I was asked if I could post a picture of the box’es I would recommend to use to shiip flie’s in for a swap.
Large box for Saltwater or very large flies Vidio Cassette Box 8 x 4 3/4
Medium box for med/large flies. Plano type compartment box 6 1/2 x 3 3/4
Small box for small flies. Altoid Tin Box or small fly box 3 1/2 x 2 1/2
These size’s are in inches.
These are just my recommendations not rules. I have also posted this pic on my page. John
Here are a couple more I’ve seen/used that work well:
Music type cassette box. (Only will work well with smaller flies)
$1 plastic soap travel box with peel & stick craft foam lining ($.33/sheet) This one also makes a good “poor man’s” fly box.
You can also put your stuff in a priority mail box available from the PO. Fill it out for return mailing with stamps but don’t seal it up. Then wrap it with butcher paper and mail it to the swap meister. All he needs to do is unwrap the box, take out your flies, throw the swap flies in it and then stick down the flap and mail it. It costs more, but you get your swap flies back fast.
As always ol’blue has also added some great suggestions. Thanks ol’blue I always appreciate your advise. John
Thanks for the ideas, not having done a swap I was curious as to the best way to send them out.
: 
Another thing to do is to visit your local Optometrist. We get glasses in cardboard boxes that are convient to send the flies in.
That is what all of my swap flies go out in.
Rick
John, I use Small cigar tins with a piece of thin foam in them, works good And I get to enjoy some good cigars. Flys will be going out next week.
Bill
Bill thanks for another good suggestion for a good shipping box. I will be looking for your flies. Thanks again for joining in on the swap. John
I thought I’d give an update. I went down to WalMart today, and picked up 3 travel soap boxes for 50 cents each, and a sheet of 2mm adhesive backed craft foam for another 50 cents. So I got all the supplies for 3 boxes for $2. I’ll try to explain how to build them clearly, but no guarantees.let me know if you would like clarification on anything.
I cut the craft foam into 3 larger pieces that were the right width to just fit inside the boxes and 8 inches long, and then peeled the back off of 2 of them and stuck them all together so I had 6mm foam instead of 2mm. The bottom piece still has its backing paper on at this point. Then I trimmed strips off that were approx 1/4" wide and peeled the backing, and stuck them inside the box to give the same sort of attachment as the C&F style fly boxes. You can space them out to match how you need them, and the box is tall enough to put another row in the lid if you like. This is a great option for shipping flies or for super inexpensive fly boxes and are extremely easy to assemble. I built all 3 of mine in less than 5 minutes. I’ll post some pictures later if anyone is interested.
Great idea ol’blue. My original post was not to limit the type box’es but to get a few others to put up ideas like yours thanks. John
I have used boxes that checks come in, put my return address on the top using sticky back address labels and the appropriate postage. I then wrap the filled box with butcher paper and send it to the Swapmeister. This saves work for the Swapmeister, and all he/she has to do is fill the box, tape the cover down and drop it in the mail.
I have also done the same thing using shipping tubes about 2" in diameter. Very sturdy!
Joe
Somebody I work with just gave me 2 plastic snap-shut boxes that use to have band-aids in them. They are a little bigger than an Altoid tin, and lighter in weight. A little craft foam in the bottom, and they work great. Just shipped out a set of flies for a swap in one of them. Next time I go to the store, I’ll have to check out the band-aid shelf to pick up some more.
CJ