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I’ve almost run out of packing tape! Not good in this line of work. It’s been ages since I’ve even thought about it because I had my favorite Scotch packing tape (as shown above) on “Subscribe & Save” via Amazon, and I would automatically get a box of tape shipped to me each month. Easy peasy. I love the Scotch packing tape because it’s nice and thick, the smaller rolls are easy to use and don’t get all tangled up on themselves. But, the price has been inching up, so I’ve skipped my last two shipments, and the small surplus I had stored up is gone. I thought I’d take an informal survey and find out what brands other people like. Maybe it’s time for me to switch things up. I’ve tried a few other brands (including Duck and the generic Office Depot brands) but they seem thinner and more cheaply made, which makes them more difficult to use, and the extra aggravation isn’t worth the amount saved.
Please share!
What is your favorite packing tape?
What’s your “buy” price?
And where do you find it?
Many thanks!
What is your favorite packing tape?
What’s your “buy” price?
And where do you find it?
Many thanks!
And Happy Halloween!
We are: Clamco says
November 1, 2014 at 9:45 amI admit I use the thin flimsy stuff from the dollar store. I like the heavier tape but it adds weight to my first class packages. For example, I would buy a shipping label for 7.8 ounces, but applying the paper label to the package with the heavier tape sometimes would bring it up to 8.1 ounces. For heavier packages, I use reinforced paper tape and I wet it with a sponge to activate the adhesive.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 4:02 pmI’ve been using up the last of my flimsy tape, but only to put over my shipping labels. It had been discarded and ignored for a long time, but now that I’m almost out of tape I’ve given it another chance, out of desperation. ๐ I’ve never used the paper tape, although I know what you’re talking about. Do you buy that at the dollar store too?
We are: Clamco says
November 1, 2014 at 9:01 pmNo, I get that on ebay. It’s a bit on the pricey side. I try to look for the best deal.
Maya L. says
November 1, 2014 at 2:10 pmI only use the Scotch brand. I use their regular shipping tape on lighter items as they’re a bit thinner than the heavy duty tapes. The heavy duty tapes are reserved for heavy items only. I stock up on them at Costco when they go on sale just about once a year. I pay about $1.25 per roll for the regular and a little bit over $2 for heavy duty.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 4:06 pmHmmm. I don’t think I ever realized that Scotch had both a regular and heavy duty packing tape. I’ve just been using the heavy duty. Maybe I should find some of the regular and give it a whirl. I don’t have a Costco membership, but every time my parents are in town they ask me if I want to go with them. Maybe I should start tagging along. $2 for the heavy duty tape is my happy price too. For awhile I was able to get it on Amazon at that price. Here’s hoping it goes back down, eventually.
Maya L. says
November 2, 2014 at 4:00 amMy regular Costco only carries the heavy duty type. Business Costco carries both types.
Nancy says
November 1, 2014 at 2:50 pmI use either the Scotch Heavy Duty brand or the Walgreens brand which I think is called Wexford. I don’t remember how much I pay for it but Sam’s club sells the Scotch brand large rolls in a 9 pack I think which is what I get. Walgreens has the smaller rolls and I get them when they are on sale. Once they had a sale for .99 cents each. Sometimes they are buy one get one 50% off. They have a brown color which I like when the box has writing I need to cover. Kills two birds with one stone.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 7:25 pmI actually have some of the brown Wexford tape. I picked it up (probably during a 99 cent sale) because it was the only tape that was left, but discovered, like you said, that it’s great for covering up writing on boxes. It stays well flat, but when I try to use it to tape up box ends it doesn’t stick as well.
Grace Brewer says
November 1, 2014 at 3:11 pmi swore by the E-Z start Duck brand but they tend to not stick to cardboard well so I switched to Scotch brand and I like it better ๐
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 7:26 pmIt does seem Scotch is the all-around favorite.
Casper says
November 1, 2014 at 4:01 pmI like Uline’s regular, clear packaging tape. But my next order is going to be for their “Quiet Tape.” I oftentimes ship late at night and regular tape threatens to wake my family! I will try to find it cheaper, perhaps on eBay. I hope it’s like Priority Mail tape: super sticky, quiet, and a nice smell to boot! ๐
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 7:30 pmI had the same issue in our old house, trying not to wake up the kids when packaging things up at night. I’ll have to find some Uline tape and give it a try. Thanks for the tip.
We are: Clamco says
November 1, 2014 at 9:03 pmOh quiet tape sounds nice. I like to work early in the morning but the sound of taping can wake the dead, so I spare my family and wait till they get up.
Shannon says
November 1, 2014 at 5:36 pmI buy the 97 cent roll at Walmart – I think it’s Duck but they have another roll that has a dark blue background now too. I haven’t had any problems and use it on cardboard, poly mailers (taping the corners now, too! grr!) and manila envelopes. I’m at Walmart enough these days it seems that I just pick up a couple of rolls each time I end one and I stay ahead of the game and the tape stays fresh. I think the key to the lower priced rolls is 2 part: not storing it forever and the biggest one of all: tape dispenser. I had terrible luck and it seemed like I was always fighting with the Scotch brand until I changed dispensers. I still use a gun for the cardboard side but I found an old vintage (aka HEAVY) desktop style and it’s been fantastic for label attachment. It gives me two hands (the label is always straight now!! woohoo) and it’s in the same spot no matter what in my shipping station.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 7:34 pmYou know, now that I think about it, at an old (office setting) job I had a desktop tape dispenser for packing tape. I’ll have to look into getting one. That really could make all the difference in the world with some tapes. Great idea.
Kimberly Hutmacher says
November 1, 2014 at 6:26 pmI use Scotch, but I buy it at Sam’s Club. They come in a pack of 6 ( you get about double what’s on the rolls pictured above) for $16.97.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 1, 2014 at 7:37 pmSo, still six rolls but each has more tape on it? I really like the small dispensers, but may need to get bigger ones if the price savings is that dramatic.
Kimberly Hutmacher says
November 1, 2014 at 8:44 pmYes, Kari. They have a lot more tape per roll, but they don’t have the handy dispenser that the smaller ones have.
Kari @ She Thrifts says
November 2, 2014 at 12:39 amI think the bigger rolls with a desktop dispenser could be a winning combination.
Casey says
November 3, 2014 at 1:37 amI use Duck HP260 which seems to be not too thick and not to thin but still sticks to cardboard. Recently we got a bad batch of their tape that split weird at an angle as you were pulling it off and I contacted them about it and they sent me all new tape very quickly with some coupons. I also have what is called a Tape Wrangler that we got at Menards that attaches to the underside of our cupboards as a tape dispenser or can be used as a hand held dispenser and love it!
Marci says
November 3, 2014 at 3:14 amI use Duck EZ start tape. I may pay a bit more but so worth not having the hassle of finding the edge if it sticks to itself. Plus I tear it down the middle when I’m taping on my labels so it lasts twice as long. I haven’t had any problem with it sticking to cardboard. I get the 4 pack at Walmart for like 8 bucks I think.
Margaret says
November 6, 2014 at 7:17 pmWe lucked out about a year ago when hubby found some industrial sized rolls (Humungous) at a Salvation Army for $2 each. We have about 8 of these huge rolls and haven’t even gotten through a quarter of one of them. I love it! Hubby things the tape will go bad before we ever use it up. LOL
Arma Grip says
December 26, 2014 at 7:56 amHello Frndz….
Your blog has always been a good source for me to get quality tips on blogging. Thanks once again.
Packing tape