What a Joburg move
actually costs.
Five ways a Joburg household actually packs a 1-bed flat. Boxes off the shelf at a packaging supplier. The Boxman or Box King pre-bundled kits. Free boxes scavenged off Gumtree and Facebook. Or a fleet of plastic tubs to buy and resell after the move. Pick a tab; the line items and total update per option.
Prices were lifted from the supplier's own product page on the date shown next to each line item. Suppliers change prices and run sales — re-check before quoting in external materials.
DIY cardboard, from a packaging supplier
Buy boxes a-la-carte from a packaging supplier (Boxman, Box King, Box Shop), pick up tape and accessories at Builders or Makro, hire a helper for the day. The default Joburg move.
| Item | Qty | Unit | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardboard boxes 25 × Boxman Mover 5 — the workhorse 1-bed box | 25 | R34 | R850 |
| Packing tape 4 × Sellotape Buff Packaging Tape (48mm) | 4 | R32 | R128 |
| Markers Sharpie or Artline pack — one always goes missing Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R60 |
| Bubble wrap For the kitchen and the picture frames Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R220 |
| Helper for the day Going neighbourhood-WhatsApp rate for a moving-day pair of hands Market rate · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R350 |
| Pizza + cooldrink Two large pizzas and a 2L coke for the helper. Joburg minimum. Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R180 |
| Total | R1 788 | ||
Plus an hour at Builders, an hour at the packaging supplier, the trip to fetch the boxes, building each one, and the recycling stack at the gate after.
Boxman 1-bed pre-bundled kit
A pre-bundled 1-bed kit from Boxman — 10 boxes, packing paper, a protector sheet, tape, and a marker, delivered. Add a helper, refreshments, and bubble wrap for fragile items.
| Item | Qty | Unit | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bed kit (boxes + paper + tape + marker) 5 small + 5 large boxes, packing paper, protector sheet, tape, permanent marker. Delivered. | — | — | R780 |
| Bubble wrap (extra) Kit doesn't include bubble wrap — pick up a roll for the fragile items Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R220 |
| Helper for the day Going neighbourhood-WhatsApp rate for a moving-day pair of hands Market rate · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R350 |
| Pizza + cooldrink Two large pizzas and a 2L coke for the helper. Joburg minimum. Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R180 |
| Total | R1 530 | ||
Better-priced than DIY because the kit is bundled, but you still build, label, fill, and recycle 10 boxes — and 10 boxes is light for a one-bed.
Box King 2-bed Princess kit
A heavier pre-bundled kit aimed at a 2-bedroom move — 38 boxes, two rolls of clear tape, a tape dispenser, and a roll of bubble wrap. Free-shipping inclusive.
Scoped to a 2-bed move — apples-to-oranges with the others
| Item | Qty | Unit | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-bed Princess kit (boxes + tape + dispenser + wrap) 5 small (double-wall) + 15 medium + 15 large + 3 extra-large boxes, plus bubble wrap, two rolls of clear tape, and a dispenser. Delivered. | — | — | R1 599 |
| Markers Not in the kit — pick up a pack Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R60 |
| Helper for the day Going neighbourhood-WhatsApp rate for a moving-day pair of hands Market rate · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R350 |
| Pizza + cooldrink Two large pizzas and a 2L coke for the helper. Joburg minimum. Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R180 |
| Total | R2 189 | ||
Apples-to-oranges with a 1-bed move — this kit is sized for a 2-bed. Listed for completeness; for a 1-bed, the Boxman kit is the cleaner comparison.
Free or used cardboard
Boxes from Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Pick n Pay back-of-store, or wherever you can scavenge. The price floor — and the headache.
| Item | Qty | Unit | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardboard boxes Free-to-R10/box on Gumtree + FB Marketplace; bundles of 25–30 around R200 | — | — | R200 |
| Petrol for collection trips Two or three round trips across Joburg suburbs to collect Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R200 |
| Packing tape 4 × Sellotape Buff (used boxes need more, not less) Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-05-03 | 4 | R32 | R128 |
| Markers Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R60 |
| Bubble wrap Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R220 |
| Helper for the day Going neighbourhood-WhatsApp rate for a moving-day pair of hands Market rate · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R350 |
| Pizza + cooldrink Two large pizzas and a 2L coke for the helper. Joburg minimum. Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R180 |
| Total | R1 338 | ||
The Rand total is lowest, but it costs two or three weekend afternoons of collection drives, you don't know what condition the boxes are in until pickup, half of them have onion smells, and the bottoms give up on the lift on moving day.
Buy Addis Roughtote 150L tubs
Buy a fleet of Addis Roughtote 150L plastic tubs at Builders, move with them, then resell on Facebook Marketplace afterwards. Highest upfront cost; partial recovery if you have the patience to list and meet buyers.
| Item | Qty | Unit | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addis Roughtote 150L tubs 8 × stackable plastic tubs (800×580×480mm). Roughly the volume of 25 cardboard boxes. | 8 | R549 | R4 392 |
| Packing tape Less than cardboard — only for sealing tub lids Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-05-03 | 2 | R32 | R64 |
| Markers Builders Warehouse · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R60 |
| Helper for the day Going neighbourhood-WhatsApp rate for a moving-day pair of hands Market rate · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R350 |
| Pizza + cooldrink Two large pizzas and a 2L coke for the helper. Joburg minimum. Estimated · verified 2026-04-15 | — | — | R180 |
| Total | R5 046 | ||
Resale on Facebook Marketplace recovers maybe R2,200 over the next month if you list, message, meet, and haggle. Net cost: closer to R3,000. Plus the storage burden of eight black tubs no household actually needs after moving day.
Prices are as listed at each source on the verified date noted per line. Suppliers change prices; latest sweep across these alternatives was 2026-05-03. Re-check before quoting in external materials.
What every line above leaves out.
- The Saturday morning at Builders. Petrol, parking, the queue at the till.
- Building 25 boxes one at a time. Each one folds, tapes, gets labelled.
- Pikitup not coming for the recycling. You'll have a stack at the gate for three weeks.
- The box whose bottom gives in on the lift on moving day.
What every line above leaves out.
- Ten boxes is light for a 1-bed. Plan for a top-up trip if you're packing the kitchen properly.
- Building each box, taping the seams, labelling the lot.
- Pikitup, again. Three-week wait at the gate before the flat-pack stack disappears.
- The Highveld thunderstorm that finds the boxes you forgot to bring inside.
What every line above leaves out.
- A 38-box kit is sized for a 2-bed move. Half a kit is wasted on a 1-bed; nobody on Marketplace wants 18 unused medium boxes.
- The same building, taping, labelling — at scale. An afternoon of cardboard.
- Pikitup again. More boxes. Same three-week wait at the gate.
What every line above leaves out.
- Two or three weekend afternoons driving Joburg to collect from strangers.
- Boxes you can't inspect until you arrive. Half of them have onion smells, half are too small, half don't stack.
- Mismatched sizes and mismatched strength. The bottoms that already gave up before they got to you.
- The recycling trip after — these boxes have been around the block once already.
What every line above leaves out.
- Listing eight tubs on Facebook Marketplace. Messaging strangers. Meeting at a petrol station after work.
- Recovering 50% of what you paid, if you're patient and a good haggler.
- Eight stackable plastic tubs in your garage until they sell. Or forever.
- The truth: no household actually needs eight tubs again until they move.
R975. Delivered. Fetched. Done.
Reusable plastic crates, lockable, dropped at your door. We come fetch the empties a week later. Your Saturday stays your own.
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