Box Geek-Out
The big splashy headline on the cover of the catalog that came with my order of shipping supplies yesterday made me snicker. It said, “A World of Tape at Your Fingertips”. But then I found myself consumed with comparing the small variations between the new supplies and the old ones, and I could sort of see their point. I guess I’m more of a box man than I am a tape man though.
I ship most of my orders in these rectangular flats with flaps that fold up and over a book into a custom-sized box. At Amazon they called them VDFs, which it turns out stands for “variable-depth folders”. In the past I’ve ordered locally through Northwest Shipping Room Supply. But they’re sort of pricey. This new shipment came from Uline. Uline only ships in increments of 100, but their prices are almost half of Northwest Shipping’s, even after shipping. Northwest Shipping might be able to price their’s a little lower if they offered a range of them in plain brown, instead of just the more expensive bleached cardboard.
Now that I’ve written a post about boxes, there’s nowhere to take this weblog but up.
I don’t know, you’ve inspired me to e-mail myself a reminder to contemplate such things we use in common as book covers, glue, and tape, as well as those we don’t such as date due slips and catalog cards. I may even go see if they will let me poke around in the back room of the local public library where I used to work to see if there is anything else I have forgotten and that the previous school librarian in my position didn’t even know exists.
I asked Uline not to sell my info (opt out) but they did anyway. Now everyday I get a dozen phone calls for this phantom person I named as placing orders from them (I use a different name for every company I order from). I’m trying to run a business, I need my phones, and their selling my info is totally greedy, unprofessional and rude. I love retail sites that state immediately “We won’t sell your information to anyone for any reason”–just like me (I hope I’m never that desperate for a buck).
If Uline has given your phone number to another company, they’ve broken their privacy policy. I’m not sure what recourse that gives you, but I thought I’d point it out.
As the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, theres probably a catch”. Uline has great prices, hands down. But don’t forget to add the shipping charges that will in some cases drive your bill higher than the product(s) you’re getting.
That’s right. It’s not uncommon to see freight charges as high as $350 for a pallet of boxes that cost you $100. Compare that with Northwest Shipping Room Supply and you’ll find that you still have money in your pocket after the transaction. How is that you ask? Try 1-2 day lead times, no freight charges, no minimum orders, superior customer service and so forth. This is a family owned business without the corporate push for sales and lack of true relationships with their customers.
Thanks for your input, “David”. In my experience ordering relatively small amounts of product, NWSRS costs much more than Uline (including Uline freight charges). I imagine that the bulk discounts add up fast on larger orders, though.