Perfect Your Packaging and Strengthen Your Bottom Line
One of the most essential operations of your business is ensuring your products arrive safely. However, it can be difficult to determine what kind of packaging you should use to maximize your profits and ensure product quality. If you’re on the fence about using custom shipping boxes or custom poly mailers, we’ll help you determine the benefits and risks associated with both.
What are Custom Shipping Boxes?
Custom shipping boxes are often made of corrugated material and are fitted to your product. These boxes can be outfitted with your custom branding, and even contain inner die cuts to keep your products in place during shipment.
Want to learn more about the benefits of custom corrugated boxes? View our in-depth blog here.
What are Custom Poly Mailers?
Poly mailers are flexible plastic containers with a sealable flap. Many times, these mailers are lined with bubble wrap to increase their durability. Like custom corrugated boxes, poly mailers are a popular choice for e-commerce shipping. They’re a favorite among apparel and soft goods brands.
Custom Shipping Boxes vs. Custom Poly Mailers
Now that you know the difference between shipping boxes and poly mailers, it’s time to choose what’s right for your business. Here, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each shipping container.
Shipping Box Pros and Cons
Corrugated shipping boxes are one of the strongest and most lightweight options on the market today. With various flute sizes available, corrugated boxes provide suitable protection for most products. Not to mention, it’s easy to add custom branding to corrugated boxes, which can increase your brand awareness and boost your bottom line.
Additionally, corrugated shipping boxes are environmentally friendly, with most material sourced from programs such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). With more consumers looking for brands to improve their sustainability practices, corrugated boxes are a great start for any organization.
Corrugated boxes aren’t without their cons, however. While they do protect products from some moisture, they aren’t fully weatherproof. Substantial wetness could cause some damage to the box and your products, though this isn’t extremely common during the shipping process. Additionally, corrugated boxes will have a higher cost than poly mailers, but they are still a cost-effective choice.
Poly Mailer Pros and Cons
Poly mailers are cheap to buy and can reduce your shipping costs due to their lightweight nature. Also, as they’re made of plastic, they are more moisture resistant than corrugated boxes.
Though these pros are great, poly mailers do have considerable disadvantages. If you choose to go with poly mailers, you’ll be limited on what you can ship. Breakables will not survive even the shortest shipping process.
Additionally, poly mailers can only handle one or a few products at a time; if you’re trying to ship multiple items, this will not be the best option for you. In fact, corrugated boxes are one of the best options for shipping multiple items as it’s easy to create die cuts that hold the products in place, protecting them during shipment and creating a great unboxing experience for the consumer.
Perhaps one of the biggest disadvantages is that poly mailers aren’t eco-friendly. They’re made of plastic, which can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. As aforementioned, consumers are looking for brands to step up their sustainability, and poly mailers could seriously damage your brand’s reputation.
Work with Jamestown Container for Your Custom Shipping Box Needs
For more than 65 years, Jamestown Container has been supplying quality, sustainable corrugated solutions to companies across the U.S. From simple brown boxes to colorful retail packaging and displays, our team is here to help you from start to finish. As a multi-facility, concept-to-finished goods packaging supplier, we’re confident we can provide a cost-effective solution for your business.
At Jamestown Container, we’re all about providing the highest quality products to our customers. We have a wide range of certifications, including ISO, AIB, and FSSC accreditations. We also cater to the need for sustainable packaging, sourcing 100% post-consumer recycled linerboard from the Greenpac Mill.
Let’s Get Started
When you’re ready to start your next project, we’ll be here to help. Reach out to our team for more information.
