If you've been searching for where to buy shipping bags and keep running into the same handful of overpriced options, you're not alone. Whether you're dispatching orders for a small business, sending clothes on Vinted, or just need a reliable supply of bags for shipping parcels, the good news is that there are far better places to buy them than your local supermarket or the Post Office.
This guide covers everything you need to know: what shipping bags actually are, the different types available, and where to find them at a price that makes sense.
What are shipping bags called?
This catches a lot of people out. Shipping bags, mailing bags, postage bags, parcel bags and poly bags are all terms used to describe broadly the same product. The differences come down more to region and habit than any strict definition.
In the UK, "mailing bags" tends to be the most common trade term. "Shipping bags" is used more widely in e-commerce circles, likely influenced by American terminology. "Postage bags" is what a lot of casual sellers on platforms like Vinted or eBay tend to search for. They all refer to the same thing: a self-seal polythene bag designed to protect items in transit.
Poly bags and plastic shipping bags are a slightly different animal. These tend to be thinner, often used for clothing or soft goods, and are sometimes described as polythene mailing bags or poly mailers. You'll find them in grey, white, or black. The grey ones are by far the most popular for clothing resellers because they're opaque, lightweight, and neat-looking.
Understanding the terminology matters when you're shopping around, because searching for bags for shipping might return very different results depending on the site you're on. On Mr Bags, you'll find the full range under our mailing bags collection, regardless of what you call them.
Types of shipping bags worth knowing about
Before you decide where to buy, it's worth knowing what you actually need. The type of bag that's right for you depends almost entirely on what you're shipping.
Standard polythene mailing bags
These are the workhorse option. Lightweight, waterproof, and with a peel-and-seal strip, they're suitable for anything soft or non-fragile. Clothing, accessories, books, documents, and flat-packed items all ship well in standard poly mailing bags. They come in a wide range of sizes, from small enough for a single t-shirt up to large enough for a folded jumper or a couple of pairs of jeans.
Plastic shipping bags for clothes
If you're specifically looking for bags for shipping clothes, these are what you want. Typically made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), they're flexible, tear-resistant enough for postal handling, and thin enough that they don't add meaningful weight to your parcel. This matters if you're sending a lot of packages and every gram counts towards your postage bracket.
Many clothing sellers on Vinted, Depop, and eBay use grey mailing bags specifically because they look professional without adding unnecessary cost per shipment. If you're sending in volume, buying in bulk significantly reduces the cost per bag.
Large shipping bags
Large shipping bags cover bulkier soft items: coats, duvets, multiple garments in one parcel, or anything that won't fit in a standard-sized bag. The key thing to get right with large bags is the dimensions. A bag that's too small will either fail to seal properly or split under pressure. Our mailing bags range includes clear size guidance so you can match the bag to what you're sending.
Poly bags and poly mailers
Poly bags are typically slightly thinner than standard mailing bags and are sold in higher volumes, making them a popular choice for businesses dispatching a large number of orders daily. Where to buy poly bags for shipping is a question we get a lot. The short answer is: online, in bulk, from a dedicated packaging supplier rather than a general retailer. You'll get better material quality and a considerably lower cost per unit.
Where to buy shipping bags in the UK
There are a few different options, and they're not all equal.
Dedicated packaging suppliers
This is the best option for most people, whether you're a business or an individual seller. Dedicated suppliers stock a wider range of sizes and types, offer better pricing especially on bulk orders, and tend to have far more reliable stock than general retailers.
Mr Bags is a UK-based wholesale packaging supplier with a full range of mailing bags, including standard polythene bags, large options, and bags specifically suited to clothing and soft goods. Buying direct from a supplier like this rather than through a marketplace means better pricing and no middleman markup.
The Post Office
The Post Office does sell packaging, including some postage bag options. However, the range is very limited and the prices are considerably higher than buying from a packaging supplier. It works in a pinch if you need one bag urgently, but it's not a viable option if you're sending more than a few parcels a month.
Supermarkets and stationery shops
Places like WHSmith, Ryman, and larger supermarkets stock mailing bags, but again the range is limited and the unit price is high. You might find small quantities of standard-sized bags, but large shipping bags or specific poly bag formats are unlikely to be available. These retailers are useful for emergencies, not for running a regular shipping operation.
Amazon and general marketplaces
You can find bags for shipping on Amazon and similar platforms. The convenience is obvious. The downsides are variable quality depending on the seller, higher prices compared to buying direct from a supplier, and less certainty about what you're actually getting in terms of thickness and material quality. If you're buying from a marketplace, check the GSM or micron rating where it's listed.
Where to find shipping bags near me
If you specifically need bags today and can't wait for delivery, your best bet is a local trade counter, packaging wholesaler, or business supplies shop rather than a supermarket or Post Office. That said, next-day delivery from a dedicated supplier like Mr Bags is available on orders placed before the daily cut-off, which means "near me" is often less of a constraint than it used to be.
How to buy cheap shipping bags without sacrificing quality
The biggest lever you have on cost per bag is order volume. Mailing bags are priced on a sliding scale; the more you buy, the lower the unit price. If you're sending even 20 or 30 parcels a month, buying in packs of 100 or 500 rather than 25 will make a noticeable difference over time.
A few things to look out for when buying cheap shipping bags:
- Thickness matters. A bag that's too thin will split in transit, which costs you far more in damaged goods and reshipment than you saved on the bag itself. For standard clothing parcels, aim for at least 50 microns. For heavier items, go thicker.
- Seal quality. The peel-and-seal strip should be strong enough that the bag doesn't open in transit. Cheap bags from unknown suppliers sometimes have adhesive that fails under pressure or humidity. This is worth checking reviews for before committing to a large order from somewhere new.
- Size accuracy. Some lower-quality suppliers have loose tolerances on their stated dimensions. If you're buying based on specific measurements, check whether the stated size is the internal or external dimension.
Our mailing bags are priced to be competitive even at lower quantities, with bulk pricing available for businesses that need consistent supply.
Getting the size right
This is where a lot of people go wrong the first time. A bag that's too small is useless; a bag that's far too large looks unprofessional and gives the contents more room to shift around in transit.
A general starting point for common shipping scenarios:
- A single t-shirt or light top: a small mailing bag, typically around 250mm x 350mm
- A folded pair of jeans or a mid-layer jacket: medium, around 350mm x 500mm
- A coat or multiple garments: large, 450mm x 600mm or bigger
- Books, flat accessories, documents: match the bag dimensions to the item with a small margin, no need to go oversized
If you're regularly shipping clothes, our mailing bags size guide walks through the most common use cases in more detail.
A note on terminology for businesses
If you're buying bags for a business and searching for where to purchase shipping bags or where to find poly bags for shipping, it's worth knowing that packaging suppliers often categorise these products slightly differently to the terms you might be searching for.
On most supplier sites, including ours, the product you want will be listed as mailing bags or polythene mailing bags rather than shipping bags specifically. The term "shipping bags" maps directly to the same product. Searching for the right thing just means knowing which term the supplier uses, which is why we've tried to make this as straightforward as possible on our site.
If you need help working out which bags are right for what you're sending, the contact details on our site are there for exactly that. We supply businesses across the UK and can advise on bulk pricing, size selection, and anything else you need to get your packaging sorted.
You can browse the full range on our mailing bags page or head to our packaging collections if you need something beyond bags, such as boxes, tape, or labels.
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