5 Best Sources for Cheap Shipping Supplies for Small Businesses

• General product price point: Low, wholesale pricing
• Bundle sizes: Many options
• Return policy: 30 days; return shipping plus 15% restocking fee; except for custom orders unless defective

The Packaging Company offers competitive pricing on both its standard and custom materials.

• Standard materials: Minimum order quantity: 10 to 50 units, price scaling available
• Customer materials: Minimum order quantity: 25, no price scaling

• Extensive customization options: The Packaging Company is most remarkable for the breadth of its supplies and customization options. It offers custom sizing, adhesives, stickers, boxes, and mailers.
• Wide assortment of packaging materials: It has standard packaging materials for every product type—from food and perishables to posters and clothes. As a plus, The Packaging Company uses eco-friendly materials and can keep its prices down simultaneously.
• Loyalty program: The Packaging Company offers a customer rewards program where you can earn points for every dollar you spend and redeem those points to get money off your purchases.
• Green initiatives: The Packaging Company is dedicated to making eco-friendly packaging materials affordable for businesses of all sizes. It is constantly working to develop new green products and to utilize a high percentage of post-consumer waste. Additionally, all of its facilities are designed to reduce waste and energy consumption.
• Custom quotes: If you plan on ordering in bulk, you can get a custom quote for extra money off your supplies.

The Packaging Company lets you design custom boxes from the inside out.

• General price point: Midrange (no wholesale pricing)
• Price scaling: Yes (depending on the seller)
• Bundle sizes: Many options, although may be limited for individual listings
• Return policy: 30 days; free Prime returns

Due to the vast number of vendors on Amazon, its price points are highly varied. You can find both fantastic deals and high prices on the Amazon marketplace. Our recommendation would be to base your price point on a steadily economical supplier like PackagingSupplies.com or ULINE, then look for Amazon listings that can compete.

In general, Amazon requires a bit more digging and research to ensure you get a fair price but, in many cases, it’s worth the effort to save on shipping and return fees.

• One-stop shop: Like The Packaging Company, Amazon offers a wide variety of products for shipping in addition to janitorial supplies and other goods your business may need. Amazon’s vast selection could serve as a one-stop shop for setting up your entire store.
• Free shipping and returns: Amazon offers free shipping and returns on eligible products. To ensure you get free shipping and returns for Prime orders, you must become a Prime member for $14.99 per month.
• Excellent customer support: Amazon itself is your point of contact for customer service. Rather than dealing with individual sellers, you can take up any issues with Amazon’s 24/7 customer service representatives, and they will work with the seller on your behalf.
• Vendor options: With Amazon, you can shop from tons of vendors allowing you to choose the ones with the best reviews. Additionally, this gives you more reassurance that you won’t run into a stockout as there are likely multiple vendors for every item you need.
• Prime membership: If you choose to become a Prime member for $14.99 per month or $139 per year, you will get access to free, fast shipping (and returns) from all Amazon Prime sellers. This can save you immense amounts of money, especially when ordering in bulk or needing a quick turnaround.

• General price point: Low, wholesale pricing, price match guarantee
• Price scaling: Yes
• Bundle sizes: Some options
• Return policy: 30 days; return shipping plus 20% restocking fee (depending on the reason for return); authorization required

PackagingSupplies.com’s best asset is its pricing. Not only are prices low but they also decrease as your quantities grow. It offers wholesale pricing and a price match guarantee.

Like ULINE, shipping charges are based on an order’s size and weight, but it doesn’t tack on any additional handling fees.

Unless the products arrived damaged or a fulfillment error occurred, PackagingSupplies.com charges a 20% restocking fee—the highest among the providers we have evaluated.

PackagingSupplies.com offers wholesale pricing and significant bulk discounts.

• Bulk and wholesale ordering: Unlike The Packaging Company, which offers small orders that work well for budding businesses, PackagingSupplies.com supports orders of up to 2,000 units. It is best for larger businesses simply because of the large orders it expects you to place with them.
• Special packaging options: Under its Retail Packaging product category, it also offers in-store packaging supplies, such as bagging bags, candy and jewelry boxes, and takeout containers. This makes it a helpful resource for all the packaging materials you need for your in-store operations.
• One-stop shop: Along with shipping supplies, you can also order office and janitorial supplies. Not only that, Packaging Supplies also has packaging solutions for in-store, like baskets, shopping bags, and wrapping supplies.

• General price point: Midrange (no wholesale pricing)
• Price scaling: Yes
• Bundle sizes: Many options
• Return policy: 30 days; return shipping fee (except in cases of fulfillment error)

While it doesn’t run many sales or offer wholesale pricing, ULINE delivers consistent midrange price points, along with fast shipping. And while ULINE doesn’t offer free shipping, it won’t add fees on top of USPS prices. All shipping costs are based on the weight and size of your materials, so be prepared for larger orders to incur relatively high shipping costs.

• Fast shipping: ULINE has eight warehouses across the country, enabling reliably fast delivery if you need supplies in a rush. For most addresses, it can guarantee a two-day shipping window, although it incurs an additional fee, unlike with Amazon orders.
• Expansive product line and bundle selection: All its products come in various bundle sizes and offer office and janitorial supplies.
• Order by phone or via mail: The company provides a free catalog if you want to browse the newest products and place orders over the phone or via mail.
• One-stop shop: As with Amazon and PackagingSupplies.com, ULINE doesn’t stop at shipping supplies. You can also order office, janitorial, storage, safety, in-store, and other supplies.
• Same-day shipping: ULINE guarantees same-day shipping for all orders.

• General price point: Midrange, no wholesale pricing
• Price scaling: Yes (most products)
• Bundle sizes: Some options
• Return policy: 10 days; return shipping plus 10% restocking fee; authorization required

While it doesn’t offer low prices and price matching like PackagingSupplies.com, ShippingSupply.com offers competitive pricing in most cases. Not all of its goods decrease in unit price with more significant bundle sizes.

Compared to other providers in our list, it has a shorter window on returns, although it charges a lower restocking fee.

• Good user experience: ShippingSupply.com has an easy-to-use website with straightforward navigation and ordering procedures. While it doesn’t have flashy products or custom packaging, it offers all the basics.
• Strong customer support: The company prides itself on its strong customer service department, which is highlighted in user reviews.