Handle With Care Packaging Store

Great one-​stop shop to get all the packing materials you need at a decent price, with the added benefits of a knowledgeable owner and a friendly Pomeranian.

After reviewing their website online, I called for information about foam in place packaging for a fragile object I wanted to send. The guy on the phone spent more time telling me that they’ve never offered that service & that I was wrong than saying anything else to me. Too bad the website says otherwise:

I know customer service has gone out the window since I worked in retail but I would’ve been more likely to take other business there if the conversation had been about how he COULD help me (referral to somewhere else) than by simply having to be right.

I was asked by a friend from Texas to ship a small bed frame and a bedside table, and I agreed…
I went to the Packaging Store and they seem capable and experienced, the man told me to leave the items so he could see what he could do, I felt grateful
He called next day and the quotes were $ 800, $ 900 and $ 950, I said to him that the bed frame was not worth more than $ 100 so it was a little hard to imagine paying that kind of money for shipping, then I asked, what would he charge just, to package the stuff, cardboard and plastic wrap, his quote $ 289
That is when I began to suspect I was in a super high end packaging place
I went home and found on line a place called
, purchased some bubble wrap found some free cardboard
Packaging $ 25 (my self 15 min)
Shipping $ 300 (
)
I read the reviews from the trucking company, and feel not only like I did the right thing, but I saved $ 600?

I felt a little mis-​led when I went in with four packages, two medium packages to the same place, one large package and one small one. I had gone there because what I had read online led me to believe that for packages over 2 pounds, UPS was cheaper than USPS. Right off the bat I was bummed because the largest package was to a PO box and UPS won’t take those. I was going to send the two medium packages UPS since I was there, but was shocked when told the first one would cost 30 bucks. I said (nicely) that since I had to go to the post office for the one to a PO box anyway, I would just take them all and save some money. The guy said it would only be a couple dollars cheaper at the post office, so I caved (my mistake, I know!) and had the two medium packages sent to MT and it cost me 60 bucks. 10 minutes later I was at the post office on Solano mailing my biggest (and heaviest) package to PA and the parcel post option was 18 bucks. Feeling the expensive pain of this mistake, I immediately called the guy to see if I could get my packages and my money back — for 25 or 30 bucks it was worth it to me — but apparently they had already gone out.
So, I must say that the guy who works there has always seemed nice when I dropped of packing material to be recycled, but I really felt burned by this experience and won’t be going back.

Looks like this is already on Unilocal as just The Packaging Store, but when I saw some negative reviews I didn’t recognize this place.
This is the shipping GURU. Imagine Comic Book Guy, only Shipping Guy, and Nice.
I shipped some normal stuff, two different times, at reasonable prices.
One was time sensitive, and the fellow was straight with me about pickups and reasonable expectations of delivery timetables between my options. He did not push me to one carrier or another, or to a higher price.
Then I shipped something odd, and fragile, so I REALLY benefited from the expert advice that is the value added to the nonchain experience.
Even if you have something very normal, ask about the photos and hear about something interesting and strange.
Have fun while supporting.
Kw/​K