Best polythene bags for posting clothes?

kuepper

I'm going to try and sell some 'soft' clothes - jeans, t shirts mainly - on Ebay and wondered what was a good simple and value option for a bag to send them in and where i could buy a reasonable number of them - say 12 or 20 as opposed to 100!

soolin

I tend to buy my plastic mailers on ebay or Amazon, I rarely pay more than 10p -12p  for a decent size bag, but tend to buy in 100s , so buying only 20 will be dearer.

prices are up and down all the time, so I just check each time I want to buy more, weed out any that are too thin, and then buy the cheapest. 

Just a quick look turns these up - bound to be cheaper ones though if you look around. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-Polythene-Mailing-Packaging-Envelopes/dp/B014O9EKDU/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=Plastic+mailers&qid=1630955021&sr=8-10

FluffityBunny

I've bought plastic mailers from this seller on Ebay, great value and you can buy in small quantities.

Grey Mailing Bags Strong Poly Postal Postage Post Mail Self Seal - All Sizes | eBay

MalMonroe

kuepper said:

I'm going to try and sell some 'soft' clothes - jeans, t shirts mainly - on Ebay and wondered what was a good simple and value option for a bag to send them in and where i could buy a reasonable number of them - say 12 or 20 as opposed to 100!

Does it HAVE to be plastic bags? They're terrible for the environment.

I use brown paper, scissors and a sellotape dispenser.

For small soft clothing items you can also pop them into a used large Jiffy bag, if you have any. But a nice brown paper parcel does the job and a roll of paper is really cheap.

I know some mailing plastic bags are recyclable but they take longer than paper to break down. Those recommended above don't appear to be recyclable or biodegradable.

Rolls and sheets of brown paper are available from amazon or WHSmith, or anywhere really. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=brown+paper+roll&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

and if you also login to amazon using their 'smile amazon' page, it helps charities.

soolin

MalMonroe said:

kuepper said:

I'm going to try and sell some 'soft' clothes - jeans, t shirts mainly - on Ebay and wondered what was a good simple and value option for a bag to send them in and where i could buy a reasonable number of them - say 12 or 20 as opposed to 100!

Does it HAVE to be plastic bags? They're terrible for the environment.

I use brown paper, scissors and a sellotape dispenser.

For small soft clothing items you can also pop them into a used large Jiffy bag, if you have any. But a nice brown paper parcel does the job and a roll of paper is really cheap.

I know some mailing plastic bags are recyclable but they take longer than paper to break down. Those recommended above don't appear to be recyclable or biodegradable.

Rolls and sheets of brown paper are available from amazon or WHSmith, or anywhere really. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=brown+paper+roll&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

and if you also login to amazon using their 'smile amazon' page, it helps charities.

I agree we should be looking to be green, but paper and the automatic sorting machines are a bad mix. If you put enough Sellotape on to be secure then you might as well use a recyclable plastic bag, if you use too little you risk the package on the machines. The person receiving it would also need to remove all the Sellotape in order to recycle the paper- otherwise it all ends up in waste heaps.  Also plastic has no bulk and it is amazing what you can get through as a large letter.

I really like the Amazon card envelopes and always re use them when I have them, but they are pricey from new. 

martindow

Resealable plastic bags are good for sending clothing that is thin enough to go as a large letter.  Put the item in the bag and aqueeze out as much air as possible before sealing the closure.  This prevents the clothing from bunching up and risking a surcharge for RM.

Plastic is not ideal, but as soolin says, sometimes alternatives are inferior.

TripleH

I do tend to save up and reuse plastic bags from when we have deliveries, my wife has become adept at carefully opening them.

Yes it's not ideal, but by reusing you do reduce the number you use. We also repurpose any other packaging we can.

ladyholly

I hate to mention it but jiffy bags have bubble plastic inside so you may as well use plastic mailers.

Spoonie_Turtle

ladyholly said:

I hate to mention it but jiffy bags have bubble plastic inside so you may as well use plastic mailers.

Some of them are recyclable if you separate the plastic and paper bits, but unfortunately not many.

Personally I reuse packaging I receive; we haven't had to buy new at all for a few years now. But that doesn't work if buying completely different items from what one is selling, of course.

ladyholly

I re -use wrapping when I can but we buy very little these days so dont get much. My daughter and a friend save what they get but that is only occasional. I do use newspaper for padding aroung fragile items but have to use plastic (either bags of bubble wrap) to ensure print doesn't transfer.

I woulld be interested to know how many people go to the trouble of separting the paper from the bubble wrap. Very few I suspect.