For a couple of bucks, these guys will receive packages for you to pick up if your building doesn't receive them from UPS or FedEx, or if you just don't want your stuff to get stolen off the front step, which they inevitably will in Berkeley. Had a couple of heavy packages come in and they lent me a dolly to get it down the street. Very nice. read more

Instead of charging me a high price, the proprietor told me I could use the Post Office to send my box to Norway for less. That's service!

Excellent resource for DIY packers, and EXCEPTIONALLY EXCELLENT for those times you cannot begin to do it yourself.

Dropped off a FedEx package and forgot the label. Darren offered to print it for me and when it took longer than expected, he wrote down my info and followed up that it was sent. Really friendly service and appreciate the follow up. Thanks Darren! read more

Note that this place is also listed as Handle With Care Packing Store on Yelp. The review that follows is a copy of what I wrote on that page. I want to make sure this is visible to anyone considering having them do a long-distance shipping job. I really want to give this place two and a half stars, but I can't go up to 3. My fiancé and I needed our couch shipped from Berkeley to Boston, but didn't need a full moving service. Dan gave a quote of $1200 for packaging, shipping, and pick up/delivery combined, but told me that would probably be an overestimate (b/c I overestimated the weight). While that's on the high end for this kind of service (with no white glove movers involved) I was told that paying this would ensure delivery by 5-6 days after pickup. First, the reasons for the low rating: what actually happened is that they tried to charge us $1275 for a delivery that took *three weeks*. After complaining about the delay during the process, they only refunded $100 of that amount. Dan always answered the phone when I called to check up on what was happening, but he was either misleading me throughout or wasn't bothering to properly check up on the delivery status. After an initial delay of several days, he continually made false promises about how soon it would arrive, while reminding me of how it was "out of his hands." Once I finally got the contact info for the shipping company from him, I suddenly got a very clear answer that ended up being accurate. However, as the delay caused the couch to arrive when I was at work, and all that money didn't even cover help in getting the couch up to our fourth-floor apartment, the couch was left sitting outside in the rain until I could make it home. I'm just grateful that the super of my building graciously helped to move the couch in once I did. Now, the reason that I rate my experience as a 2.5 instead of a 1: the couch did arrive in perfect condition. Ultimately, that is the most important thing, and is the reason that I was willing to pay a bit over a grand for the service. Dan was always available on the phone during the process, and it does appear to be true that the delay was the fault of YRC Freight. However, the large delay would not have caused nearly as big of a headache if Dan been able to provide reliable updates on how soon the package would be arriving. I also never forgot about the fact that he initially led me to expect $1200 to be a substantial overestimate of the cost. In the end, I should not have had to pay a full $1175 for something that turned into such a hassle. read more

Do not, under any circumstances, bring your business to this store. The owner DOUBLES, and sometimes TRIPLES what a shipping company like UPS would charge you, and then adds handling on top of it. For example, a package that should have cost me $7.50 to send via UPS Ground shipping actually ended up costing me $21.14. Unless you need to ship deer antlers, go to the shipping store down the street (close to Andronicos) instead. They charge you the standard company rate, and are very, very helpful and nice. read more

I have been meaning to write a review of this Packaging Store because recently we had a really tricky shipping situation, and the guys there handled it very Intellegently and Politely. ( two of my favorite adverbs, which I tooo seldom get a chance to use) Today am finally getting this done. Two reviews at once. I needed to get a belated bday present shipped to the East Coast. Land of picky, picky WASPS. If you don't pack something "correctly" and even the slightest blemish or wrong sized box,, or packing materials are too environmentally correct, or not ec enough, you will hear about it for years So I dropped a few bucks, walked a few blocks and let's hope all's well The shop looks like a professional hand blown glass shipping department. I recco it when you NEED a professional job. read more

I've seen him pack some amazing things, from art to stoves. Great guy, helpful and reliable. Thanks, Dan!

Dan is a treasure: competent, consistent, helpful, knowledgable, honest, and dependable. The Packaging Store has served as my secure delivery shipping address for over 10 years, so I'm in there regularly. Dan has also packed and palletized outgoing shipments for me, and he went above and beyond in tracking the shipments and keeping me informed. read more

This is the place to go if you're shipping something you really care about that needs to get there in perfect shape. They have so much expertise with fine art and other precious or difficult to package items. And it's also great for packing and shipping regular stuff too. Super convenient, and there's usually a cute little dog hanging out to say hello to. And -- they're one of the very few places that will gladly take your used packing peanuts and intact (non-custom) pieces of styrofoam to reuse. Check them out! read more

Quirky store. Gets mixed reviews but let's face it, this guy 'mostly' knows his business. The only problem is the packing tape he recommended -- that he sold-- was awful, and by the time movers arrived, the tape was peeling off. The 3M tape I bought at CVS worked much better on the boxes that used that tape. read more

The Southern California/Los Angeles part of me keeps withering away more and more...sometimes it is so nice to shop at a non-chain store. I popped in here today to see if they had any boxes I could purchase that would hold cookies (tis the season and all). Indeed, I found 7x5x3 (I think) boxes at a very reasonable $1.50 or so each. There were a large variety of different-sized boxes, all at a reasonable price. While the owner rang up my purchase, he gave me more tips on how to ship the cookies and pointed me in the direction of a big vat of cider, courtesy of the store on this rainy day. read more

Handle With Care on University Ave in Berkeley, also called the Packaging Store gives exceptional service. Dan & his cute Dog run the shop & are excellent. I had to ship priceless items within California, to Michigan, Kansas, & Florida. Everything arrived perfectly. I was very happy as you can tell. read more

This is a great store. We mostly use it for package deliveries.... when the local Amazon locker is full, this is a good way to insure that packages aren't stolen from the porch before we get home. Dan is always pleasant and has always been very helpful. read more

Very helpful, extremely professional, can (and will) ship ridiculously awkward and odd-shaped items. See their photos on the counter. LOVE this place! read more

I had to return an expensive DVD player a few months ago and figured I should get a professional to pack it so I wouldn't be liable if it broke. Because of the name of this store, I wasn't sure if they offered packing services or just sold packing supplies. When I called and asked, the guy got annoyed and said I couldn't buy supplies there and pack my own stuff because that's what the store does. I went there despite the awkward phone conversation because it's close to my house and I don't have a car. I took all the original packing materials the DVD player came with, expecting to only need some tape and maybe some extra padding. The guy told me I should throw out the box it came in and buy a larger box with more padding if I wanted to send it safely. This seemed fishy to me, since I don't think the store I bought it from would have sent it like that if it was unsafe. I was expecting to pay about $25 or $30, but the total fee for sending it came to about $80. When I questioned the price, the guy told me that the UPS fee alone was $55 dollars, which sounded high to me. I checked the UPS website when I got home and I was right. He either lied to me about the price or he used a box that was way too large for the item. Either way, I was disappointed I didn't walk out of the store when I heard the price, and I'll never go there again. I gave this place two stars because they did offer prompt service and they do a good job with packing. But hold on to your wallets if you go there. read more

A lot of UPS and FED EX franchise stores charge much higher rates than if you took your package directly to a shipment center. This store doesn't mark up the price by much. For me to ship a guitar to Nashville using Fed Ex 4-day service is a little over $100.00. The store adds a tiny $1.50 fee. That's peanuts! Plus, as others have mentioned, these folks ship the biggest and weirdest shapes I've ever seen. They definitely know the business and it's awesome to get the personal service. Very friendly and knowledgeable. read more

I've found these guys to be very friendly and helpful with lots of box sizes and shipping supplies in stock. They offer to cut down boxes to size free of charge. Other Pack and Ship stores charge outrageous amounts for this! Although I usually pack and ship on my own I had them box up a Baritone Saxophone to meet USPS size requirements about a year ago. It arrived safe and sound with a custom made box for a very reasonable amount. Two thumbs up!! Thank you for your good service! read more

I'd like to give this place 5 stars for an amazing service they offered me - they packed my road bike into a box of theirs with great padding for a mere $35, cheaper than any other bike shop in town based on numerous calls I made with other businesses. Yes, I do agree with others that this places charges higher prices than a normal UPS or a FEDEX service, but if you are moving across the country and need your bike shipped, they are amazing. Who knew that these guys couuld also pack bikes? More background: I was moving from Berkeley to DC and wanted to ship the bike to my new home. I didn't want to fly with it, so I looked into businesses in Berkeley that can take a bike in a box and deliver it to a desired address. I needed to get it packed so it would arrive safely and this place did it significantly cheaper than any other place! When it comes to actually shipping it, they quoted me a monumental sum of ~ $650. But I had that done through a different company for $85. So overall I'm thankful to them for the packing job. read more

Notable for its helpfulness, professionalism, and carefulness, this shop evokes small-town ambience amidst the modern shipping world.

This store did an awesome job of packing and shipping an electric piano plus music stand, etc to the East Coast. It arrived in flawless condition a day ahead of the predicted ship date. Dan is the man! He's helpful, honest and very competent, besides being a pleasure to work with. Also, his dog is practically THE cutest animal on the planet. read more

Very helpful staff. It is pricey, as others have said, but that is because it is intended for special jobs, not daily mailing.

Shipped a table from Berkeley to Ann Arbor. The table was lost; then when we started insurance proceedings it was miraculously found. At this point it was way past the time that it should have been delivered and recipient was in Thailand for the summer. The store would not handle the problem and demanded that I speak to the shipper that they had contracted with directly. Finally I consented. The actual shipper was less than helpfu; asked for my address which I unfortunately gave them and the package showed up on my mom's front lawn (how they got that address I don't know) in the rain 2000 miles from its intended destination with footprints on the package and holes. Fortunately we had wrapped the item in plastic and blankets before we had given it to the packaging store so it was uninjured. We sent register letters to both the store and its apparent parent company demanding a full refund and copies of all their internal shipping papers and insurance forms. Two months later and they have not replied. read more