Where to buy small quantities of shipping boxes online?
November 15, 2020 6:08 PM   Subscribe

I need to have a ~18"x12"x2" corrugated box delivered to someone. I can find corrugated shipping boxes in the size I need online in quantity 50 for close to $100, but what if I only need one?

So, my 80+ year-old father made a holiday gift for my in-laws. Only problem: we need to ship it to them, and there's a pandemic on. He wants to use an it-fits-it-ships USPS box. I want to avoid him going into a physical post office in the middle of a pandemic surge, especially on our/our in-laws' account.

Ideally, I will have the box (or small quantity of boxes) shipped to him, and then pay for a shipping carrier to pick it up from his front porch. I've done the "pay for shipping and email someone the label to print" part plenty, but I'm unsure how to get a manageable quantity of boxes. If I have to pay $100 for 50x boxes so he can use one, I will, but I'd rather not.
posted by Alterscape to Shopping (5 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: It’s been a long time since I did anything like this in the US but can’t he just order the box online?
posted by warriorqueen at 6:18 PM on November 15, 2020 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Is USPS Package Pickup ok with you? Many small businesses around me us them to take their packages so that they can save a trip to the post office. Im sure the usual postal person would be happy to take one box from your father. Plus you can order one box to be delivered to him.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 6:18 PM on November 15, 2020


Best answer: Does it fit into one of the USPS priority mail boxes? They deliver free boxes.
posted by pinochiette at 6:20 PM on November 15, 2020 [2 favorites]


Best answer: USPS offers a flat-rate box designed for board games, that’s big enough.
posted by jon1270 at 6:32 PM on November 15, 2020 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: So, turns out I misunderstood him and he already went to the post office to get the box. So, I guess I need to re-post the Human Relations version of this question ("How do I deal with my father putting his health at risk for me, when plenty of non-risky alternatives exist?").

Thank you for the pointer on package pickup, though! That will be useful.
posted by Alterscape at 6:51 PM on November 15, 2020


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