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Nancy: Your question just made me remember something from the past. I may try this myself and see what the total outcome is. But in the large printing company I was at we used “impulse” sealers to make and bag many of the small, loose items we included in the display kits we sent out to chain stores.

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We had a stand on the left side of the sealer that held two rolls of plastic tubing 6″ and 12″ wide one above the other. We just reached over and pulled the width of choice across the sealer and with the size we wanted sticking out on the right, we lower the sealer arm down and in 2 secs it sealed a bag. Leave the arm down for 4 to 6 secs and it cut through the bag. We could pull the flat tube across, stuff the parts inside and then seal it and then throw the bag into the kit we were shipping. BUT… we also had a hair dryer paying on it’s side and when we needed air pillows, we would use our fingers to spread the end of the plastic tube open a little bit and the hair dryer air [on cool blow] of course would billow up inside the tube and we would then seal the tube and thus created our own air bags to the size and quantity we needed. We used this as a filler job for some employees when they had nothing else to do, we had them make some air pillows to keep them on the clock. We had them throw them into a large “Gaylord” box for future use. BTW a small desk fan worked also to blow in the air.

So now remembering that, I looked up and saw that you can buy complete air pillow making systems but they are expensive. But I also see that you can buy an 6″, 8″ or 12″ heat sealer for approx. $25 to $50 bucks with the built in timer for the heat impulse. Why not buy one of those like we did, then buy say a six inch wide roll of light weight poly tubing plastic and just make your own filler air pillows as needed? You can even make your own bags this way and I also remember if you get the shrink type of plastic you can run the hot air gun over it and the plastic will shrink to a tight fit around your item [if so desired].

I haven’t researched the cost of the roll of plastic yet, but am thinking that a one time small investment would pay off in the longer run, save money over all and you would have what you need any time you needed filler.

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Just a thought. I am going to research further and maybe do this myself. Certainly the air pillow bags are lighter and would save on shipping weight and provide a ROI for setting this up. Who knows, maybe even be a money maker on those marginal items that would tip the scale to the next higher pound other wise. Much easier than cutting down and resizing boxes to lighten the weight load. But I do also cut down or resize boxes fairly regular. I can take 4 ounces of a box usually by just resizing the flaps and 6 to 8 ounces by resizing the box an inch or two. But all that takes a little extra time.

BTW the way, cutting a USPS box in half makes a great small size box of 7-1/2″ long x 5″ wide x 4-1/2″ high and at a weight of 2 ounces. Perfect for small items, cups-mugs and hats. I then wrap it with a layer of my 8 mil opaque contracter’s plastic, just like a Christmas present and it ships First Class without any problems. If needing Priority, it is ready to go since it already has the Red, white & blue Priority images on it.

P.S. several of the Priority Boxes cut down to nice useable sizes and come close to the new Ebay sizes and it saves you from having to “buy” those Ebay sizes. We usually make a few during some of our down time and put into our box shelves. The price is certainly right.

Just an idea ….
mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta