Things To Know About Poly Mailers

Poly mailers have gained a lot of popularity in recent years due to their widespread use in the e-commerce industry. If you want to use these mailers to ship products to your customers safely and without breaking the bank, you have to make sure to choose the right type of poly mailers. Remember, a damaged product can ruin the user experience, and they might refrain from buying from you in the future.

While you may think of shipping as an incomplete process without a box, many orders can use materials entirely different from boxes. One of the options in this regard is poly mailers. The reason they are more viable is that they ensure product safety while keeping the shipping costs low.

In this article, we will discuss a few things about poly mailers you want to know.

What are poly mailers?

While poly mailers are lightweight, they are sturdy enough to protect a product during shipping. The half-sealing foldover lip on these mailers eliminates the need to use packing tape. You can affix a shipping label directly to the poly bag. These bags do not take much space in the shipping truck.

Why use poly mailers instead of boxes?

Whenever you think of shipping, you may think of a box being loaded into a shipping truck. That makes boxes a staple in the shipping industry. But, not all products benefit from boxes. Using boxes for such products can contribute to an increase in shipping costs. For example, clothes cannot be crushed during shipping, so using boxes for their packing can lead to an unnecessary increase in shipping costs. Poly mailers, due to their puncture-free material, resist any damage to those clothing items.

Here are some reasons to use poly mailers.

Reduced shipping costs

Due to their less weight and small size, poly mailers can help reduce shipping costs significantly. You may have heard the term “dimensional weight”. This term is used as a pricing factor when calculating the shipping costs of a package. It uses the product’s length, width, and height to determine the horizontal and vertical space it occupies inside a shipping truck. It means that if your product is lightweight but has a larger volume, it will cost you more than expected. Similarly, packing a small product inside a large box will increase the package's dimensional weight. Such products can benefit from poly mailers.

Custom branding options

A polybag has a fine surface that allows for the branded printing of your choice. As a result, your polybag will stand out from your competition. You can print anything from colors to patterns to logos to typography to enhance your brand appeal.

Eco-friendly options

Just because poly bags are made of plastic doesn’t mean they are not eco-friendly. Due to their small size, these bags do not have a significant impact on the environment. Furthermore, companies are producing sustainable poly bags to meet eco-friendly requirements.

Polybags can be an excellent packaging option, depending on the type of product you sell. You can discuss your options with a packaging vendor.

Common Signs on International Packaging

If you ship out to a lot of places, you probably have noticed some of the symbols that are on there. What do each of them mean though? If you’re confused by the symbols for packaging, you’re not alone. Here are some of the most common and pronounced packaging symbols that you’ll see.

Don’t Open With a Knife

If you see a box that’s square with a knife in it that’s crossed out, it means you don’t open this with a knife. This is because the average customer thinks that you can open everything with a  knife, but some products do get damaged if you open them like that.  That there is important for anything soft, that can tear such as maybe clothing or stuffed animals.

Flame Symbols

If you see a flame of some kind, chances are it’s flammable. This is usually in the case of polyester, cosmetics and acrylic items. These are very combustible, so you should make sure that if you’re using a shipping partner, they don’t use anything flammable near these.

It’s important to just have it on there and it’s a very simple design that tells you everything.

This Side Up

If you see those words on there, this basically means that the box should always have that face upwards, and shouldn’t be carried otherwise, as this can cause it to break. It also tells customers what’s the side to open up, so that they don’t mess up the item.

Fragile

This is very common one and is practically anything made of glass. It means that the items inside are fragile. It’s usually depicted with a wine glass that’s cracked, and it means that it’s fragile, and you should be careful with moving this. That also tells your shipping partners to be careful during the handling of this.

Handle with Care

Obviously, you shouldn’t be tossing around boxes willy-nilly, but the thing is, some products need a little more care than others. The symbol usually involves two hands that cup a box that’s a little bit smaller. It also means that it contains some items that can be damaged easily, and it also can tell a shipper not to stack this, and to carry this with care whenever they can.

Keep It Dry.

Another one that’s quite common is a symbol that’s got an umbrella on it. That means that it needs to be kept dry. That means, don’t leave it in the rain, or on a surface that’s wet, since it can cause the package to be compromised.

Don’t Stack It

Another one is to make sure that you don’t’ stack anything.

This is important for avoiding different products that are sensitive, or even damaged through pressures and also stacking. This is usually a symbol of two different boxes that are on top of one another, and there is an X or a cross that shows this.

Don’t Lift This 

This is usually depicted by having a person and some lines near where the lower back is. This is a symbol that means don’t move this. This is because it’s so heavy, it’ll throw your back out.

The solution for moving this one, should either be a dolly or trailer, or another person to help you with moving this, if it’s possible to move with two people.

FSC

Finally, there is FSC, a sign that actually shows that the package is made through the use of sustainable items.

This is usually a tree that also has the words under this, and this is something that basically says that it’s from sourced materials that are recycled, or from managed types of forests, which is good for those who want to go green and let others know about this.