Mail Boxes Etc. Edinburgh has just celebrated their 10,000th antique shipment. The item was collected, packed and shipped safely to a very happy buyer in America. Mail Boxes Etc. Edinburgh were recommended to the buyer by the auctioneer for their safe and efficient service. The item was even shipped for free in celebration of the store reaching their 10,000th auction item.

Mail Boxes Etc. Edinburgh specialises in shipping art, collectibles and antiques all over the world. The store demonstrates just one of the many ways that Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees can diversify their businesses and benefit from more than just one revenue stream.

Mail Boxes Etc. is one of the world’s largest non-food retail franchises with over 1,500 stores in five continents including over 155 in the UK and Ireland. They are the only high-street chain that offers consumers and local companies a truly comprehensive range of business services. Mail Boxes Etc.’s high street one-stop-shop concept offers a mix of logistics, postal, print and copy services to help meet people’s everyday needs.

The store’s partners Mike Smith, David Hastings, Dag Docherty and John-Eirik Docherty spotted an opportunity to carve a niche for themselves 15 years ago and decided to focus on shipping services for art, antiques and expensive whiskies – a trend that has continued!

“Many Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees partner with the auction houses in their territories to provide additional revenue streams to their businesses. Being associated with Mail Boxes Etc. can often make our franchisees the shippers of choice for many auction houses,” explains Michael Hawkins, Sales and Marketing Director at Mail Boxes Etc.

Mail Boxes Etc. Edinburgh operates three stores around the city. The business is thriving and other recent shipments have included a First Edition of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, a painting by Dali, sketches by Picasso and 70 bottles of whisky with a value of around £52,000.

“I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve reached this point and really proud of the fact that people trust us and our services to move their items of high value. We first realised there was market for us to specialise in shipping art, collectibles and antiques when we noticed there were plenty of online couriers but none that specialised in the safe packaging of the item. Our aim was to be the one-stop-shop, offering packaging and shipping services plus our transit insurance cover which is second to none!” Mike Smith, Mail Boxes Etc Edinburgh franchisee.

MBE Edinburgh works with all the major auction houses, from Bonhams to Lyon and Turnbull, Shapes Auctioneers and Thomson Riddick as well as a wide range of art galleries, including Anthony Woodd, The Open Eye Gallery and Urbane Art Gallery, to name just a few.

For the past 10 years, MBE Edinburgh has been working with the AIE Edinburgh Art Fair and looks forward to continuing that relationship at this November’s fair. These specialists are happy to be able to recommend their customers a reliable, knowledgeable shipping service which includes everything from a collection of the item to safe, secure packaging and a range of shipping options from leading providers like UPS, TNT, DHL, FedEx and ParcelForce Worldwide.