Whether you own your own business, or you've been working at a Fortune 500 company for decades, chances are you've had some interaction with a variety of shipping materials. Manila envelopes, bubble and poly mailer envelopes, tape, and address labels are all standard items businesses use to ship products and documents — whether it's across town or the country. But how do you know what items you need to make the most of your shipping operations? And how do you know you're getting the most bang for your buck while still ensuring durability and dependability? We'll answer those questions and more as we take a more in-depth look at how businesses can efficiently and affordably equip their shipping stations for success!
Roll Call of Shipping Supplies
Before we dive into poly mailer envelopes and types of suffocation warning label stickers, let's take a minute to break down the different kinds of mailing products you'll likely come across when ordering supplies.
- Padded Envelope: For companies who are looking to ensure durability without a lot of frills, padded envelopes are a popular choice. A padded envelope is made of a traditional manila envelope that has been strengthened with additional paper padding, foam, or bubble wrap on the inside. These envelopes are perfect for companies that are looking to mail things such as documents or certificates.
- Bubble Mailer: Bubble mailers are one step above padded envelopes in terms of durability because they are stuffed with bubble wrap rather than foam or paper. In addition to being more durable, they are also easier to customize with fun colors, prints, or designs.
- Poly Mailer: Poly mailer envelopes that are made from durable polyethylene are designed to resist punctures, tears, and damage from dirt, liquid, dust, and debris. Poly mailer envelopes are available in a variety of thicknesses to help accommodate multiple types of items as well.
- Bubble Poly Mailer: Bubble poly mailer envelopes are a combination of poly mailer envelopes and bubble mailers. Rather than the outside shell being a traditional manila envelope, bubble poly mailer envelopes are made with a durable poly mailer outside and padded with bubble wrap.
- Cello Bags: Although cello bags are great for showcasing presents, jewelry, and decorative wrapping jobs, they aren't typically durable enough for use as mailing vessels. However, cello bags can easily be put inside of bubble poly mailer envelopes, clear poly mailer envelopes, and bubble mailers to arrive safely and securely to their destination.
- Glamour/Design Poly Mailer: If your company needs a more attractive or fun poly mailer, there are tons of different styles available. Design poly mailer envelopes, also known as glamour poly mailer envelopes, can be printed with fun designs, photos, colors, or even logos to help you put your best foot forward when representing your business.
Creating Efficiency with Shipping
When an item needs to be shipped, what are the steps that are taken before it leaves your possession? Evaluating the way that you or your employees' process items for shipment can not only save you time, but it can save you money as well.
Although each business may have tweaks to the system, the majority of shipping processes follow the same general steps. These steps include: receive the item to be shipped, do a quality check of the piece, compare your items with those listed on the packing list, retrieve your poly mailer envelope or other packaging objects, add your merchandise, seal it, address it, and send it on its way! Chances are your system is relatively similar. But what flaws can you detect that may be reducing your efficiency?
Take the layout of your shipping station, for example. To process and prepare an item for shipping, where do you collect the materials you need? Are they within easy reach, or do you have to search for them? Do you have to move boxes or packages out of the way to reach your tape or your poly mailer envelopes? Asking yourself these questions can help you determine if you could reduce the time spent on a particular task.
Organization of your Shipping Supplies
Once you've determined how efficient your shipping process is, it's time to look at the organization. Before purchasing your mailing supplies, it's essential to take a good look at the layout of your mailroom. Whether it's a dedicated room used solely for packing and shipping or your dining room table, having a space that you can devote to storing your packing supplies will help prevent mistakes, maximize efficiency, and ensure success.
The two size extremes mentioned above encompass the wide variety that businesses experience when managing their shipping needs. Both are important. Both require organization. If you are pressed for space, making an investment in the appropriate storage products can help save you time and money in the long run. Creating a packing station with built-in cabinets or shelves either beneath the table or above your head can ensure that items are readily available while still having a dedicated storage location.
When pondering your mail room's organization, also take into consideration the number of each type of supply that you have on hand at a time. You can save time and money if you're able to purchase items in bulk rather than making several smaller orders. While your ability to buy in bulk can be affected by your storage space, it can also be affected by the types of supplies you purchase.
Made Exactly for You
Being willing to reevaluate the type of supplies you use can make a huge difference in the amount of space necessary to store your supplies and your efficiency overall. Especially if you are working in a smaller area, finding shipping supplies that take up as little space as possible can be a quick and easy way to save space.
If you currently ship your merchandise in traditional cardboard boxes or something similar, consider making the switch to poly mailer envelopes. Like we mentioned earlier, poly mailer envelopes come in a variety of different styles, colors, and sizes. Compared to boxes, poly mailer envelopes are thin, lightweight, and durable enough to resist water, dirt, punctures, and tears.
With such a wide variety of options available, let's take a closer look at the different types of poly mailer envelopes offered by Shop4Mailers and what stands out about each.
- White poly mailer envelopes: These are perfect for when you want to keep your items safe and secure without any frills. These poly mailer envelopes easily protect t-shirts, accessories, fabric, shoes, and more during shipping. In addition to providing confidentiality, our bags are equipped with a hassle-free, self-sealing adhesive strip closure to ensure the bags' contents are safely packaged inside.
- Clear poly mailer bags: For companies that ship clothing or other light- to mid-weight accessories, clear poly mailer bags are efficient, versatile, and affordable. Similar in look to cello bags, clear poly mailer bags have the durability that cello doesn't while still giving you a look at the contents inside. In addition to being useful for shipping, clear poly mailer bags are also great for storage, arts and crafts, and retail. Similar to the while poly mailer envelopes, our clear poly mailer bags also offer self-sealing closures that make packaging even faster and easier than before.
- Design poly mailer bags: If you want to take your shipping up a notch, consider utilizing design poly mailer bags to package your items. Like the white poly mailer envelopes, the design poly mailer bags offer a durable, lightweight, affordable alternative to boring cardboard. However, what makes these envelopes unique is the colors and graphics available on each. Customers can select from a variety of styles including drawn white hearts on a red background, pineapples on a pink background, pink flamingoes on a blue background, and several styles of 'thank you' poly mailer bags. Ensure your products are sealed inside thanks to the easy peel and seal tab.
Round it Out
Don't think that you can order a few boxes of poly mailer envelopes and be done. While the major players in the shipping world are the packing poly mailer envelopes, it would be ill-advised to overlook the importance of other shipping necessities, including warning labels, warning label bags, and address labels.
For smaller shipments or to create uniform return labels, investing in sheets of labels is a must. The labels can be custom printed to feature a design, logo, or used with mail merge to automatically fill in addresses for shipping and returns. Also, the labels are perfect for pairing with clear poly mailer bags to store merchandise or print labels to organize different packing materials in your shipping room.
Safety First
With businesses able to take advantage of selling opportunities through online retailers like Amazon, additional supplies may be needed to help ensure you are compliant with the policies the retail giant requires. One important policy to take note of is the packing and preparation requirements for FBA sellers or sellers whose products are sent to Amazon fulfillment centers.
According to Amazon's Seller Central site, "poly bags with a 5-inch opening or larger (measured when flat) must have a suffocation warning, either printed on the bag or attached as a label." In addition, the label must be printed or placed in a prominent location on the bag, the bag must be transparent, and the poly mailer bag must be completely sealed. While this may seem excessive, suffocation warning labels are both critical for safety and easy to comply with.
To make your FBA selling more straightforward than ever, we suggest keeping two different products in stock at all times: suffocation warning labels and clear suffocation warning printed poly mailer bags. Suffocation warning labels are individual warning labels featuring bold, black lettering printed on a stark white background to ensure maximum visibility. Measuring at 2" by 2", each label is perfect for adding an additional layer of protection to any bag that may concern you.
To seal your products safely and to comply with FBA policies, we also suggest purchasing clear warning bags. Available in a variety of sizes to accommodate a diverse range of items, these clear warning bags are 1.5 Mil thick and feature an easy-peel and self-seal closure to ensure compliance with Amazon's FBA seller requirements. Also, each bag features the suffocation warning prominently placed on the bag's front in three languages: English, French, and Spanish.
Quality Over Quantity? Why Not Both?
Everyone wants the best bang for their buck. When shopping for poly mailer envelopes and other packing supplies, it can be easy to get caught up in getting what you think is the best deal. However, it's important to remember the relationship between the cost of the item you're shipping and the value of the poly mailer you're using to package it. Long story short? You get what you pay for.
Take a $50 jacket for example. If you have the option between a 2.17" Mil thick poly mailer at $51.99 for 1,000 and a 2.5" Mil thick poly mailer at $46.49 for 1,000, it may seem pointless to spend the extra $5-ish for a few millimeters. However, if you choose the more durable option, you're only spending 1% of the cost of the jacket to utilize the more sustainable choice. Saving money is nice, but 1% seems worth it when you consider the cost and frustration of a product arriving damaged.
Regardless of the type of products you select, Shop4Mailers can help you save time, money, and frustration with our wide variety of shipping supplies. We carry a diverse selection of poly mailer envelopes, mailing labels, clear poly bags, and suffocation warning labels to help businesses of all sizes create the most efficient shipping station possible.
If you need a bit of guidance, our team is on hand to offer expert advice and assistance in selecting the perfect products for you and your business. We offer same-day shipping for orders placed by 2 p.m. PST and free store pick-up for business owners living in the Huntington Beach area. No matter what you're looking for, Shop4Mailers has everything you need for mail supplies. Visit our website today or call 714-891-1313 for more information.
