Wholesale Shipping Boxes- Find The Best Place to Purchase Cheap! Review (JasonH)

Pros

Uline.com
Ordering from their website is incredibly easy. Phone and fax orders are also very good.
Their support center is full of knowledgable sales people that can help find you your answers.
24/7 support
Orders placed before 6PM CST are shipped the same day

Grainger.com
This company is the leading North American provider of maintenance, repair and operating supplies to Make no mistakes, Grainger is a huge corporation. However they have local branches in many cities across the globe. Their packaging and shipping products cover all kinds of bags, boxes, strapping, padding, scales and seals. Because of their local reach, they can provide timely service and solutions. If you have an idea of what you already want in the way of wholesale shipping boxes or other packaging solutions, you may be able to find it directly on their website. Of course they are also only a phone call away.

Cons

Uline.com & Grainger.com
The cons I have for both these companies are essentially the same. And to be honest, its not so much a "con" as it is related to you as a business owner. In a nutshell, if you don't know EXACTLY what you need, its going to be a long and lengthy process to find your solution. These sites and companies try to carry 90% of what the market desires. However if you're like me, you may not fit neatly into that range. You may be part of the 10% that requires special features, special fittings, and more to meet your need perfectly. Honestly that's true of anything online. Unless the company you're buying from has called you personally for your opinion, many times its going to take working with them directly to meet your exact requirements.

Full Review

If you own a business, whether it is small or large, shipping your product might have become an afterthought. After all, you're focused on increasing sales, effective marketing ROI, managing cashflow finances, and growing your business relationships. It's rare that a CEO or business owner gives much more than a cusory thought to the "look" of the package that goes to his customers doorstep. I mean c'mon...its just a box...right?

Wrong! Nothing can be as important as the first impression when your product shows up at your customers' doorstep. Does the shipping boxes you've just sent them look shabby? Is it damaged, flimsy, or just plain unprofessional? Hopefully not. From starting a business on Ebay selling t-shirts, running a popcorn factory, all the way up to manufacturing snowblowers, every single business needs to consider their shipping boxes.

So now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Buying wholesale shipping boxes is a lot easier and less painful than you might have thought. In the shipping,packaging, and box industry there are a handful of incredible and reliable companies that do nothing but make you look good in front of your customers. I'm going to give an overview of two of them for you today.

Uline.com
Uline is a family-owned and operated company that was started by Liz and Dick Uihlein from the basement of their home in 1980. Today they are the leader in shipping and packaging materials in the country. They have an inventory of literally thousands of items, including more than one thousand sizes of shipping boxes alone. (yes that number is 1,000!) Dick and Liz say they won't carry anything they wouldn't use themselves

Grainger.com
Grainger is not a company that focuses only on wholesale shipping supplies, but I've included them in this review because of their size and scope of ability. If you are a manufacturer and you need to structure a heavy duty packaging solution for your product, a company like Grainger is absolutely going to treat you right. I've found that even in instances where you may be handling hazardous or not so eco-friendly materials, Grainger can provide a custom solution for your challenge. It does cost a little more than a "stock" solution, but when you really count the cost of taking care of your customers and presenting yourself through your products, this is very much worth it.

In Closing

In summary, Both companies I've reviewed are very good sources for purchasing your packaging and whole sale shipping boxes. Examine your own situation and think about what it might take to make your business and your product stand out from your competition. Then think about if you can fit that into the "90%" mold and buy the products directly online from these companies. If not, you may have more work ahead of you. In the end its worth it.