The customer pays no sales tax if the merchandise is shipped from out of state. Since shipping charges are usually comparable to the sales tax of the buyer's home state he does not feel that it is any more costly to have the items sent to him. Legally, if a dealer holds a resale certificate from another state he is obligated to collect sales tax when he ships the purchase to a customer in that state. A small investment in shipping supplies and some guidance in choosing a carrier can make the process of shipping smalls relatively painless. We scrounge where possible and buy only when absolutely necessary.
Local merchants can be a good source for boxes.
You can obtain boxes and tubes in a variety of sizes free of charge from U.P.S. or FedEx if you use one of these carriers' air service. Boxes can be purchased at the Post Office but they tend to be relatively costly. Boxes are available in a variety of sizes at Office Max and Staples. Bubble cushioned and padded mailing bags are available in numerous sizes and various quantities. Obviously, the unit price per shipping bag will be higher the larger the bag and the smaller the quantity purchased.