This is the third installment of a three-piece collection about the “three kinds” of packaging and shipping supplies. The first installment was on shipping boxes, and the second was on packaging tape, and this one is going to be about shipping bags. You probably didn’t know that there is even such a thing as the “three kinds” rule, and even though it’s not an official designation it has been proven itself to be true after much observation. The three kinds of shipping bags are: casual, serious, and professional. Below, I will explain in greater detail the characteristics that make each of these categories distinct from one another
Casual: something that is done without much thought, effort, or concern. Being casual doesn’t mean that you simply don’t care. That would be called “disregard” or something equally as fancy, like “disrespectful”. That is not what I’m talking about when it comes to casual shipping bags. What I’m talking about is when you aren’t trying to impress someone. You can wrap stuff up in old grocery bags and never stress out about it. These are for the times when you are sending something off to close family and friends, of course, and you know that they won’t mind the informal materials. As a matter of fact, they might even be grateful for some extra plastic grocery bags because they use them to clean out the cat box and tie up extra-dirty diapers in.
Serious: involving or deserving a lot of thought, attention, or work. If you were to send off your manuscript, which is the same analogy for the other two parts of this trilogy, you probably wouldn’t put it in a recycled bubble mailer from Valentine’s Day that has a sketch of Snoopy on top of his doghouse shooting a heart-tipped arrow at Woodstock. Any editor or publishing company would throw that in the trash immediately. If you can’t take yourself seriously, neither can they.
Professional: exhibiting a conscientious and generally businesslike manner. Shipping bags have a big place in the professional world of packaging and shipping supplies. They basically make it or break it. There are all manner of specialty bags that can be used to make sure that the item being shipped is represented in the best possible way. After all, how an item is packaged is part of the first impression that someone is going to get from a company. Make sure that items or categorized appropriately in their own little sacks, and don’t use a newspaper bag for sending off jewelry.
