If you need cardboard boxes in Manchester, Pack Solution stocks single and double wall boxes at Unit 2, 50 Derby Street, Cheetham Hill, M8 8HF, just over a mile north of the city centre. You can collect free or have our own vans bring them to any address within 10 miles in a straight line. Boxes Manchester businesses order on a weekday by 12pm can be delivered by van the same day.
This guide covers where to get them, which sizes and strengths to choose, and when collecting beats delivery. It is aimed at online sellers, shops, offices and households across Greater Manchester.
In This Guide
- Which cardboard boxes do Manchester buyers order most?
- Cardboard boxes Manchester: your buying options
- What sizes of cardboard box can you buy?
- Single wall or double wall: which do you need?
- Collect from Cheetham Hill or get them delivered?
- Cardboard boxes near me: how the local zone works
- How many boxes should you buy at once?
- Building and sealing boxes so they hold
- How to order boxes in Greater Manchester
- Frequently Asked Questions
Which cardboard boxes do Manchester buyers order most?
Most orders are built from four products: two box ranges, tape to seal them, and a gun to apply it.
Best for e-commerce orders and light storage
Single Wall Cardboard Boxes
Lightweight corrugated boxes that arrive flat and cover most everyday parcel sizes.
- 5 x 5 x 5" up to 24 x 18 x 18"
- 450 x 350 x 160mm Royal Mail Small Parcel size
- Minimum 5 per size
From £0.35 ex VAT (£0.42 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for heavy, fragile or high value goods
Double Wall Cardboard Boxes
Two layers of fluting make a stiffer box that stacks better and copes with weight.
- 9 x 6 x 6" up to 24 x 24 x 24"
- Sold per box, price falls as you buy more
- Supplied flat
From £0.59 ex VAT (£0.71 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for sealing brown cartons neatly
Brown Packing Tape
Buff and brown polypropylene tapes that blend in with brown boxes.
- 48mm x 66m standard roll
- Low noise BigTape 48mm x 150m
- Packs of 6 rolls
From £4.50 ex VAT (£5.40 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for sealing lots of boxes quickly
Pistol Grip Tape Gun Dispensers
A one-handed tape gun with a built-in blade, so you hold the box with the other hand.
- Models for 50mm and 75mm tape
- Heavy duty Pacplus and Big Tape options
- Sold individually
From £5.00 ex VAT (£6.00 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productKey facts
- Boxes are stocked at Unit 2, 50 Derby Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 8HF.
- Free click and collect is usually ready within 2 hours.
- Our vans deliver within 10 miles in a straight line: by 12pm Monday to Friday for same day, otherwise next working day.
- Single wall boxes run from 5 x 5 x 5" to 24 x 18 x 18", with a minimum of 5 per size.
- Double wall boxes run from 9 x 6 x 6" to 24 x 24 x 24" and are sold per box.
- Prices are shown ex VAT, and many products have volume pricing.
Check your postcode for same-day van delivery
Cardboard boxes Manchester: your buying options
There are three ways to get boxes from us, and they all start with the same stock in Cheetham Hill.
Click and collect. Order online, pick click and collect at checkout, and pick the boxes up from Derby Street. It is free, and orders are usually ready within 2 hours. This suits anyone who lives or works nearby, or who is passing through north Manchester anyway. Cheetham Hill is about a mile from the city centre, and Broughton, Prestwich and Salford are all close.
Van delivery. We run three vans of our own. Any address within 10 miles of M8 8HF in a straight line can have boxes brought to the door. Order by 12pm on a weekday and they come the same day. Order later and they come the next working day. The vans do not run at weekends or on bank holidays. Free local van delivery on qualifying orders. Call 0161 706 1246 or WhatsApp +44 7466 559897 to check your order.
Courier. If you are outside the zone, or simply prefer it, boxes can go by courier. Royal Mail Tracked 48 is free on every order with no minimum. Express, DPD Next Day and DPD Saturday are paid upgrades at checkout. Courier orders placed by 2pm Monday to Friday leave the unit the same working day.
When you buy cardboard boxes Manchester-wide, the question is less about where and more about how quickly you need them. The rest of this guide helps you pick the right box first.
What sizes of cardboard box can you buy?
All our sizes are internal, given as length x width x height. Measure the item, add room for any wrapping, and pick the next size up. These are some of the most useful sizes and what they usually hold.
| Box size (internal) | Range | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 5 x 5 x 5" (127mm cube) | Single wall | Small accessories, candles, cosmetics |
| 8 x 6 x 4" (203 x 152 x 102mm) | Single wall | Small products, phone accessories |
| 12 x 9 x 6" (305 x 229 x 152mm) | Single or double wall | Shoes, homeware, books |
| 17.7 x 13.7 x 6" (450 x 350 x 160mm) | Single wall | The largest Royal Mail Small Parcel size |
| 12 x 12 x 12" (305mm cube) | Single or double wall | Kitchenware, files, heavier stock |
| 18 x 18 x 18" (457mm cube) | Double wall | Bedding, bulky soft goods, moving |
| 24 x 18 x 18" (610 x 457 x 457mm) | Single or double wall | Large items, cushions, moving house |
| 24 x 24 x 24" (610mm cube) | Double wall | Very bulky but light items |
If you are looking for large cardboard boxes Manchester stores rarely keep in quantity, the 24 x 18 x 18" and 24 x 24 x 24" double wall sizes are the ones to ask about. They arrive flat, so a van load of them takes far less room than you might expect.
For a full list, see the Single Wall Cardboard Boxes and Double Wall Cardboard Boxes pages, or the whole cardboard boxes collection.
Single wall or double wall: which do you need?
The difference is the board. Single wall boxes have one layer of corrugated fluting. Double wall boxes have two, which makes them stiffer and better at taking weight and stacking.
| Single wall | Double wall | |
|---|---|---|
| Board | One layer of fluting | Two layers of fluting |
| Sizes | 5 x 5 x 5" to 24 x 18 x 18" | 9 x 6 x 6" to 24 x 24 x 24" |
| How sold | Individually, minimum 5 per size | Per box |
| Good for | Clothing, light homeware, everyday online orders, light storage | Heavy items, fragile or high value goods, stacking, moving house |
| Weight in the post | Lighter, which helps keep postage down | Heavier, but much stronger |
As a rule of thumb, if the box will be stacked under others, carried by hand down stairs, or hold anything heavier than a few kilos, double wall is the safer choice. For a pile of e-commerce orders that each weigh under a couple of kilos, single wall is usually enough. Our guide to single wall vs double wall boxes goes into more detail.
Postage is worth a thought as well. The 17.7 x 13.7 x 6" single wall box (450 x 350 x 160mm) matches the Royal Mail Small Parcel maximum, so it is the largest box that still fits that size band. Single wall board also adds less weight to each parcel, which matters when you pay postage by weight on hundreds of orders a month. For anything heavier or more fragile, the extra protection of double wall usually outweighs the small weight increase.
Not everything needs a box. For clothing and soft goods, grey mailing bags are lighter to post and take far less room on the shelf, in 16 sizes from 4 x 6" to 34 x 42".
Best for clothing and soft goods
Grey Mailing Bags
Opaque grey polythene mailers with a self-seal strip and a water resistant outer.
- 16 sizes, 4 x 6" to 34 x 42"
- Self-seal, no tape needed
- Packs of 100, 50 or 25 by size
From £2.90 ex VAT (£3.48 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productShipping boxes Manchester online sellers use day to day are mostly single wall in the 8 x 6 x 4" to 12 x 9 x 6" range. Removal and storage jobs lean towards double wall in the larger sizes.
Collect from Cheetham Hill or get them delivered?
Both are quick, so the choice usually depends on the size of the order and where you are.
- Collect if you need a few boxes today, you are within a short drive of M8, and your car will take them. Flat boxes are easy to carry in a hatchback, though the 24" sizes need a bit of space. Remember the unit is closed on Saturday and open Sunday 10am to 5pm.
- Use the van if you need a lot of boxes, large sizes, or boxes plus tape and wrap together, and you are within 10 miles. It saves loading a car and making the trip.
- Use a courier if you are outside the zone, or if the order is small and you can wait. Tracked 48 is free.
Measuring tip: our box sizes are internal. Measure your item at its widest points, add about 25mm on each side for bubble wrap or paper, and choose the box that fits those numbers. A box that is too big needs more void fill and costs more to post.
For example, a seller in Salford Quays needing 200 single wall boxes for a sale weekend is a natural van order. A student in Fallowfield after ten boxes for a move might collect, or ask for a van if they have no car. A packing boxes Manchester order for a business in Altrincham, about 8.9 miles away, is still inside the zone. If you want the full details of how the van works, read our guide to same day packaging delivery in Manchester.
Cardboard boxes near me: how the local zone works
For most of Greater Manchester, "near me" means the van can reach you. The 10-mile straight-line zone from M8 8HF covers the city centre, Salford, Trafford Park, Stretford, Sale, Altrincham, Didsbury, Wythenshawe, Stockport, Cheadle, Denton, Hyde, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, Chadderton, Middleton, Rochdale (OL16), Bury (BL9), Whitefield, Prestwich, Swinton, Eccles, Farnworth and Bolton BL2 and BL3.
A few places are just outside. Bolton town centre (BL1) is about 10.5 miles away, and Wigan, Warrington and Macclesfield are further. Those addresses get boxes by courier, or you can collect.
If you want to buy cardboard boxes near me and are not sure whether you are inside the zone, use the postcode checker on our Manchester local delivery page. There are also local pages for cardboard boxes in Oldham, packing boxes in Bury and packing boxes Stockport businesses order.
How many boxes should you buy at once?
Buying boxes one delivery at a time costs more per box and more in your own time. Two things make larger orders worth it.
Volume pricing. Many of our products have tiered pricing, so the price per box falls as the quantity rises. The tiers are listed on each product page, and prices are shown ex VAT.
Flat storage. Boxes arrive flat, so a stack of a hundred takes up far less room than a few assembled boxes would. Most businesses can hold a few weeks of stock without trouble.
Store flat boxes somewhere dry and off the floor if you can. Corrugated board takes on moisture from damp floors and walls, and a box that has been damp loses much of its strength. A shelf, a pallet or even a sheet of board under the stack keeps them in good condition for months. Keep each size together and label the shelf edge, so whoever packs can find the right box quickly.
A good starting point is to count how many boxes of each size you used last month and order roughly that amount, plus a margin for busy weeks. For one-off jobs like a house move, our moving boxes guide for Manchester has a room-by-room estimate. Regular buyers can also apply for a trade account, and VAT invoices are available on every order.
Building and sealing boxes so they hold
A good box can still fail if it is sealed badly. A few minutes of care at the bench makes a big difference.
- Fold on the creases. Push the box open and fold the bottom flaps on the existing score lines. The inner flaps go first and the outer flaps close over them.
- Tape the bottom with an H. Run one strip along the centre seam and one across each end. This is the H-tape method, and it stops the ends splitting open under weight.
- Use the right tape. 48mm tape suits most boxes. For larger or heavier cartons, a 72mm roll covers more of the seam. Brown Packing Tape comes in 48mm and 72mm widths, in packs of 6 rolls.
- Fill the gaps. An item that moves around inside the box can damage itself or burst the corners. Use bubble wrap, paper or air cushions to stop it shifting.
- Seal the top the same way. Tape the top seam and the ends, so the box stays square when stacked.
Fragile items need wrapping before they go in. Small bubble wrap for Manchester packing benches has 10mm bubbles on 100m rolls and covers glass, ceramics and electronics. The full protective packaging range also has paper and air cushions.
Best for wrapping smaller fragile items
Small Bubble Wrap
10mm bubbles on 100m rolls that wrap closely round glass, ceramics and electronics.
- 10mm bubbles
- 100m rolls, 300mm or 500mm wide
- Sold per roll
From £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productIf you are sealing more than a handful of boxes, a tape gun saves time and gives neater seams. The Pistol Grip Tape Gun Dispensers come in models for 50mm and 75mm tape, with a built-in blade. You will find more options in the packing tapes collection.
How to order boxes in Greater Manchester
To collect, order online and choose click and collect at checkout. For a courier delivery, choose your service at checkout, and remember the 2pm dispatch cut-off on weekdays.
For van delivery, tell us your postcode and list and we will check whether your order qualifies for free delivery. Call 0161 706 1246, WhatsApp +44 7466 559897 or email sales@packsolution.co.uk. If you want the bigger picture on what local businesses keep in stock alongside boxes, our packaging supplies Manchester guide covers bags, tape, wrap and labels as well.
The quickest route is the quote form and postcode checker on the local delivery page. Get your list in by 12pm on a weekday and the boxes can be with you that afternoon.
See Manchester delivery details
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy cardboard boxes in Manchester?
Pack Solution sells cardboard boxes from Unit 2, 50 Derby Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 8HF. You can order online and collect free, usually within 2 hours, or get free local van delivery on qualifying orders to any address within 10 miles in a straight line. Call 0161 706 1246 or WhatsApp +44 7466 559897 to check your order.
Can I get cardboard boxes delivered the same day in Manchester?
Yes, inside the 10-mile van zone. Van orders placed by 12pm Monday to Friday are delivered the same day, and later orders the next working day. Free local van delivery on qualifying orders. Call 0161 706 1246 or WhatsApp +44 7466 559897 to check your order.
Do I need single wall or double wall boxes?
Single wall boxes suit light to medium items such as clothing, books in small quantities and everyday online orders. Double wall boxes have two layers of fluting, so they suit heavy, fragile or high value goods, stacking in storage and moving house.
Is there a minimum order for cardboard boxes?
Single Wall Cardboard Boxes have a minimum of 5 per size. Double Wall Cardboard Boxes are sold per box, and the price per box falls as you order more. Volume tiers are shown on each product page.
What is the largest box you sell?
The largest is the 24 x 24 x 24" (610 x 610 x 610mm) double wall box. The largest single wall box is 24 x 18 x 18" (610 x 457 x 457mm). All sizes are internal measurements.
When can I collect boxes from Cheetham Hill?
The unit is open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm, and closed on Saturday. Choose click and collect at checkout and wait for confirmation that the order is ready before you travel.
