Mailing Holsters

[steelhawk]

This site has been a great source of information for me and I am sure it will continue to be. My latest question concerns shipping holsters to the customer.

I am making a holster for someone out of state and will need to ship it. I have a box and bubble wrap for this one, but am needing a source for less expensive shipping supplies, as well as what is the best way to package it up to send off to the customer.

[dirtclod]

Go over to www.usps.com sign up and you can get free boxes from the post office. Plus you can print your postage and get free delivery conformation. As long as you keep the weight 1 pound or under i think it's $4.85 to send anywhere in the U.S. . Over a pound it depends on the weight and where you need to send it. It will get there in 2 to 3 days.

Edited August 19, 2010 by dirtclod

[steelhawk]

Go over to www.usps.com sign up and you can get free boxes from the post office. Plus you can print your postage and get free delivery conformation. As long as you keep the weight 1 pound or under i think it's $4.85 to send anywhere in the U.S. . Over a pound it depends on the weight and where you need to send it. It will get there in 2 to 3 days.

Ok, that's good information. I'll definitely look into it. I just need to know how to protect it. I am assuming a good plastic bag, but is bubble wrap needed? I have seen some other stuff that is like white, thin sponge rubber that things can be wrapped in. I want to protect it properly, but, of course, not spend too much on shipping.

[Timd]

Put the holster in a zip-lock bag, then use wadded up newspaper as filler. Even if you don't read the paper, 75 cents gets you alot of packing.

[dirtclod]

I generally wrap my things in a paper towel and put bubble wrap around that. If the box is to big i put a piece or two of newspaper for a filler just enough to fill the box but not packed because after a pound they charge by the pound they charge by the ounce and that can add up pretty quick. i guess you could try blowing up a plastic bag to fill and any dead space. Best thing is to keep it at a pound or less if you can.

Edited August 19, 2010 by dirtclod

[Denster]

Put the holster in a zip lock freezer bag and put into a padded bubble mailer and send first class mail. Less than $3 with the cost of the bubble mailer and will get anywhere in the US in three days sometimes less.

[Frank]

The ziip loc bags work well but can get expensive if you ship a lot. My best thing to use is cheap cling wrap and wrap it a few times around, then pack the box with newspaper. The cling wrap rolls last for a very long and they do a pretty good job of protecting.

[RMB Custom Leather]

This site has been a great source of information for me and I am sure it will continue to be. My latest question concerns shipping holsters to the customer.

I am making a holster for someone out of state and will need to ship it. I have a box and bubble wrap for this one, but am needing a source for less expensive shipping supplies, as well as what is the best way to package it up to send off to the customer.

I use a plastic zip lock bags and then put it into a poly bag mailer, I got mine on ebay at a good price but look around you may find them cheaper. The poly bags are white and look more professional and they are extreamly tough but light. I mail all my leather except for a few items first class mail, if you get it out fast it gets there about as fast as priority plus it's cheaper. If your item is over 13 oz use the usps flat rate envelope. If you ship international use the express flate rate envelope becasue it comes with $100 insurance and tracking. I really would like to figure out UPS's site so I can use them some especially for international shipping.

[gregintenn]

Box and bubble wrap is how I do it. You can count on close to $5 per holster for postage and shipping supplies.

[BigRiverLeather]

I found a gold mine at the dollar stores. You can get gallon ziplocs, usually 15 or 20 to a box for $1. I stocked up but am know out. I use a lot of them because each holster that goes in my press goes in a bag to prevent foam pattern transfer and any dye transfer. the bag is shot after this from the stitching on the holster and / or the grips.

The damn shopper papers that show up in my mailbox 3 times a week cushion the ride to anywhereville, USA.

[steelhawk]

Thanks for the help. I will be making the holster just as soon as my dummy guns and snaps arrive, hopefully next week. Then I will decide how I want to mail it.

[Lobo]

I package each item in a plastic bag, then use padded mailing pouches to mail them in. I purchase several sizes of the padded mailers (kraft paper with plastic bubble padding) in bulk quantities for about 30 to 40 cents each (eSupplyStore.com).

First class mail usually runs between $2.50 and $3.50 depending on parcel weight. Typical weight of a packaged single holster is about 4 to 5 ounces. Up to 13 ounces can be mailed this way; over 13 ounces goes Priority Mail.

Priority Mail travels with First Class, so there is no advantage in delivery times. Both services typically arrive in 2 to 5 business days anywhere in the US.

I send out 24 to 36 packages each week and the average mailing cost per package is about $3.50 including packaging materials. I have had only one incident of a package lost in the mail over the past 2 years. So, I do not use delivery confirmation or insurance. Delivery confirmation costs about 80 cents, which would add about $1200 annually to my costs. Insurance costs about $1.70 for a $50 declared value, which would add about $2500 annually to my costs. Adding delivery confirmation and insurance on each parcel would have cost me about $7400 to cover that one parcel that was lost in 2 years. I prefer to just make a replacement holster and send it out. I suppose we can say that I am self-insuring deliveries (at very little expense).

By the way, I include delivery to a US address on all orders and customers love that. I absolutely hate the inflated "shipping & handling" fees that so many companies like to tack on to every order, and I think a lot of customers feel the same way.

Customers outside the US are charged actual postage. Most parcels sent to European Union destinations cost about $5.00 to $7.00 for air mail service, again depending on weight.

So, this is what I do and why I do it.

[gregintenn]

I found some 6"x6"x6" boxes at Staples on sale for $0.50 each a while back. Don't bother looking, because I got em all. Now, if I could find a sale on bubble wrap.