Packing Supplies and Solutions

If you have a company that ships items regularly, you may be familiar with poly bags. If you do not ship items, odds are you are like me and have no clue what this bag is unless you have gotten it in the mail before. In this short article, we are going to learn what these kinds of bags are together. A polybag refers to any bag made of plastic, although it generally refers to polyethylene which is a form of plastic. This kind of plastic is usually used in many different goods, much like these plastic bags. 

These bags are an excellent replacement for cardboard boxes when it comes to shipping items. The bags are also less expensive than cardboard boxes. These bags can also be made from recycled materials, so they are eco-friendly. The use of these bags also produces less waste than cardboard boxes. When filling a cardboard box with an item, there needs to be filler like packing peanuts or bubble wrapping. These bags are best suited for shipping smaller items like books, magazines, apparel, or fabric. They are also great for shipping items already packed in a sturdy box like DVDs, makeup, and video games. 

Some polybags can be customized to fit your specific needs, whether that is for personal shipping or business shipping. The customization can vary from the colors on the bad to having a company logo put on it. Not only are these bags great for keeping your items safe and secure, but they are also an excellent place for branding. Many different companies and eCommerce businesses like to go for the customized bags as it makes their company stand out from the competition. They also like getting these bags costume made as they can precisely fit the dimensions of the products they are providing and shipping. Additionally, having a custom bag will make a good impression on a first time buyer that may turn into a loyal customer. 

There are also many different types of these bags, but we are only going to look at one. The one we are going to look at is called a lay flat poly bag. These bags come in many different shapes and sizes as well as thicknesses. These bags offer a single opening that can be sealed by stamping, tying, taping, and heat. The thickness of these bags can vary depending on the need. Thickness starts at as small as one millimeter and can go up from there. The thickest I have seen was eight millimeters. The necessity of these bags will determine the thickness you get as well as how big the bag will be and how much product it can hold. 

I never knew there was such thing as poly bags. I’m sure I have seen them in my lifetime but did not know that was what it was called. I wonder if the bag type container Amazon uses that have bubblewrap lining the sides is also a poly bag or if that is something entirely different. The varying thickness of these bags seems to be good as they are relatively thin, thus using less material. The ability to make these bags with recycled materials is environmentally friendly, and that makes me happy. In today’s world, there is so much production of items going on we need to make sure that we are using recycled materials as often as possible to reduce the amount of waste. 

As a child, I loved to play with bubble wrapping. Anytime my parents would get a shipment in that had bubble wrap, I would instantly start popping the bubbles. I found it fun and soothing somehow. Today I own my own shipping company. We use many different kinds of packing supplies, but I still prefer to use bubble wrap. I always have that hope that whoever gets that shipment from us has the same enjoyment I had from popping the bubbles. If you are reading this and you are also in the shipping industry, I want to try to convince you to switch to bubble wrap. Not only is it fun to play with, but it also has excellent properties for shipping and receiving. 

When I was young, I enjoyed playing with bubble wrapping. I never really knew why I thought it was fun, and it relaxed me. I never thought I would be in a position where my job revolved around bubble wrap. I took over my parent’s company. The company is primarily an eCommerce business, but we do have a small store that can be shopped in person. Most of the orders that come in are from online buyers. As a shipping company, I had to decide what was the best packing material to use, and I chose bubble wrap, which may shock you to hear. Bubble wrap is very durable, which is one reason why I decided to have this as our primary material. 

Bubble wrap is also very flexible. Due to the bubble being pockets of air, it allows for compression or expansion of the bubble. This is good because it ensures we can get a snug fit of the items we are shipping. We do this to ensure no damage comes to the products in transit. I have tried a few different packing materials, but those tests resulted in a broken item arriving at the customer’s house from time to time. Due to this drastic result as a company, we decided bubble wrap would be our best choice, and all these years later, we still use it without incident. 

Bubble wrap also offers a tremendous anti-static effect which is good for us since we are a computer part distributor. If our shipping material did not have this, then there is a chance when our customer goes to take the item from its packaging, a static charge could be released, thus damaging the components. This packaging material also provides the greatest protection when compared to other packaging products. This is good for us as a computer part distributor because we need to make sure that these components are arriving at the customer’s home in damaged and in working condition. These parts are very expensive, and a broken item sets us back, which we don’t want.

Bubble wrap is the best kind of packing supplies because it has so much to offer with such a simple material. I have always loved this material ever since I was a kid. Back then, I never thought I would be taking over my parent’s company and dealing with this material that I know and love. I hope that anytime someone gets an order from us, they get that same enjoyment from this simple material like I did when I was young. 

My wife and I were planning our big moving day, and we needed some cheap moving boxes, or affordable at least. We were moving from Florida to Indiana. When it came to getting boxes, we were not having much luck. We tried to go to the local businesses to get free boxes, but we did not get enough, only ten maybe. We needed to get some more moving boxes. I was talking with one of my friends from work, and he suggested a company that has good boxes that seem affordable. I went home that evening and looked up the company my friend told me about, but the boxes were not that cheaply priced; thus, I chose to keep looking. I came across another company in my search and found out they had very cheap boxes, so I bought thirty for fifty dollars, which seemed like a good deal. I was so wrong, and I am still quite mad about it to this day. 

When the boxes arrived, the first red flag came up when the supposed cardboard boxes did not look or feel like any cardboard boxes I’ve seen before. We had them, though, and we were happy to be able to finish out packing finally. As the week went on, we packed more and more boxes until the house was all boxes. We were packing up the box truck the coming Monday, so there was a great deal of excitement to get it all done with a day to spare. On Monday, we went to get the box truck, so we could pack it up and get moving. We had some friends helping us, which made things better knowing we did not have to pack our house alone. As we were packing up the truck, a few of the boxes’ bottoms fell through and released all the items they were holding; I should have taken this red flag to heart but chose to ignore it. 

Once the truck was packed, we were ready to get a move on, my wife was driving her car, and I was driving the box truck with a car puller on the back for my car. The drive was not that bad; it was long though, almost seventeen hours on the road was rough, but we were happy to be in Indiana. I did notice some odd noises that came from the truck bed as I was driving, but yet again, I chose to ignore them. 

On Tuesday, we were going to unload the truck into our new home, but we were not prepared for the disaster we were about to discover. As I went to open the box truck door, some 

items came out, and my heart began racing, expecting the worst. When I fully opened the door, I saw it… our possessions everywhere. The plates my mother had given me were destroyed, knives in the couch cushions, small knick nacks all over the place.

This was all because I chose to be a cheapskate and get some cheap moving boxes for an across-the-country move. My wife and I were devastated; the moving company compensated us for some of the broken items because they did not want it coming back on them. The box company has yet to get back to me, and it has been three months since the first contact. I reach out at least once every week but get no reply; that is maybe the worst part of this situation. I will not be getting these moving boxes, nor will I recommend them to anyone. I should have just listened to my old work friend, but we live, and we learn. 

When it comes to packaging supplies there can be many different materials that are used but people often wonder what is the best material to use. The ability to keep the item being packaged safe and secure is the most important factor when trying to determine this question. A lot of the time people buy a material thinking they know what it is for or how it is meant to be used but most of the time they either use it wrong or pack the time with the material wrong thus leading to a damaged product. Sometimes they will buy the wrong material all together leading to the same end result. 

Bubble wrapping is the first contender of the best material for packaging. This material comes in large rolls usually. These rolls provide a large range of bubble sizes from very small with a lot on the sheet or very large with not many on the sheet. Some of these sheets come serrated so the user can easily tear pieces from the roll. Sections are usually twelve inches in length as it is a good size but not too much. Bubble wrapping is best for small delicate objects that are easily breakable like a snowglobe or a teapot. Make sure when you are wrapping something with bubble wrap to put the bubble side to the item to ensure its protection. Bubble wrap is also fun to pop.

Packing paper is another contender for the best material for packaging. Essentially packing paper is clean white or brown newsprint ink free that helps keep the small delicate objects safe. A good example of this would be tableware, the plates and bowls your family use at dinner. You can also use this material as a filler when you are packing boxes. This is good as it will keep your items in the box safe and protected. It can effectively keep the small items safe when you are moving. When compared to bubble wrap, packing paper is lighter, less expensive and takes up less space. This makes packing paper a real contender for best material for packing. 

The final material for packing are moving blankets. If you are hiring movers when you are moving you will not even need to provide this material as the movers will have it on hand already. Blankets are also provided if you rent a moving truck in case you are wanting to move on your own. Moving blankets can also be comforters or beach towels. Blankets are also known as furniture pads. This is because moving blankets are used to keep large furniture padded, scrape free and safe in case it is not secured enough. 

With so many different types of material for packing supplies there are more contenders for what may be the best. These are just a few examples of the best materials I have found. The versatility of bubble wrapping is very nice to have but it can only be in certain sizes whereas packing paper can be any size. Both are good for packing boxes and keeping the items inside safe. Packing blankets are also good as they can keep all the furniture safe and free of scratches. With all this information take your pick as to what you think the best material for packing would be for you. 

Surprisingly there are different kinds of moving boxes. There are cheap moving boxes with poor build quality and lacking features. There are also a little more expensive moving boxes with good build quality and durability. I moved recently and had a combination of both since I was able to get them for free from a nearby SuperTarget. I had some issues arrive with the inexpensive moving boxes. I preferred the bigger boxes that had a lot of space and felt solid.

The ‘expensive cardboard boxes are what I will always recommend. They have an excellent build quality. I do not know how it is done, but these boxes are able to repel water to keep the items inside dry and free of moisture buildup. These boxes can come in many different sizes and shapes, which is very handy when it comes to moving. Something I like a lot about these boxes is the fact that they can be bought in bulk. This means you can buy a lot of them at one time. Usually, buying in bulk will save you a good amount of money. These boxes are robust, you can stack them on top of one another regardless of the content, and they will hold. 

As I said before, I moved recently and had a combination of both low-priced and high-priced boxes that I was fortunate enough to get for free. I preferred the higher-priced boxes as they were bigger and could hold more weight in them. The higher prices cardboard boxes can be bought in bulk which is enormous to me. Any time you are needing a significant quantity of something, buying in bulk is the route to take as you will be saving money even if it seems like you are not. 

Inexpensive moving boxes can be a bit of a pain. The quality of these boxes is usually not the best. They can be easily crushed if something too heavy is sitting on top of them. These boxes cannot be bought in bulk easily. This is a big red flag to me as you may end up spending more money than expected. Buying in bulk is the best when you are needing something in mass quantity like moving boxes. The poor build quality also results in some other problems like water leaking in. these boxes are not like the previously mentioned cardboard boxes that can keep water out and your items dry. Although it is a far-fetched idea it will rain on your moving day; it is not impossible. I know this as on my moving day, it started to rain about halfway through. To combat this, we had to get blankets out and cover the boxes we were carrying out. 

With many different kinds of boxes on the market, it can be challenging to choose the right ones. It has been my experience that the higher-priced boxes that can be bought in bulk are the best. For peace of mind, I will not use cheap moving boxes as I fear my items may fall out from the bottom or get ruined by water. The poor build quality of them has me worried as well. When you move, you need to stack boxes to save room. These boxes will not do too well with that unless they are packed lightly, which generally does not happen when moving. 

Now that I am a little older I find myself doing some things differently. I care about what I leave behind for my family.  Living in 2021 I know that eCommerce is king and that most of us get a ton of boxes in the mail every week. This has led to an entire change in lifestyles and how people get and receive goods.  The fact of the matter is that eCommerce and having items shipped directly to your home is the way things are happening for a near majority of all shopping due to the pandemic and regulations restricting shopping in person.  This has led to millions of boxes being produced shipped and finding their way to people’s homes and soon their trash.  If you are getting twenty boxes a week in the mail and not recycling then it really seems harmful to the world.  I know for me I am working on recycling the right way and also trying to cut back on the total waste used by my family.    

Depending on where you live I understand recycling can be pretty annoying.  It certainly is for me!  I only have one trashcan a week to use for recycling and it is not big and my boxes will not all just be able to be tossed in.  Instead of having a great system, my garage was filled up with boxes for months until I figured out a reasonable way to recycle properly.  I was not able to just drive and drop them off at a recycling factory like I used to.  So many things became illegal and nonessential overnight that it was hard to see that become one of them.  This meant I needed to find an easy way to get all the stuff in my bin in order to do the right thing.

Geometry seemed to be the answer to this.  I found out that I would simply have to cut the stuff into the best shape to fit the can. This sounds super simple and really easy, but in fact, it was really not.  I ended up getting blisters to start and tons of paper cuts.  This was because first I just tossed the boxes in and saw they didn’t really fit. I tried to crush them down but then the trash people would not shake the can or help get the boxes out.  This left a lot to be desired because it didn’t fill the can to its actual capacity.  It was wasting space.

Scissors seemed to be a good answer to my problem so I gave that a try.  I had to get scissors because my hands got these huge cardboard paper cuts and it was simply not worth it.  I then tried to scissor the boxes into the right shape and for a bit, it worked great.  Then after a few boxes, my hands got red hot spots, and blisters started to form.  This was not fun, not sustainable and I had to find a better way.  What actually worked was going old school.  I pulled out a knife and went to town.

My old fishing knife was working really well and it was a nice expensive knife.  It has great steel on it.  Cardboard is actually really hard on knife steel and dulls it quickly so you may need a good sharpener to go along with your knife.  No blisters and clean recycling made me happy.

Yet again in 2021, another housing boom is happening.  I think this is really cool because my home is now worth a whole lot more.  I may even sell soon! I keep getting calls from realtors looking to sell my home.  I think that either way a few tips never hurt anyone when heavy lifting is involved.  This year I myself learned a few valuable lessons from mistakes and broken items during moves and I thought that it would be fun to go over a few to maybe help someone else out as well.  Did you know that one of the biggest mistakes of all moving is actually what you load the packages into?  Yes, the car matters, or truck or trailer. 

It has taken me some time to figure this out but I hate trucks for moving now.  Most trucks sit high up off of the ground and are limited in the size of the truck bed.  What normally happened was we would use the trucks to move heavy items and the fact was that since they set so high that people would end up getting hurt by lifting them up.  I also found out that the truck would get damaged by scratches or dents and usually the item would as well.  The fact is that most items we put into trucks were awful to deal with and I would not suggest making this your go-to vehicle if you have a choice.  Now if the truck has a hitch, then you are ready for the best option I think.

There is nothing that really works better than a short-walled trailer in nice weather.   I found that these normally have a small fence on each side them and a ramp to walk up and into the trailer.  This made the ease of use for moving heavy items ten times better than using a truck.  Instead of carrying an item, we could wheel it on the trailer with a cart or by the wheels on the item itself.  It made no injuries occur due to lifting and it helped cut back on almost all the damage done to the item itself and the trailer.  There is one major downside to this though and that is that it had no ceiling.  So that meant it was open to the weather making it nice weather moving vehicle only.  

The weather is the only possible issue to me, but if you are able to choose the day of moving and have some leeway with the weather, then it is an amazing way to go. I found it super each to get all of those cheap moving boxes up and on it and it made it so much nicer when we got to the location and had to also move those cheap moving boxes back into the new home.  

Easy is the answer in many situations and this is one of them.  When it comes to moving wisely then this is the best option and having the best way to move a package is key.  So I would also suggest buying high-quality packages and not using flimsy ones to pack up all your stuff into.  My hope is that my experience doing all of these movings will help you out with yours.  So happy moving!

It is fun to see eCommerce take off so much in 2021.  The reason is pretty simple when you think about it. This is all because of the COVID-19 pandemic and many companies are having to make drastic changes to the way they work.  From shipping departments doubling in size overnight to floor sales staff being let go.  The changes are really happing on the back end of many companies and what is happening is that shipping departments have become the most important parts of companies.  To stay competitive you must find the best products for the best prices.

If you want to go broke that is pretty simple.  Stay behind the times and let your competition crush you by being smarter. This year most brick and mortar companies are changing into more e-commerce based businesses.  The transition is truly complicated but one simple way they are losing to the competition is through lack of proper quartermaster purchasing.  When you are overspending on packaging supplies the whole show starts to collapse.  If you end up buying boxes at twice the price of your competitor then it is hard to lose several percent on every single sale.  Now add in all your other shipping supplies and you will probably cry.

Don’t get caught with your pants down.  Simply learn to find the best prices and negotiate.  This means finding a great packaging supplies company and get better deals.  If you can go direct and buy in bulk, I have found that you can at least stay competitive and maybe get a competitive advantage over a rival.  That is the easiest, simplest, and yet most overlooked area.  It is because the shipping department seems small and there are bigger fish to fry, but if you do not look out this area will have a huge impact on your bottom line.

You may end up getting new people or changing how your whole company works. In order to make your shipping department thrive, you may have to change who is working for you or hire new people while letting old ones go.  I find it better to retrain if you can.  The sales department workers on the flood who are now no longer needed can be great shipping department workers.  I know it is a job shift, but they know your products and can help get it out to new people.  They can also help with the customer service side of your company that may have not existed the week before.  The new transition will mean lots of more calls coming in about fixing issues. If you need to change sales to customer service then do it.

You may need more space in different ways with this new eCommerce-focused business. This may be because you are shifting to an e-commerce company.  The shift I have been seeing is for companies to start eliminating the sales floor or brick and mortar sales sections and put them to use for storage and shipping.  This can be done with a simple shelving system and a good labeling system that you already have in place.  If you don’t have one I suggest using the ABCs and numbers to order your new warehouse.  I also like the use of cardboard boxes on shelves to hold products instead of expensive alternatives. Learn what you can when you can and stay ahead of the competition!

It’s moving day! Well, technically it’s the first day of packing for moving day. After COVID hit, my job went from on-location to working remotely. And after the bosses realized that it was more cost efficient to keep things this way, I now work remote full-time. Can’t say that I mind it too much. I get to be in my sweats from the waist down. I can put a show or podcast on in the background so I’m not completely losing my mind, and I don’t have to run out at lunch anymore to let my puppy out. All-in-all it’s been a pretty good fit. The only drawback was my roommate. They also went working remote, and after being stuck together 24-7 day in and day out for the last year, we realized that we aren’t really all that compatible living companions after all. So, I decided to get a new place. Which is great! But now that means I have to move all my junk…and apparently some of my roommate’s they claim isn’t theirs. (Facepalm)

Moving isn’t so bad. As long as you have a plan and are ready to go the day the actual movers get there. However, most people when they move don’t realize there are a few tips and tricks that can actually help make the whole process go a lot more smoothly. That’s where I come in! (Metaphorically speaking…how awkward would that be if I just randomly showed up to your place?) I’m going to give you a few tips on how to make your life much easier when packing up your stuff to move to your new home.  

Tip number one. Make sure you have enough packing supplies. Seriously. Nothing is worse than needing a box to put stuff in, only to find you ran out. And there are tons of places, both physical locations and online, that you can purchase fairly cheap moving boxes and other supplies. Try not to break your budget though. You don’t need anything fancy. Just some sturdy boxes where you can place your belongings. And I would buy more than you think you’ll need. For one, because you always end up needing them. And two, because what you don’t use, you normally can return. Just check on that before you buy. 

Tip number two. Label, label, label. Label the darn boxes. It may seem like a pain when you’re packing up. But it’s going to save you a lot of hair-pulling on the other side. Trust me. Also, color-coding your boxes to coordinate which room they go in is also super helpful. Just go and get those colorful sticky dots and stick away!

 Tip number three. Do your research. Especially when you’re using a moving company. Make sure they have good reviews and are trustworthy. The last thing you need is two sketchy dudes pulling up in a white van to take your stuff (and probably you) who knows where. Also, call the day before they are supposed to arrive and make sure you’re still on the schedule. Otherwise, you may wind up waiting all day for people who are never showing up. 

Tip number four. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Yes, everyone hates that dreaded “can you help me move” call. But, hey, more than likely they’ll be calling you someday with the same question. So, cash in while you can. 

Moving doesn’t have to suck. Just be prepared, have a loadton of cheap moving boxes, know who you’re working with, and for goodness sakes make sure your new roommate actually knows how to use a vacuum. 

Most companies made huge changes last year and now in 2021, we decided to pivot along with them to be more successful.  It is simply the thing you have to do when the entire economy collapses. We saw rules change and some places went full communision.  Yes, it sounds a lot like communism just happened and well it did. But this is more about how our company survived the freedom-sucking economy collapsing event.  We decided to use our own ingenuity and purchased a bunch of packaging supplies and took all of our own marketing in-house.  We decided to instead of pay thousands of dollars for a marketing company to do work that we know cost about half that we would instead do it in-house.  This is the cost of bad governance. 

We decided that knowing our needs was key and we went to the old calculator. We had to track all the purchases and sales that were made from previous marketing and find out what was actually making us the most money because we have to be fragile and fast in this market.  Our goal was to hunt marketing out like a panther and that is what we did.  We researched hard on what was landing us our money and pounced on it.  Packaging supplies was going to be the key to our success.

For us direct mail was kind and we needed to do it in the house to save more money.  There was no point in spending money on anything but this and well emails.  It is easy to follow up on the direct mailers with emails in order to give the 1 two punch to make our marketing work.  So with this in mind, we had to find a way to make our company capable of doing direct mailers.  Most of us are technologically well rounded but we needed some help to learn the basics of direct mail.

Getting the correct fell and look was key and that was a bit hard for us. We wanted to make sure these looked professional because even if we did them cheap if they look cheap they won’t work.  Perception really is a reality so we decided to step up our game.  We used color copies for our letters and had the look of it to be very professional and branded.  Then we had to go ahead and buy a bunch of good-looking letters.  Buying letters, paper, and inc for this project was really not the easy thing we thought it would be. 

But each item we used we kept a good number on and it helped in the long run. Then we put on a special sauce wax seal to finish off the letters.  By the time we finished, we found out that the cost of each one was about 1 dollar when done in mass production.  We had to call up big companies and order all of our items in bulk in order to cut down on costs.  Going to Amazon was not going to work for costs if we are going to make money doing this.  Teamwork was what helped us suceed.

Our whole company split up into teams and really got down to work. All our board members and upper staff pitched in just the same.