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Last Updated: September 05, 2023
One of the most important parts of running a business is ensuring that your packages get delivered safely. It helps to work with a reliable delivery company, but you can immediately win half the battle by choosing the right packaging material. Corrugated boxes are likely to be your first choice, considering that they are the most widely used type of packaging.
But you can do so much better for yourself. In fact, there’s an option that’s smaller, lighter, and much more cost-effective: poly mailers. While poly mailers don’t get all the fame that boxes get, they are nonetheless a smart and effective way of delivering your goods across the nation and around the world. But what are poly mailers, why are they better than boxes, and what are they best used for? This article will answer all these questions and more, starting with…
A poly mailer, also known as a packaging mailer, is a bag made from polyethylene plastic featuring a sealable flap at the top. The polyethylene material is incredibly lightweight, thin, and durable. Poly mailers are available as either a basic plastic mailing envelope or as a bubble mailer, which features an inner lining made of bubble wrap for added protection. These mailers are typically white and blank, making them ideal for displaying shipping labels. Poly mailers are typically purchased in bulk sizes, making them a much more cost-effective option when compared to boxes.
Boxes may be cheap and plentiful, but poly mailers provide several advantages that are simply too great to ignore.
How could plastic envelopes be more environmentally friendly than cardboard boxes? For starters, poly mailers are 100% recyclable. On top of this, these mailers are highly reusable, allowing companies to minimize waste with multiple uses; reused cardboard boxes do not perform as well and will end up in the recycling well before poly mailers will. Poly mailers are also smaller and much easier to recycle than cardboard, which needs to be broken down and flattened before being thrown into the recycling.
Shipping boxes can be a huge financial blow to your business. Why? The heavier your packaging, the more money you’ll have to spend on shipping. As light as some boxes may be, poly mailers are considerably more lightweight. A selection of items packed into a poly mailer will weigh much less than the same items packed into a box.
Beyond just the weight, poly mailers can also reduce your costs related to dimensional weight, or DIM weight. Large boxes take up precious space in trucks and containers, so shipping and delivery companies may charge an extra fee for the volumetric loss of space. Poly mailers take up much less space than boxes, which goes on to reduce your DIM weight charges. Although the cost savings may seem small at first, the money will certainly add up over time.
Every business owner knows that the more you put your brand out there, the more people will recognize it and want to keep buying from you. Boxes are a little too standardized to be a great branding tool; they are all about the same size and color, so they tend to blend together in appearance. Moreover, the shipping label could be placed anywhere on it, so your branding efforts can end up inconsistent and hard to find.
Poly mailers, on the other hand, are much better for branding. The shipping label goes right on the front, so it’s impossible to miss. You also have a lot of space outside the label to decorate with logos, slogans, and other pieces of branding. Don’t forget to check out options for colored poly mailers to give your deliveries an extra pop of personality. In short, businesses have access to more branding opportunities with poly mailers.
Boxes continue to outperform poly mailers when it comes to valuable and fragile goods. Delicate materials like glassware and ceramics depend on tough and rigid corrugated boxes to keep them protected as they travel to their destination. However, more commonplace goods are better off being sent off in a poly mailer. Lighter and less fragile items can easily be packed into a mailer, providing you with cost savings and peace of mind. Some of the best items to ship in poly mailers include…
Clothes are the perfect items to put into a packaging mailer. Folded clothing lays flat, so it can’t be crushed during transit. For this reason, online clothing stores should stock up on poly mailers for their business. Clothing retailers should also consider clear view poly mailers so customers can have an unobstructed view of their shipped order.
We have a video showing how to use poly mailers for shipping clothes here:
Books pack up flat and neatly, making them great items for a poly mailer. Lightweight paperback books will be cheaper to ship than hardcovers, but paperbacks are much more fragile. Therefore, we recommended shipping paperback books in a poly bubble mailer to protect the cover and keep the pages from folding over.
Forget that giant, bulky box. Beauty products are much better off being shipped in a thinner and lighter packaging mailer. You’ll definitely want to make sure that the products themselves are properly sealed, or else they may spill out inside the bag. To prevent any leaks and to give your delivery additional style points, consider stocking up on glamour bubble mailers.
Why waste space with a big box when you can ship your small accessories in a poly mailer? Save yourself the headache and pack your phone cases, stationary, earbuds, and other small accessories into a poly mailer for the added convenience and cost-savings. Are your small accessories fragile and/or valuable? Simply fill the poly mailer with tissue or crumpled newspaper to provide extra cushion and protection for your goods. Just be careful when opening the package so that your accessories don’t come spilling out.
This article has gone over what poly mailers are, why they’re a better option than boxes, and what their best uses are. Although boxes may be more popular, poly mailers provide cost-savings, convenience, eco-friendliness, and plenty of branding opportunities that put the standard box to shame. For further information, take a look at Easyship’s in-depth article on poly mailers, covering the different types, common sizes, and USPS rules surrounding mailers.
If this article has convinced you, be sure to check out our selection of poly mailing envelopes. We offer various kinds of mailers in different sizes, including colored mailers and clear view mailers. On top of this, we offer free shipping on all of our poly mailer products. So take a look at our selections and get started with poly mailers today!
Need more convincing? Check out our article highlighting the five best reasons to use poly mailers for your next shipment.
