 |
Company | UsedCardboardBoxes.com | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://www.usedcardboardboxes.com | ||||
| Founded: | June 2005 | |||
| City: | Los Angeles, California | |||
| Country: | United States | |||
| CEO: | Marty Metro | |||
| Founders: | Marty Metro | |||
| Category: | eCommerce | Funding: | VC | |
| Tags: | green business, moving boxes, cardboard boxes, social entrepreneur | Employees: | 6-15 | |
What does UsedCardboardBoxes.com do?
Simply put, UCB buys and sells USED cardboard boxes as an earth-friendly alternative to moving and shipping. We work with large manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to “rescue” truckloads of quality USED boxes from within their supply chain, saving them from being recycled or, even worse, thrown away. We then take these once-used boxes, package them into low-cost “moving kits”, and sell them online. We also sell boxes by the tractor trailer load, to large companies. Cardboard is very durable material and, after one use, can be used at least one or two more times before sending it off to the recyclers. Giving these boxes a longer life saves a lot of the time, money, energy, and labor that would unnecessarily be spent if they weren’t reused!
How are they different?
We are based in Los Angeles, where we have five employees (each managing different aspects of the business) and one in Las Vegas who deals specifically with customer service. Despite possessing the logistics of a small business, we offer FREE delivery to any residential address in the nation, within 1-2 business days. Our custom-built software manages all the logistics for the millions of boxes we move each year, via our network of regional distribution centers. Our system automatically updates according to new orders received and steps completed for each ordering and shipping process. Here in LA, we can monitor every order, throughout every step of the process.
Why could UsedCardboardBoxes.com be BIG?
With over 307 million people and each person moving about once every 5 years, America needs boxes! And indeed, 90% of all products are shipped via cardboard boxes in the US alone. People spend countless, tiring hours searching for free moving boxes; businesses have thousands of boxes taking up storage space, waiting for the recyclers to come around. No one wants to throw away these boxes because people know of their value – they’re not trash! The idea of reusing boxes makes complete sense, but the convenience and logistics of executing such a task is not easy. It takes passionate and hardworking entrepreneurs, like Marty Metro, to draw the blueprints, test them out, make adjustments, and execute a successful business model for the public to be able to rely on. It has not been easy and Marty has worked on refining the model for 8+ years now. However, we now deliver boxes to any address in the continental US and provide truckload quantities of boxes to companies as large as Walmart.
How they plan to make money:
A great question, and THE question that Metro failed to successfully prove with his first business trial in 2002. Although everyone loved his idea, ROI was low due to the costs of a retail footprint, delivery trucks, warehouses, admin and other variables. Metro then learned just how important it is to have a good business model. Continuing the theme of reuse, Metro and his team thought to take advantage of the other experts out there. They found existing warehouses, labor, and delivery companies that knew how to do their job –and do it WELL – to team up with us, helping our efforts while supporting their services. Again, Metro’s technological skills came in handy! The UCB team created a system that made it possible to modularize moving kits and pre-pack them, ready for quick shipment anywhere. The system was first tested out in LA and, due to successful results, business expanded to 9 regional distribution centers, nationwide. In short, we no longer “plan” to make money. We do!
Our thoughts:
No thoughts at the moment. Very interesting!
Please visit their website to learn more: http://www.usedcardboardboxes.com
I absolutely love this company. The staff is great and friendly, and the boxes are actually high quality, even though they are slightly used. Great stuff!! I recommend anyone who is in the business of moving to check these guys out.