shipping boxes for Atari PCBs?

KazooBR

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Any recommendations on a good box for shipping PCBs? Especially Atari which are a little longer than most. I have a Fellowes 25x13x3 that is just perfect. Strong and fits just right. But I can't find those anymore and most boxes end up being way taller than needed. I hate sending a bigger than needed box and wasting packing materials.
 
Use two of the free USPS Priority Mail box 1095 and piece together. PCB will basically be double boxed.
I got a letter from the post office once when I tried using a priority box for regular shipping. I didn't know that was forbidden. I'm guessing you are wrapping them with craft paper or something then?
 
24 x 14 x 4" is what you want. This is what I use for all game boards. That's the largest size that is under the 1 cubic foot USPS limit, where the rates jump. And they provide sufficient padding space around the board. (Use bubblewrap or peanuts to completely fill the box, and triple wrap it in both directions.)

Do not use Priority Mail boxes for game boards. They don't protect them enough. And USPS requires you to ship Priority if you use the boxes, which is far more expensive than USPS Ground Advantage is now. So you want brown boxes.

Zoro.com has the best prices lately, though they are expensive everywhere now. I just paid $51 for 25 boxes shipped, which is a little cheaper than ebay. And they are good quality.

If it's your first time ordering, you might be able to get a discount coupon online, you can check for one. But I saved $15 the first time I ordered them, 6 months or so ago.
 
I've used large moving boxes from walmart and cut them in half. It's a bit of a puzzle to cut and re-fold them... but cost effective. They're pretty sturdy, and you get two boxes for about two dollars. You will need some scrap cardboard to fill in the top and bottom of the box, and of course some other packing material. And lots of tape.

I just successfully shipped a Pole Position boardset to Poland using one of these. Hurrah!
 
I've used large moving boxes from walmart and cut them in half. It's a bit of a puzzle to cut and re-fold them... but cost effective. They're pretty sturdy, and you get two boxes for about two dollars. You will need some scrap cardboard to fill in the top and bottom of the box, and of course some other packing material. And lots of tape.

I just successfully shipped a Pole Position boardset to Poland using one of these. Hurrah!
Eve the post office worker suggested I "McGyver it". Lol.
 
I got a letter from the post office once when I tried using a priority box for regular shipping. I didn't know that was forbidden. I'm guessing you are wrapping them with craft paper or something then?
I save the brown and white paper that other companies use for packing and then just wrap the box like a present. Or ship it UPS. They don't care what box you use.
 
For very large boards I've been buying home depot moving boxes and cutting them down to size if I don't already have a box. They are only a few bucks each there so it works out.
 
Thanks all for the suggestions. For reference, this is the box someone had sent me. It's a Fellowes. Very stout. 25x13x3. To Andrew's point, it was considered oversized so that incurred a little extra cost but I KNOW this would survive just about anything. After a fairly short search effort by me, it doesn't seem to be available anymore or maybe it was just two lids from bankers boxes that fit together. I was sad to let it go. 😞
IMG_7689.jpeg
 
Many years ago, when I was shipping out a lot of Atari PCBs, I would buy bundles (qty 25) of 24x14x4 boxes from Uline.


I still use them to store my extra Atari PCBs. Can stack several inside one with anti-static bubble wrap in between them.
 
I got a letter from the post office once when I tried using a priority box for regular shipping. I didn't know that was forbidden. I'm guessing you are wrapping them with craft paper or something then?
Yeah, since they provide the boxes for free, you have to ship it via PM or they get all upset.

Something about "making a profit."
 
To piggy-back this topic, do you ship boards in the pink bags or other ESD metalized bags?

I've received boards expertly packed, and also some just thrown in a box full of white peanuts. One time I got a williams sound board sent to me in just a kraft paper mailer.
 
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