How to ship scrap carbide to us (we pay the shipping)

Fill in the quote form before anything goes in a box. Tell us what form the carbide is in, about how much it weighs, and add a few photos. Then we arrange the shipment with you, and we pay the shipping.

You can also call (877) 838-9920 or email help@carbidebuyerusa.com. A few details help us plan the right boxes and the right carrier:

• Where it ships from. City and state, and whether there is a loading dock or just a garage door.
• How it sits now. Coffee cans, pails, boxes, drums or a pallet, and how many of each.
• Anything wet. Sludge, oily turnings, or tools still dripping coolant.
• Anything mixed in. Steel holders, shanks or high-speed steel sharing a container with the carbide.

Wait until we have talked it through before you hand a box to a carrier. Then the packing, the carrier and the paperwork all suit the load you actually have.

1. Bag it first. Put each kind of carbide in its own heavy plastic bag, close it, and write the contents on the bag: inserts, end mills, rod, brazed tips. If a corner of the box splits on the way, the bags keep small pieces from spilling. The sorting guide covers what to keep apart.
2. Pick a strong box, and a small one. USPS says sturdy paperboard or corrugated boxes are best for loads up to 10 pounds. For dense items such as tools and machine parts weighing 20 to 45 pounds, its rules call for at least 200-pound test board, or an equivalent wood, metal or plastic container.
3. Stop well short of the cap. Several moderate boxes are easier to lift and kinder to the cardboard than one packed right to the limit.
4. Fill the gaps. USPS wants contents that cannot shift and heavy items braced. Wad kraft paper or cardboard around the bags; loose carbide sliding around a box will chew through a corner.
5. Tape every seam. USPS calls for 2-inch packaging tape on the opening and on all seams, and for very heavy items, reinforced tape on all the edges. It rules out cord, string, twine, masking tape and cellophane tape. One strip down the middle is not enough for a box this heavy.
6. Use Flat Rate boxes as they come. The flaps have to close within their normal folds. Tape may reinforce the box, but it cannot be opened out or rebuilt. Flat Rate packaging is exempt from USPS nonstandard fees, while a can or a wooden or metal box sent by Priority Mail draws one, listed at $4.50 as of November 2026.
7. Cover sharp edges. For bare metal items, UPS says to blunt sharp or protruding edges with taped-on corrugated cardboard. Do that for carbide-tipped saw blades and for broken rod with jagged ends.
8. Put a label inside. USPS suggests an extra label with the delivery and return addresses inside the package, in case the outside label is damaged or falls off. Add your phone number and a short list of contents.

Sources: USPS, Preparing packages; USPS Domestic Mail Manual 601 (packaging standards); USPS, Flat Rate quick reference; USPS, Priority Mail; UPS 2025 Rate and Service Guide, daily rates (updated March 31, 2025).

Solid carbide travels like any heavy hardware. The trouble comes from what rides along with it: oil, coolant, water, and anything that burns.

• No wet boxes. Let oily or coolant-soaked tools drain and drip dry before they are bagged. Liquid softens cardboard that is already carrying a lot of weight.
• No gasoline, and no solvent-wet parts. Gasoline is on the USPS list of things that cannot go in the mail, and USPS Publication 52 bans any flammable liquid with a flashpoint of 20°F or below. Keep solvent rags and spray cans out of the box.
• Sludge and grindings go in sealed containers, and only as the rules allow. Pour off the standing coolant, pack what is left in a sealed, leak-proof pail, and tell us which coolant or oil it came from. USPS requires a package holding liquid to be marked as liquid on the outside, with orientation arrows. Combustible liquids are mailable only under set conditions: by domestic ground as Limited Quantity consumer commodities, by domestic air as ID8000 materials, and never internationally.
• Nothing that counts as hazardous waste. Publication 52 lists hazardous waste in Hazard Class 9, and from that class it allows only lithium batteries, dry ice, magnetized materials and qualifying consumer commodities.

USPS puts the call on the sender: “The mailer is responsible for accurately identifying the flashpoint, toxicity, corrosive, or any other hazardous properties before determining mailability.” FedEx Ground takes hazardous materials only from shippers it has approved, and holds customers responsible for meeting state and federal rules. Knowingly mailing dangerous material can bring a civil penalty of $250 to $100,000 per violation, plus cleanup costs and damages.

No USPS or FedEx page we have read names grinding sludge at all, and whether a given pail is regulated depends on the oil or solvent in it and its flashpoint. So call us before any sludge goes anywhere. More on handling it is on carbide grindings and sludge.

Sources: USPS, Shipping restrictions; USPS Publication 52, section 323; USPS Publication 52, flammable and combustible liquids; USPS Publication 52, Hazard Class 9; USPS Domestic Mail Manual 601 (liquids); FedEx, How to ship hazardous materials.