Free Holiday Shipping Supplies: What Stores Give Away
Order free USPS, FedEx and UPS packaging for holiday gifts and find free used moving boxes nearby.
USPS, FedEx and UPS will give you free boxes, envelopes and mailers for the holidays when you ship with their express and priority services. U-Haul does not give away new boxes, but its company-owned centers offer free used boxes through reuse bins and an online exchange. Free shipping supplies means carrier-provided boxes and mailers that cost $0.00 but require paid postage for the matching service.
Use each box only with the carrier and service that supplied it. Reusing express packaging for Ground, another carrier or a move can bring surcharges or rejection.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 03, 2026.
What USPS Gives Away for Holiday Gifts
According to USPS, holiday shippers can order free Priority Mail and Express supplies through The Postal Store and Click-N-Ship or by phone at 1-800-610-8734. The free selection on the Postal Store free-supplies page includes $0.00 Flat Rate boxes and envelopes. You still pay postage when you ship.
Flat Rate boxes and envelopes show as $0.00 because the packaging is free and postage is separate. Use them only for the USPS service printed on the box.
What FedEx Gives Away for Expedited Shipping
According to FedEx, it offers complimentary FedEx-branded boxes, envelopes, paks, tubes and poly bags when you ship with its expedited services. You can order that packaging online with a free account, and FedEx ships the ordered packaging free. That page limits FedEx packaging to Express, Express Saver and selected international services on its packing supplies page.
It describes the Express-only pattern for USPS Priority and Express and UPS Express supplies; Ground, cross-carrier or moving reuse risks surcharges or rejection. Make the free account before you need boxes, then match each box to an expedited holiday shipment. Do not stock free express boxes for Ground returns or storage moves.
How UPS Rations Free Supplies
According to UPS, it distributes free supplies based on shipping activity. New customers receive an initial allocation. Ongoing access uses three levels described on the UPS order supplies page, where eligibility depends on shipping activity and usage.
A casual holiday sender can still use the starter allocation for a qualifying shipment. Infrequent shippers should not expect steady resupply without shipping activity.
Where to Find Free Used Boxes for Moving
According to U-Haul, it does not give away free new boxes. Each company-owned center has a Take-a-Box, Leave-a-Box bin where customers leave used boxes for other customers to take free. U-Haul also runs an online Customer Connect Box Exchange described in its moving-supplies FAQ.
These are reuse boxes, not carrier shipping packaging. Stock depends on what other customers leave.
- Check the bin at a company-owned center.
- Leave usable boxes for the next person.
- Search the online exchange for local listings.