Is there one?  …Oh, you didn’t hear my question?  It was: what is the different shipping boxes and shipping cartons?  Before taking on this job of writing about packaging and shipping supplies, I would have just assumed that there was none.  In fact, I would have assumed that “carton” was just another word for “box”, and vice versa.  Well, apparently there is a difference.  I scoured the internet for information, searching websites and discussion forums (apparently this question has been asked by more than just myself, and by people who do not write about packaging and shipping supplies.  That is kind of surprising if you ask me, but who am I to judge?).

I have to take a minute to relay what the average Joe was saying about how shipping cartons are or are not the same thing as shipping boxes.  Many of the posts were liberally seasoned with phrases like “omg” and “haha” along with some keyboard emojies that meant to exhibit a great sense of humor, or a sense of bafflement, or even just an expression of being unamused.  If you are so unamused by a question (“who cares?”), then why even bother replying to it?

Perhaps the two most popular answers were: same thing different name, and shipping cartons hold boxes/are compartmentalized.  It seems that both answers are correct.  Yes, you can call a box a carton, and you can call a carton a box, especially depending on which part of the world you live in (as one deeply insightful and well-travelled individual so graciously pointed out).  Another part-time, unofficial anthropologist discussed the history of the orignal words.  For example: carton comes from the Italian word cartone, which means “pasteboard”, and cartons just so happen to be made out of paste/cardboard.  But it’s also true that sometimes a carton holds several boxes (and the example of a carton of cigarettes was used again).  This small-time anthropologist went on to deduce that a “boxwood” is a type of tree, and since boxes were originally made out of wood that is how they got their name.  However, nowadays, most boxes are also made from cardboard, making “shipping cartons” interchangeable with “shipping boxes”.

The whole thing apparently really baffles people, and I don’t blame them.  One thing is for certain, though, and that is that customers tend to use the word “box” and people actually in the packaging and shipping industry tend to use the word “carton”, and this will be discussed further in part 2.

Welcome to part 2 of “The Difference Between Shipping Boxes and Shipping Cartons”.  These articles are meant to be interchangeable, so if you missed the first part you shouldn’t have a problem hanging with us here in part two.  As a matter of fact, you didn’t miss much at all.  We simply deduced that the word “box” and “carton” are interchangeable because cartons are made from cardboard, and boxes used to be made from trees but now they are primarily made from cardboard as well.  Also, we discussed how you could say that a carton holds smaller boxes of something (a carton of cigarettes was the most popular example).

We ended by saying that a customer would probably say “shipping boxes” whereas a producer slash mover slash individual involved in the shipping and packaging industry would probably say “shipping cartons”.  Why is completely uncertain.

Keeping along the same trajectory of discussion, if you happen to go to a website that sells packaging and shipping supplies they will more than likely refer to boxes and cartons interchangeably.  Their menu probably advertises “boxes and cartons” above “bags” and “cans, jars, and bottles”.  Or if you select “shipping cartons” you are taken to the same page that “shipping boxes” takes you to.

While in part 1 of this topic I primarily talked about what discussion boards had to say on it, this part is more devoted to what I found on actual packaging and shipping websites.  For one of the websites, they referred to their boxes when talking about packing or shipping more household type items, like food and clothes.  When they started talking about shipping cartons, though, they referred to transporting freight.  Which could more or less be the exact same thing said in different words, since “freight” is just referring to “a load”.  Or “freight” could be seen as much heavier and bulkier items, such as a bunch of boxes put into a carton.  Also, it seems that a fairly common opinion is that cartons are made of two different parts, a bottom and a lid.

Once again, at this point in history, it seems like the words “box” and “carton” are more or less used interchangeably.  Whereas at one time the two probably distinguished between products, whatever developments in technology has rendered that distinction obsolete.  Therefore, “shipping cartons” may have differences when compared to “shipping boxes” or, then again, they very well may not.

What does anything have anything to do with large shipping boxes? Well, let me tell you. The answer is: big stuff. That’s right, I said big stuff. Because isn’t it just the truth that when you go the post office they only have boxes sized small, smaller, and smallest? What about the large shipping boxes? You usually have to go dumpster diving for those babies, or put a notice up on Facebook (“Hey, friends, anyone got a big box they don’t need anymore?”). It’s like the USPS thinks that large shipping boxes are overrated. It’s like they want to discourage you from sending anything larger than what they have to offer. I mean, I can’t say that I blame them. Of course if you were in charge of handling those things and moving them around and loading and unloading and shuffling about you would want to make sure that the size was pretty compatible with your energy and strength level. Naturally, “large” wouldn’t fit into that equation.

When it comes to needing to ship something large, you probably want to just start out at a shipping store. The prices are more or less comparable, even cheaper than going directly through a major shipping company. The best part is that when you arrive you have your pick of large shipping boxes. They have all manner of packaging and shipping supplies. Stuff for posters. Bubble wrap and brown paper. Wrapping paper and birthday cards. I try not to go to the post office at all anymore. I always wind up forgetting something and have to postpone the entire errand. If I start out by going to a shipping store I can be sure to have access to anything I may have forgotten. Like tape. I’m always forgetting tape. Or large shipping boxes! If I want to ship some pillows I don’t want to have to scrounge around for some second hand box that makes no sense. I don’t want to have to vacuum seal them either so that they can fit in a smaller sized box.

Of course, you should be prepared that when you are shipping something large the cost is going to reflect. Depending on where you are trying to send something you might even find yourself needing a new pair of pants after you get the total (unfortunately, pants are not something they generally offer at a shipping store).

Right around this time of year, which just so happens to be the holidays (in case you are reading this at some other time of year), cheap shipping boxes are quite a lifesaver. Or, should I say, a money saver? Even though it’s stressful, it’s still nice to send out all those little handmade trinkets, flea market finds, and Black Friday deals to all of those different members of the family. And if the packaging supplies are adding up like crazy, it starts to take some of the joy of out it. Enter: cheap shipping boxes.

We have a pretty small family, so there isn’t much shipping of presents going on. That being said, paying for packaging and shipping supplies is bad enough. I can’t imagine what it will be like when I am older and am probably sending way more gifts to way more people. We try not to send something just for the sake of sending something and, thankfully, my family and and my husband’s family are good at sending gifts, and are easy to find stuff for too. For the most part. Anyway, packaging tape is expensive enough, so it makes me really glad to find cheap shipping boxes. I don’t want to have to pay five and six dollars to send something, after already paying for the gift, and then add on shipping. Since I live on one coast, it usually costs a pretty penny to send anything to anywhere, since everyone else is quite a ways away.

If you find yourself in need of some cheap shipping boxes, consider visiting PackagingSupplies.com, a supplier of literally thousands of different packaging and shipping supplies. Their specialty just so happens to be boxes, and you will not be disappointed. So the next time you find yourself standing in line at the post office, ornery because you found Uncle Buck’s handknit sweater in the back of the closet and you forgot to send it when you sent out all the rest of them, take a minute to envision the following scenario and make a promise to yourself.

You pull a box out of the closet because you stocked up on them in November, you are definitely annoyed that you forgot to send out Uncle Buck’s sweater, but you just you’re your eyes and wrap it up at home, right down to the address label. You make a quick stop to drop it off, and it’s all taken care of. The promise? That when you get home you will visit PackagingSupplies.com and buy some cheap shipping boxes.