Who doesn’t like to pop bubbles? At ShippingSupply.com, we LOVE to pop bubbles.  Not only is it a great stress reliever, but you can act like a kid (as long as you share in the fun)! That’s what we wanted to do…share the fun.  We’ve created a new series of videos that we call “Bubble Mania” to do just that.

In our first episode, “The Bubble Wrap® Challenge”, we played a game at our recent holiday party.  We asked everyone to try to pop as many bubbles as they could in just 5 seconds.   We had a lot of fun, and we hope you do too.

P.S. Can you guess who the winner was?

The presents are bought, the box is packed, the address is affixed.  With all the rush that surrounds the holiday season, one of the most important things to remember is when to ship off all your presents to make sure they arrive on time…at Christmas!  Don’t disappoint little Johnny or Susie this year or even Cousin Jeff, Grandma or your friend Jack (hey, we adults like getting presents in the mail too!).

Here is list of the 2011 holiday shipping deadlines from the three main carriers.

FedEx:

UPS:

3 Day Select^SM – ship by Tuesday, Dec. 20 (NOT eligible for Saturday delivery)

2nd Day Air® – ship by Thursday, Dec. 22 ($15 Saturday surcharge for each package)

Next Day Air® – ship by Friday, Dec. 23  ($15 Saturday surcharge for each package)

UPS Ground Service – Check time in transit chart at UPS.com to calculate shipping time – We’ve seen December 17th as the general last day.

USPS:

Holiday Dates for Domestic Mail
Calculated for December 25, 2011.

* Some Express Mail destinations may have extended service commitments.

For Military and International deadlines visit USPS.

With the holidays right around the corner and an over abundance of packages in the shipping stream, make sure you’re packing your gifts and merchandise correctly. The right packaging technique and materials will help protect contents from breaking during shipment.

As we announced in September, ShippingSupply.com moved to a larger facility in Milwaukee, WI.  We are pleased to announce that this move is allowing us to reduce pricing across our entire product line of shipping supplies. 

With the move, we increased our company’s square footage and are now able to purchase even more items in bulk at lower prices. With the savings we are receiving, we wanted to pass them along to our customers.  You can now expect to see prices reduced by an average of 15%.

At ShippingSupply.com we understand that our success is dependent upon yours. That is why we built our company around the core principal of “Delivering high quality shipping and packing supplies, at exceptional prices with unbeatable customer service.” We hope that you enjoy the price reduction!

Poly Bags are great for storing and shipping parts, clothing and even food products.  Made from polyethylene film, Poly Bags meet FDA and USDA specifications for food contact.  There a variety of poly bags in the industry that will meet your need.  Here’s what you need to know…

Determine what type of Poly Bag you need to store your parts/products and what size is required.

Flat Poly Bags are standard bags that protect products from dirt, dust and moisture. Close bags with twist ties, bag tape or by heating sealing.  Here’s how to measure Flat Poly Bags: 

Width (W) x Length (L)

Reclosable “Zipper” Poly Bags are great to use numerous times for different items. Use these bags for longer term storage. Here’s how to measure Reclosable “Zipper” Poly Bags:

Width (W) x Length (L)

Reclosable bag measurement does not include the zipper and lip.

 Gusseted Poly Bags are great for irregularly shaped items and feature expandable sides and a fitted bottom. Here’s how to measure Gusseted Poly Bags:

Side Gusseted Bags

Width (W) x Length (L) x Depth (D)

The gusset is considered the depth of the bag.

Once you decided the type and size, you need to determine the Mil Strength.  What exactly is Mil Strength? A “MIL” is one thousandth of an inch and measures the thickness of the bag. The higher the Mil strength, the more your bag can hold.  Here’s a guideline for determining Mil strength.

1 Mil – Lightweight, great for temporary storage. 

2 Mil – Most popular thickness, used for shipping light parts, clothing or protecting food.

3 Mil – Offers added protection, used for document storage, healthcare, restaurants, and kit manufacturers.

4 Mil – Offers heavier protection, used for items such as industrial parts and hardware.

6 Mil – Very strong, protects against punctures and tears, used for parts, gears and heavy metal objects.

With the Holidays right around the corner we wanted to remind our customers to plan accordingly and make your shipping season a success.  The following are the USPS, UPS, and FedEx service holidays.

2011 U.S. Postal Service Holidays:

• Veterans Day – November 11, 2011
• Thanksgiving Day – November 24, 2011
• Christmas Day (Observed) – December 26, 2011
• New Year’s Day (Observed) – January 2, 2012

2011 UPS Service Holidays:

• Thanksgiving Day – November 24, 2011
• Day after Thanksgiving – November 25, 2011
• Christmas Day (Observed) – December 26, 2011
• New Year’s Day (Observed) – January 2, 2012

2011 FedEx Service Holidays:

• Thanksgiving Day – November 24, 2011
• Christmas Day (Observed) – December 26, 2011
• New Year’s Day (Observed) – January 2, 2012

Please Note:  There is no regular pickup or delivery service for these holidays; however, most carriers offer emergency service 365 days a year.  The best way to ensure a timely delivery of your goods is to allow a few extra days prior to the above listed holidays.  We recommend calling your carrier if you have any questions. Remember to start stocking up on shipping supplies for the holiday rush!

There are a couple of factors to consider when purchasing a shipping box to ship your products/items. They are Measurement and Box Strength.

Measurements:   Corrugated cartons are always measured L x W x H (D), with L (length) being the longest side of the box, W (width) being the adjacent side, and H (D) (height/depth) being the height of the box. Please note: dimension listed are inside dimensions.

Box Strength: Shipping boxes come with different wall strengths depending on the weight of your contents.  Here is a guideline on the different wall strengths and the weight of the product they will hold.

Contents:                            Choose:
Up to 65 lbs.*                     200#/ECT-32 Single-Wall Corrugated
66 lb. – 95 lb.*                   275#/ECT-44 Single-Wall Corrugated
96 lb. – 100 lb.*                 275#/ECT-48 Double-Wall Corrugated
*These are only guidelines and weight must be distributed evenly.

In addition, there are different types of boxes to choose from depending on your needs. Here is a list of the most popular shipping boxes and the uses for them.

Fixed Depth Shipping Boxes

• Meets most mailing and shipping carrier requirements.
• 200#/ECT-32 Single-Wall Corrugated
• Strong, durable corrugated fiberboard
• Contains a minimum of 30% recycled content.

Heavy Duty Shipping Boxes

• Heavy-duty boxes are ideal when additional stacking strength is needed.
• Available in heavy-duty 275#/ECT-44 Single-Wall Corrugated
• Heavy-duty construction provides greater protection and stacking strength
• Boxes are 40% stronger than standard shipping boxes.

Multi-Depth Shipping Boxes

• Customize the depth of your boxes to meet all your shipping needs.
• Prescored to allow easy height adjustment for a perfect fit.
• 200#/ECT-32 Single-Wall Corrugated

 Moving Boxes and Kits

• The complete moving solution for packing any room of your house/office.
• Heavy-duty boxes provide added protection to ensure that your shipments arrive safe.
• Deluxe Moving Boxes feature special “flap tabs” that hold flaps down and out of the way, making packing easier.
• Deluxe Moving Boxes feature preprinted handling instructions.
• Contains a minimum of 30% recycled content.

Finally, now that you found the right box for your shipping requirements, don’t forget about the other shipping supplies necessary to ship your items!

Cushioning:  For contents requiring extra cushioning, allow 2”-3” around all sides of the product for void fill such as Bubble Wrap® or loose fill. Allow 2”-3” extra above and below the contents.

Sealing Tape: Use a carton-sealing tape at least 2” wide. Tape must extend at least 2” over the edge of the box.

Shipping Supply, LLC has moved into a new facility located in Milwaukee, WI.  Our new facility is much larger, which will allow us to add more shipping supplies and continue to grow.  Our new corporate contact information has changed to the following:

Shipping Supply, LLC
530 West Oklahoma Avenue
Milwaukee, WI  53207

Phone: 1-414-290-1073
Toll Free: 1-877-501-PACK
Fax: 1-414-290-1173

One thing nice about selling shipping supplies is that we had all the moving boxes necessary for an easy move!

Today we launched a mobile version of ShippingSupply.com to provide iPhone®, Android, and other mobile-device users with a mobile-enhanced shopping experience.

Our mobile site features our complete product line of over 10,000 shipping and packaging supplies.  The new site makes it easy for users to quickly complete transactions and check on the status of new and previous orders.

So if you are an eBay Seller, Small Business Owner, or a Corporate Purchasing Manager needing to buy packaging supplies while on the go…ShippingSupply.com Mobile is your solution!

Best of all there is nothing to download or install.  Our site will detect visitors using a mobile device and automatically display
ShippingSupply.com Mobile.  We guess you can say…“There’s no App for that!”

In October 2010 we pledged to donate $1.00 for every order received during the month of October to Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Southeast Wisconsin®.  As a result we have made a donation in the amount of $1,000.

• Seventy-five percent of funds raised goes to local grants with programs addressing the needs of underserved women with breast cancer education, screening and access to treatment in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha and Jefferson Counties in Wisconsin.
• Twenty-five percent of funds raised goes to breast cancer research at the national level.

We would like to thank all of our customers for their purchases during the month of October which helped to fund this donation.  We are proud to announce that we will continue to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October going forward.

Together we can make a difference!

Christian Rano

President
Shipping Supply, LLC