Larry Bird Dream Team jersey in a clear poly mailer
It may seem wasteful or an unnecessary extra expense, but the clear poly bags that we use inside of shipping envelopes and boxes are extremely critical. When purchased in bulk they come down to just a few cents a piece and will save you a ton of money and time in the long run. Let’s examine why these are so important.
Managing Inventory
As soon as a piece of clothing is photographed and measured, it’s folded and put into a clear 12”x15” poly bag On that poly bag is a small sticker with the item’s SKU written on it, that number is in the Custom SKU field in the listing, then it goes into a box. Now every item is in sequential order, based on SKU and only takes a second to find. You could never stick these on an article of clothing.
Everything also stays folded and nice and organized in your boxes, no need to refold when it’s sold. Simply grab it out of your box and pack it to ship.
Managing Shipping
Now it only takes a second to find your item since it’s bagged and has a SKU on it. With the item in the poly bag you can throw it into another poly bag to ship, providing you with another layer of protection during shipping. Shipping poly bags can get banged up while shipping and the extra layer of plastic can provide extra waterproofing from the elements. This will reduce returns from shipping damage.
The biggest gains come when you’re using Priority Flat Rate Envelopes. Those things are far from waterproof and any extra bit of protection helps.
I always ship hats in boxes (you’re a dummy if you ship them in envelopes or poly bags). Inside of the 8x6x4 boxes the hat is inside a clear poly bag.
Managing Branding
Everything just looks more professional when it comes in these bags. If you ordered a shirt from Burberry from their site it would come in bag of some sort, not just tossed into a box or envelope. It’s the best way to get it done.
Managing Eco-Guilt
At first I was hesitant to adopt this method, as it’s hella wasteful. I quickly remember that I make a living recycling things that would otherwise end up in the garbage. Adding one more piece of plastic, I feel, is justified to do the greater good the best way I possibly can.
It may seem like a wasteful extra step, but over the long term it will prevent a lot of problems, save money and make your overall system faster. Take the time here, get it right and get the benefit from it later on down the line.
