I was going to order a large Hamples box and have it delivered to my sister in Utah but the $15.00 shipping seems a bit high for a $22 box.

If you want safe delivery, I don't think high shipping costs can be avoided, no matter what you are shipping.  Freeland's still has their original design in the on-line catalog, but none in stock. IIRC, it's about $52 plus shipping.  It's all a function of our devalued dollars.

I bought one of those German boxes. With shipping, it was $63+.  I tried the German box and I don't like the design.  I ordered 2 of the Hamples boxes, one small & one large. Shipping was $18.75. Probably use post office flat rate box.

Making custom products with insured shipping is an unavoidable cost and level of labor that a shop really can’t control. When I had products that could actually be shipped I used a retired husband & wife team come in twice a week to package things. They were clever and efficient with fan full of foams, boxes and various stuff to cover all the bases needed to safely box almost anything. I found them from an auctioneer.

They did not work for minimum wage but to me they were worth every dollar. They did not ship, that was up to us, but there was never a problem. They provided photos, weight, dimensions and would ball park shipping costs that were actually always close enough to price with. 

Bottom line was the time and labor to ship things was beyond my crews ability. My crew could actually spend nearly as much labor packaging as assembling some of our smaller or simpler products. Plus I didn’t have to stock foams, corner protectors, cardboard, tape and labels etc needed to get the job done. I guess it depends on the product shipped, how it’s shaped, fragility and lots of other factors but packaging things properly is another stage of manufacturing.

Rick

I ended up finding a locally made (in Germany) box with a choice of woods (Oak, Cherry, and Walnut) for about the same price as the Hampels with shipping to Utah, my sister would then hand-carry it here in September. The good part is I don't have to wait for my sister..... 

marlinguy wrote on Jun 11^th, 2024 at 4:20pm:


Val would you mind sharing a pic or 2 when convenient?
Scott

I've bought from Hampels for years, so he's not losing money to get business or he'd be out of business already. And he's been in business building custom cases for 30 years, so doubt it's new to him either.

Val that looks great. I was thinking of having him build me a rifle case....
Scott

I buy and sell small vintage tools often . Most shipped USPS  Priority mail . Priority rates can vary, there are some commercial discounts however the medium flat rate box is 16 dollars. Variable rates can be more or less depending on distance and weight. Don’t have to go priority but the included insurance coverage is worthwhile. Then there is packing material tape etc.

15 to ship those cartridge boxes is reasonable. It’s what I usually charge for shipping. Dollar less than cost and not factoring materials has added advantage, buyers see I’m not overcharging. Save a dollar and pay $$$ for a Starrett caliper 

Makes perfect sense   

Boats