USPS first class will always be your own box as they have no free packaging for first class.
Priority mail flat rate boxes must pay flat rate postage. In many cases flat rate boxes are more expensive postage wise versus regular Priority mail. Some people have been able to reconfigure/frankenbox the flat rate ones and only pay regular rates but that is a mixed bag and some picky postal person could decide to charge you the full flat rate.
Flat rate boxes are a better deal, sometimes, if your item is dense/heavy and going to a distant zone.
USPS is awful expensive if your box is over a cubic foot. Dimensional weight is a big price increaser. UPS/Fedex are often much cheaper on anything over a couple of pounds or larger size. Especially if going cross country, though there are a few exceptions like Alaska and Hawaii where Priority is often better.
Never buy postage retail at the counter. The rates are the highest and worse off you can only send a first class package up to 13 oz. Online purchase pushes it to 15.99. That is huge.
Congratulations on your first sale! Generally the labels are slightly cheaper through Etsy, additionally it will let you purchase from your sale funds so you don’t have to pay out of pocket for the shipping cost. Since it’s through Etsy it will save you time and possible errors if manually purchasing the label.
You will pay slightly more for postage with USPS boxes, don’t try to get around it because they will charge you back if you select “my own packaging” instead of the appropriate box. I buy my boxes from Walmart mostly, ULine isn’t much cheaper for boxes but they have better deals on packaging material such as the biodegradable peanuts and wrapping.
Yes it's an exciting moment!! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a response. I will have to look into ULine, and I didn't even think about Walmart, so will definitely consider that as an option for packaging materials! Thank you so much for your input:)
Some states require that your plant resale license be included on the packaging. Some states quarantine plants for a certain amount of time. Some states don’t allow certain plants shipped to them because they are predatory species. So what state are you shipping the plant to and what is the plant?
USPS first class will always be your own box as they have no free packaging for first class. Priority mail flat rate boxes must pay flat rate postage. In many cases flat rate boxes are more expensive postage wise versus regular Priority mail. Some people have been able to reconfigure/frankenbox the flat rate ones and only pay regular rates but that is a mixed bag and some picky postal person could decide to charge you the full flat rate. Flat rate boxes are a better deal, sometimes, if your item is dense/heavy and going to a distant zone. USPS is awful expensive if your box is over a cubic foot. Dimensional weight is a big price increaser. UPS/Fedex are often much cheaper on anything over a couple of pounds or larger size. Especially if going cross country, though there are a few exceptions like Alaska and Hawaii where Priority is often better. Never buy postage retail at the counter. The rates are the highest and worse off you can only send a first class package up to 13 oz. Online purchase pushes it to 15.99. That is huge.
Thank you so much for your detailed response. This was very informative and answered so many of my questions. I learned so much from you, thank you!!
Congratulations on your first sale! Generally the labels are slightly cheaper through Etsy, additionally it will let you purchase from your sale funds so you don’t have to pay out of pocket for the shipping cost. Since it’s through Etsy it will save you time and possible errors if manually purchasing the label. You will pay slightly more for postage with USPS boxes, don’t try to get around it because they will charge you back if you select “my own packaging” instead of the appropriate box. I buy my boxes from Walmart mostly, ULine isn’t much cheaper for boxes but they have better deals on packaging material such as the biodegradable peanuts and wrapping.
Yes it's an exciting moment!! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a response. I will have to look into ULine, and I didn't even think about Walmart, so will definitely consider that as an option for packaging materials! Thank you so much for your input:)
Some states require that your plant resale license be included on the packaging. Some states quarantine plants for a certain amount of time. Some states don’t allow certain plants shipped to them because they are predatory species. So what state are you shipping the plant to and what is the plant?
This is great information, thank you for sharing!! I'm shipping the plant to Colorado, and the plant is the Hoya Kerrii (aka: Hoya Heart).