Have you ever gone to ship something, only to find that you don’t have the right size box for shipping? You don’t want to pay extra to ship a larger box, but you don’t really want to buy another smaller box either. I’m here to show you that you don’t have to! If you have a box too large to fit your item, you can cut it down to the size you need. It sounds a little harder than it is, but let me assure you that it’s not. (Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about).
Equipment you will need to cut down a box for shipping:
Box
Tape measure
Box cutting instructions
Step 1. Measure the size of your item. If you can find a box that fits one dimension then it makes it easier to cut it down.
Step 2. Mark the box on all corners where the line will be cut. (*Note* You don’ have to leave room for packaging materials because the top can be taped on at whatever height needed.)
Step 3. Cut bottom of the box off for whatever height you need.
Step 4. Tape off top of box.
Step 5. Mark the box on all corners where the line will be cut.
Sep 6. Cut the box top off at the height you need.
Step 7. Place packaged item in box and slip top of the box over the bottom and tape together.
And viola! A box size you can use!
I hope this video helped you make the right size box for shipping. I actually use this method often. We have a lot of boxes at our house since we ship things out fairly often, but sometimes they just aren’t the right size.
On a side note, we buy some of our larger boxes, but also keep almost every box that gets shipped to us. We are big Amazon Prime fans (we were pretty late to the game) and anytime we order something we keep the box. We still find ourselves cutting down boxes to get the good snug fit, but keeping boxes helps to cut costs on packaging material.
If you want to know a couple more ways we save money on shipping, grab our (free) PDF download of 3 Ways to Save Money on Shipping eBay Items, to help you save more money (and make more on your eBay transactions!) Downloading this PDF will also subscribe you to our flea market flips and eBay tips newsletter. We promise not to spam your inbox (we hate that!), and you can unsubscribe anytime.
What are some of your biggest obstacles with shipping items? Is it creating a box for shipping? Is it pricing shipping correctly so don’t lose money on shipping? Anything else? Comment below! We would love to hear from you!
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Thanks for the tip about cutting down large boxes so that they will be the right size for smaller items. This is really useful to know, getting a custom box that fits the product could be really important. If you have to ship things on a large scale then it would be really helpful to buy some custom boxes that are exactly the size you need to save time.
Thanks for sharing this is a beautiful article. it’s a great idea.
thanks Susan!
Corrugated cardboard boxes made by BoxesMe are the best to transport or move the products while keeping them safe from outside conditions and maintaining their original quality. You can customize the boxes in a variety of ways and can buy them at very reasonable prices.
thanks! We will have to check them out! π
I love your tip about making sure mark all corners where the line will be cut and not needing to leave room for packaging material since the top can be taped to the exact height. My sister has been making some paintings of her garden that she wants to send out to family and friends for Christmas. Since the paintings are on poster board, she’s hoping to find some tubes she could roll the pictures up and mail them out.
Thanks Sam! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Dude, I had never thought to do this until my husband did it one day. He’s been hoarding cardboard boxes for years and I’ve made fun of him for it countless times. Well! One day I needed to mail something back to Amazon and figured I had to buy a box. Mr. Picky Pincher used his architecture school skills ot masterfully fold down one of his hoarded boxes to save a few bucks. π
Haha! It really does save money from buying a box! π Cutting down a box is a good skill to have.