Materials guide for LEGO selling & shipping

Many members have asked for a centralized place where they can go for shipping box information. I'm going to pin this post and update it as new information is provided. I just want to take a few minutes and thank those who wrote the following articles. They are still very good reference materials for the LEGO storage and shipping process. I may develop this into a blog article eventually.

Fcbarcelona101's : Selling LEGO : Basic Materials Guide
Mos Eisley 's : LEGO Storage Wars

Incompetech's Catalog of Amazon.com Box Sizes - (thanks No More Monkeys)

Amazon Boxes Sorted list by length - courtesy of pstebbing

I've scoured the forums and here is a list of box sizes with basic set information:

Boxes:
24x20x8 : Super Star Destroyer; Death Star, Roller Coaster, UCS Sandcrawler, Assembly Square
24x20x6 : Thicker sets like Town Hall, Tower Bridge
24x16x6 - 60052 Cargo Train, R2-D2, Maersk Line Triple-E, 7939 Cargo Train
24x16x4 - Helm's Deep, Vampyre Castle, Black Pearl, Friends Riding Camp, Parisian Restaurant, High Speed Passenger Train, Jabba's Palace, Downtown Diner
24x20x4 : Grand Emporium, Pet Shop, Imperial Shuttle, Haunted House, Palace Cinema, Fire Brigade
24x14x4 : Dolphin Cruiser, Coast Guard Patrol
24x4x12 - Dolphin Cruiser, Coast Guard Patrol
20x16x4 - Volkswagen Camper Van, Olivia's House, Sonic Raider, Sopwith, Creator Bike Shop, Batcave, Quinjet, Moria & Ambush
20x16x6 : Thicker sets like the Republic Gunship; City Cargo Plane
20x14x4 : Attack on Weathertop, Hulk 's Helicarrier Breakout, X-Wing 9493, Black Gate
16x16x4 : Gungan Sub, Pre Viszla, Tie Fighter
16x10x4 : Council of Elrond, Desert Skiff, City Grand Prix Truck
16x10x6 : Thicker sets like Creator Family House, Hillside House
15x12x4 : Funhouse, Orc Forge, Tumbler Chase, Daily Bugle Showdown, Hulk Lab Smash
12x12x4 : Uruk Hai Army, City Cargo Truck, Creator Treehouse, City Fire Emergency
11-3/4x8-3/4x4-3/4 : Wolverine Chopper, Arctic Batman, Power Armor Lex, Droid Escape, Cloud Cuckoo Palace
12x8x3 - Battle Packs, CA Avenging Cycle, Catwoman, Gandalf Arrives, Holiday sets
10x8x4 : Battle Packs, CA Avenging Cycle, Catwoman, Gandalf Arrives, Holiday sets

Envelopes:
4x8 : Minifigs & small polybags
6x9 : Polybags small & larger
10.5 x 16 : Larger shipments of 3 x polybags or more

Packing Tape : buy in bulk or on sale : you can throw some in during a Staples coupon promotion to get up to free shipping
Walmart.com Duck Brand Packaging Tape
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Standard-Grade-Packaging-Tape-Clear-189-x-110-yds-6-Rolls/product_380107

Retailers:
Uline.com : holiday sale starts first part of November (usually 30% off)
Staples.com : use coupon promotions - $10 off $30, $20 off $75, free shipping over $60
Walmart.com
USPS Priority Mail (free boxes at USPS.com)

 

Michigan Box Company:

Flat Boxes 18"-23" L  (thanks pstebbing)

GBE Packaging (thanks pstebbing)
 

PackingSupplies.com

http://www.packaging...ated_boxes.html     (thanks pstebbing)

 

Bubble Wrap:
3/16" thick x 350' ft x 12" wide - eBay

 

Sams Club

3/16" - 12"x240' $12.98 (In store) ($.05/LF) (thanks pstebbing)

I like to use large and small retailer plastic bags to wrap items in, even after I bubble wrap it.

For battle packs and even small sets, I sometimes use Wal-Mart, Target, or plastic bags from any store. Additional packing isn 't really needed. Usually like 2 bags on bottom, one to wrap the item, and two bags on top. Make sure to cover the corners of the item real nice to provide extra padding.

Rule of thumb : ship & pack all of your items the same way you 'd like to receive items you've purchased.

Shipping Paper:
Collect it when you receive shipments.
http://www.amazon.com/Pratt-Multipurpose-Packaging-KPR30241200R-Length/dp/B00AI652CM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408061459&sr=8-1&keywords=pratt+kraft+paper+1200?

Shipping Labels & Printers:
Dymo 450 & Dymo 400
Brother QL-700

DoNotInsertIntoMouth's : How to setup your label printer for shipping on eBay


Feel free to post a follow-up or point out anything I missed. I 'll update it with what everyone wants added. I hope this is helpful.

I think in reality, someone could choke or suffocate on anything. Use your best judgement.  Intended for both shipper and recipient.

I totally agree. The kids could choke on the Lego... There is no replacement for common sense - on both sides as you said.

What is everyone's scale of choice for weighing their LEGO sets to verify shipping weight?

 

Does FedEx or USPS require you to use a specific scale that they endorse?

Accutek makes a good product, I've been using mine since January with no problems.

Here is one:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=390921192851&alt=web

There are no specifications required but I know FedEx reserves the right to weigh your package and up charge if you don't have an accurate weight. I imagine the other shipping companies have something similar.

Who of you uses just the regular kitchen scale? I mean - everyone should already have at least that in the house, or don't you?

This conversation is like water in a desert.  Been looking for these answers from a reliable source.  #outstandingresource

Who of you uses just the regular kitchen scale? I mean - everyone should already have at least that in the house, or don't you?

What do you use a kitchen scale for?

1 set of Mixels (9 Mixels in a set) fit perfectly into a 6x6x6 box - these cost about 48 cents at Walmart.

1 set of Mixels (9 Mixels in a set) fit perfectly into a 6x6x6 box - these cost about 48 cents at Walmart.

I absolutely cannot figure out how to print only one label on a label sheet using MS Word 2013. It prints them all no matter what I do. Is there anyway to not waste 9 labels for every one label I want to print?

I absolutely cannot figure out how to print only one label on a label sheet using MS Word 2013. It prints them all no matter what I do. Is there anyway to not waste 9 labels for every one label I want to print?

That's odd. Highlight, then go to print preview. Also check you settings.

Anyone recommend some minifig ziplock bags?  I ordered some bags in 2013 and just put another order in using my amazon purchase history. Just got the bags today and and they are not the same as the ones I bought in 2013.  The description says 2.5 x 3, what I got was 2 x 3.  The extra 1/2 inch is important because now I cannot fit the cmf pamphlets with the fig. Looking to buy from another company.

 

Here is the bags I ordered:  I am pretty cheesed at the moment.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZZYAIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am finding myself increasingly lsot and confused on staples website. Let's say I want a pack of boxes that are 24x20x4. I go to boxfinder and enter that size. Nothing found. So where do I get that box in that size from Staples?

 

EDit: nm they don't sell that size. Guess I will just order from Uline full price. I need boxes in a really really bad way.

Edited October 13, 201411 yr by mscheaf

Any in Ireland or UK know where you can buy these sizes for the larger Lego boxes HH,  R2D2 Helm's Deep etc.

Could someone please post a link to the post that showed the different sizes of shipping/storage box needed for the different (large) Lego i.e R2D2, MF, HD etc. Much appreciated.

I think this may be what you're after.

http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/10003-materials-guide-for-lego-selling-shipping/?hl=shipping

Perfect, Thanks

thread merge

I too find uline's shipping charge prohibitive for a small fry like me.  I don't need 100 boxes at a time.  I know the size may not match as well, but for large Lego sets, perhaps this box from home depot is a better solution? 

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plain-Brown-Box-26-in-x-26-in-x-6-in-10-Box-Bundle-PRA0143B/203596658?******=5yc1vZc89rZ1z0tupg

 

its dimension of 26 x 26 x 6 is large enough for almost all large Lego sets.  I understand that the dimension is not as perfect as what we can find from uline, but assuming you have a home depot store close to you (I would think that's true for most of us), you can just save the shipping cost by picking it up from the store.

This might push the ethical boundary a bit, but has anyone used free boxes from "shipping companies" and wrapped in brown paper for usps shipping?

Don't do this. They know. How they know I don't know. I did it three times. Way back like 6-7 years ago. All three were caught.

It worked for me the one time I tried it years ago.

 

I too find uline's shipping charge prohibitive for a small fry like me.  I don't need 100 boxes at a time.  I know the size may not match as well, but for large Lego sets, perhaps this box from home depot is a better solution? 

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plain-Brown-Box-26-in-x-26-in-x-6-in-10-Box-Bundle-PRA0143B/203596658?******=5yc1vZc89rZ1z0tupg

 

its dimension of 26 x 26 x 6 is large enough for almost all large Lego sets.  I understand that the dimension is not as perfect as what we can find from uline, but assuming you have a home depot store close to you (I would think that's true for most of us), you can just save the shipping cost by picking it up from the store.

 

 

At the moment, you can do slightly better if you use 44461 coupon at staples (sign up for free rewards club to get free shipping). Yes you would have to buy at least $50 worth, but you can order variety of sizes (or just buy two 10 packs of 26x26x6 - per box cost is going to be around $2). And you don't have to drive to Home Depot

Edited November 19, 201411 yr by No More Monkeys

You can use a carton sizer to modify boxes. 

 

Here's an instructional video:

Ha. I just watched that vid this am.

I am finding myself increasingly lsot and confused on staples website. Let's say I want a pack of boxes that are 24x20x4. I go to boxfinder and enter that size. Nothing found. So where do I get that box in that size from Staples?

 

EDit: nm they don't sell that size. Guess I will just order from Uline full price. I need boxes in a really really bad way.

Yeah, I found their search function clunky. Because if they don't have that exact size, they'll just say nothing found. I just browsed by length first, then width, then chose the ones that had the height I wanted.

Edited November 19, 201411 yr by minicoopers11

1 set of Mixels (9 Mixels in a set) fit perfectly into a 6x6x6 box - these cost about 48 cents at Walmart.

Have you tried stuffing these into a USPS padded flat rate envelope? It's magical what you can fit inside those...

Edited November 19, 201411 yr by minicoopers11