Padded Mailers

Padded mailers are bubble-lined and cushion-lined envelopes for shipping small, semi-fragile items without a box: white self-seal bubble mailers in the standard #000 through #7 sizes, plus puncture-resistant padded mailers, in 25-packs and 50 or 100 count cases. They protect against scuffs and light impacts while keeping the package thin and light, which is the whole point of skipping a carton. For a worked example, how to ship trading cards shows when a bubble mailer is enough and when the card needs a rigid holder inside.

Standard sizes, decoded

Mailer numbers are an industry shorthand for envelope dimensions. Interior room is smaller than the listed size because the bubble lining and seal flap take up space, so size to your item plus about half an inch each way.

When a padded mailer is the wrong call

• Rigid flats: photos, prints, and collectibles need a stayflats mailer, not padding. See rigid mailers for shipping comic books.
• Crush-sensitive items: bubble lining absorbs scuffs and light impacts, not stacking pressure. Anything that cannot take weight on top belongs in a corrugated box from shipping boxes.
• Non-fragile soft goods: if the item needs no cushioning at all, a plain poly mailer from poly mailers is lighter and cheaper to run.

Freight is part of the price

Mailers are one of the more freight-efficient things we sell because cases pack flat, but the honest math still holds: on a small order, freight can rival the product cost. The fix is the same as everywhere else in packaging. Buy the case count instead of the 25-pack once a size proves out, and combine mailers with your tape and label order. The packaging cost and cube index shows how each format converts to billable cube.

Related collections and guides

• Bubble mailers and kraft bubble mailers
• Mailers and envelopes for the full flat-format family
• Literature mailers and packing list envelopes
• How to fix a ripped poly mailer
• Packaging calculators and tools