2, back to back and inserted a layer of bubble wrap....did it 'upright' in the box instead of flat. I packaged them in a box and put that box inside another. M client said NOTHING broke! (Phew!)


@ ALL.......I recently made a purchase at a local gift store. I asked her what she does with all the packing peanuts she gets with her various shipments. She replied "I usually wait until I have a few big bags of them and then I drop them off at the UPS store." I asked if they paid her for them to which she replied "no." So I then asked if she would ever consider giving me any, explaining that I do a little cookie business on the side and sometimes ship. She said sure and brought me 3 (THREE) huge 40 gallon garbage bags filled with them right then!!!!! So I have plenty for now. Might be worth a try!.

That is awesome that she gave you the packing peanuts! Goes to show, never hurts to ask!

FYI, if anyone decides to ship UPS for whatever reason, you can use any kind of box to ship UPS. Even USPS Priority Mail boxes. The UPS guy told me they don't care what kind of box it is as long as it has a UPS label, it's all the same to them.

[Anita1956]

FYI, if anyone decides to ship UPS for whatever reason, you can use any kind of box to ship UPS. Even USPS Priority Mail boxes. The UPS guy told me they don't care what kind of box it is as long as it has a UPS label, it's all the same to them.

While I'm not arguing that was your experience, USPS priority mail boxes are NOT suppose to be accepted by UPS for delivery. There was a time when you could turn a USPS box inside out and no one was the wiser but USPS got wise to that and now have stamped the inside of the box with a tag as well. The only way our UPS store will accept USPS priority mail boxes is if they're covered inside another box or wrapped in brown shipping paper (FYI, when covering with brown wrap be sure to run a couple layers of packing tape around the entire side of the box...apparently paper on the corners can get stuck in the conveyor belt and cause the box to be destroyed).

[Jill W.]

While I'm not arguing that was your experience, USPS priority mail boxes are NOT suppose to be accepted by UPS for delivery. There was a time when you could turn a USPS box inside out and no one was the wiser but USPS got wise to that and now have stamped the inside of the box with a tag as well. The only way our UPS store will accept USPS priority mail boxes is if they're covered inside another box or wrapped in brown shipping paper (FYI, when covering with brown wrap be sure to run a couple layers of packing tape around the entire side of the box...apparently paper on the corners can get stuck in the conveyor belt and cause the box to be destroyed).

good to know! Personally, I've never tried it. I was just going with what "my guy" told me. I thought it was good info to have in case you were ever in one of those situations where you desperately need a box and all you got was USPS Priority Mail boxes.

But it's not good info if it's not correct! Thanks for letting me know!

[frostedbylesley]

Wal-mart is cheap cheap cheap for shipping boxes. As for peanuts, bubble wrap, etc. I have two big garbage bags in a closet that I just stuff paper in whenever we get a shipment of something.