Has anyone actually ever BOUGHT bubble wrap?

TroyD

..and I'm bitching about the price of gas????

Jayzuz Mary and Joeseph, what a RACKET. I've never actually ever had to buy bubble wrap but, wow, talk about getting bent over.

BDT

AndyGwis

I totally agree. It's SO expensive to buy that crap. I have basically resorted to filling my storage closet with packaging materials from past audio purchases in order to NEVER buy bubble wrap, foam peanuts, or boxes again.

My office moved a couple weeks ago and I was able to recycle some of the leftover packing materials so I'm well stocked for the spring / summer months.

A cheap alternative to bubble wrap is to buy .99 foam coolers. They are great for packing (albeit messy when you cut them) and very economical.

zombie boy 2000

Yeah... I've had to bite the bullet after scouring old boxes for treasure to no avail. If you think it's expensive at the package joints, trying shelling out the ducets at Kroger or Wally World.

steveinaz

Did you try U LINE?

sucks2beme

steveinaz wrote: »

Did you try U LINE?

I've had to buy big honking rolls of the stuff. U line is much better than paying
big bucks from those packing places.
Note: not all bubble wrap is the same. There are different grades. The cheap
stuff pops easy. The HD big bubble stuff is very tough.

brettw22

U-Line is good if you're local to one of their warehouses. If you're not, you'll make up the price in shipping.

One thing I always would do is call a local UPS store and ask them what they would sell a whole roll for. They'll check with their supplier and can give you a price (I usually paid around $60-80 for a 250' roll of the stuff). Also ask for the price difference between 12" and 24" wide rolls.....and DEFINITELY specify perforated. I've accidentally bought a 250' roll of unperf'd and that was a pain in the ****.....

Also, I agree to make sure you get the heavy duty stuff.......that flimsy stuff is useless.

danger boy

i buy once a year big huge rolls of bubble wrap when Staples has it on sale. for about half price.. that's the only way a person can afford it.. it's hella expensive stuff.

dorokusai

I buy mine in bulk roll form, either in 24x100' and it runs about $50-60. Uline is the place to buy that stuff. I bought a 24x750' roll almost 2 years ago and just used it up. I also recycle everything that could possibly be used to pack something by scrounging at work and at home.

AndyGwis

Boxes aren't that cheap, either. Office Depot and Staples never have a good size (always 18x18x18 or 24x24x24) and UPS is really expensive.

While there is some money in flipping audio gear, there seems to be much more in selling packing materials and shipping the stuff. I drop a bunch of money at UPS cuz they haven't let me down yet, but it ain't cheap and the seller ends up eating a bunch of that cost.

george daniel

Wow,, now I know why the storeroom saves the bubble wrap.

billbillw

Troy,
Try looking in your local yellow pages for packaging wholesalers. I bought a huge roll of the 1" bubble stuff for something like $20. The roll was either 50' or 100' and its lasted me for years.

rskarvan

Whenever I sell on e-bay, I deliberately underestimate the shipping and packaging costs because I figure the bidder's pay close attention to that cost. I usually end up eating a few dollars on the packaging (usually performed by the UPS store). But, I think I make up that money because I typically get plenty of bidders.

The buyer pays a fixed fee of bid-price + packaging cost. I really doubt you can inflate the total cost via packaging. So, shifting a little for a "good deal on packaging" to the buyer generates plenty of goodwill.

AndyGwis

Agreed. I typically don't buy from ebay sellers that rip off on shipping because it's usually a sign they are trying to make money regardless of morals. Give me the guy/girl looking to sell their beloved audio piece for a fair market price any day than someone with a flat fee $60 for a preamp.

On Agon, I almost always end up eating the shipping. People typically want to get some kind of deal, even if you mark it "firm" on price. So, I routinely inflate the price a few bucks when I post there knowing I will be shipping out of my own pockets. Paypal eating is common as well. . . but, oh well!

George Grand

Why don't you slam a door on your head real hard and put it on youtube if you want to generate a boatload of goodwill?

Doro, where did you store a 750' roll of bubble wrap? Circus tent?

Fireman32

When I moved I spent 55 bucks on bubble wrap just to wrap up my gear. But it all arrived undamaged so I guess it was worth it.

AndyGwis

If you have the room, keeping original boxes and packing materials makes all the difference in the world. It also greatly increases resale value and gives buyers warm-fuzzies all over.

ViperZ

I usually get my stuff in big rolls directly from the manufacturer (old contact) . Very cheap too (I'd say 5-6x if not cheaper than buying retail).

TroyD

I always save boxes and packing material but I'm **** out right now. I packed all MY **** to go to Korea...

I am sending my Quads to the buyer via freight carrier so I banded the boxes but wanted to bubble/shrink wrap the outside which required a 100' roll. OUCH.

I still can't believe how much that **** costs.

BDT

Face

AndyGwis wrote: »

If you have the room, keeping original boxes and packing materials makes all the difference in the world. It also greatly increases resale value and gives buyers warm-fuzzies all over.

Hence why half my basement looks like a warehouse. I need to go down there with a razor and break all the boxes down to recoup some space.

dorokusai

George Grand wrote: »

Why don't you slam a door on your head real hard and put it on youtube if you want to generate a boatload of goodwill?

Doro, where did you store a 750' roll of bubble wrap? Circus tent?

It's huge. I "appropriated" it on my way out the door from a previous work location....allegedly. It lasted forever.

SolidSqual

It's expensive, but I always tell myself broken gear is way more of a time and product expense.

dragon1952

Luckily (or un-luckily) we buy enough stuff that I always seem to have enough lying around. I've seen it in the U-haul store though..... $15 for a little tiny piece.

WilliamM2

We buy it from a local packaging company. It $60 for two 2'x250' rolls, delivered.

dkg999

U-Line is usually the best deal if you have to order it. I've found several local sources that make the stuff. The last time we bought it for the antiques business I filled a 6x12 enclosed trailer with rolls of it for $150, and that lasted a long time.

I also buy the rolls of Polyfill when fabric stores have it on sale. It makes a great packing material to use up space and keep stuff from moving around in the box.

doctor r

It is great stuff - air surrounded by a processed petroleum product. Your oil dollars at work.

George Grand

I get the really thick/heavy duty bubble wrap from Uncle Sugar and the boys in the supply shop. 50' of that stuff makes for a pretty cumbersome roll. I can only imagine what a 750' long roll would look like. I would also be very tempted to try and pick it up and slam the **** out of somebody with it just for laughs.

I'm going to miss the incredible array of packing materials that have been "available" to me for all these years courtesy of those guys. Airplane stuff gets great packing treatment. Not to mention our entire freakin' wing, a couple thousand people, must've upgraded computers ten times in the last ten years. Your tax dollars at work. I can honestly say that I never figured out how to work the first one they gave me, no less the follow-on models that expanded my capabilities. What a scream.

obieone

It's all expensive. I thought my sistah was retahded, because she shipped a bunch of stuff with rolls of toiletpaper & paper towels, but, it's gotta be cheaper than peanuts/wrap.

SolidSqual

I've taken plastic bags from the grocery store and filled them with air and tied the ends to make little air pouches. Those worked pretty well.