Would you ship nice casual shoes in a padded flat rate envelope?

If the shoes fit in a padded flat rate envelope, I always ship that method. Haven’t had a problem thus far. For nicer shoes such as those you linked to, I put one shoe in a plastic bag before putting it into the envelope to prevent the shoes from scuffing each other.

Hi,
I know Jay and Ryanne covered this topic beautifully in past posts… They have even explained how to do it well by taping over where the heels are so they don’t poke through. I send converse chucks or sneakers (women’s sneakers will often fit in a padded flat rate) this way – but as far as a $50+ pair of nicer dress shoes, I personally don’t feel comfortable putting those in a poly mailer, I usually pack them in a USPS shoe box – even if it costs a dollar or two more. (Occasionally it is WAY more (~$5) ie: going from Mid West to California… in which case I will make an exception and pack them in an envelope – we all have our limits!) I don’t think they would get damaged in an envelope – especially if you stuff them with paper and bubble wrap securely, but I do think the box makes a better presentation. Maybe customers don’t care, and I am just anal 🙂 but that is just me…

yep, i ship shoes in polymailers and padded envelopes almost every time. i’ve shipped (literally) thousands of shoes this way and have never had an issue.

I don’t feel quite right about it either. If they are sandals or flip flops I think it is ok, but bigger more structured shoes wouldn’t fit anyway would they? Like a man’s size 13 sandal wouldn’t fit I think.

A few things to try with shipping nicer shoes in a Padded Flat Rate Env (PFRE):

Bubble wrap them first to create a nice, tight “cocoon”, then slide into PFRE. OR, make a cardboard “burrito” from your scrap pile.

The Scotty Stuffer box from Bubblefast fits neatly into a PFRE and is a useful thing to have around. https://www.bubblefast.com/store/pc/10-Scotty-Stuffers-font-size-1-sup-TM-sup-font-br-9-x-5-5-x-3-5-192p2047.htm

You can also cut an inch off eBays 8 x 6 x 4 box to make it 8 x 6 x 3 (or a tad taller), and it will go into the PFRE. Also, several of the Amazon boxes are the perfect size.

I’ve used all of these methods with success!

Good Luck – I think you all have convinced me to go this route too – I don’t think I utilize the “Burrito Stuff” Method enough – but that is a great idea!

just to add to this, if the shoes are super high end, i will ship in a box. but the majority of shoes i sell are less than $100 and they go in polymailers.

Minority vote. Nope. I use a box 90% of the time. I’ll use a PFRE for some sandals (KEEN), flip flops, or TOMS (after stuffing with tissue paper to hold shape). Whenever I plan to ship in a PFRE, I note it in the listing and ask them to contact me for a shipping quote if they’d prefer them to ship in a box.

I just returned a pair of BORN clogs I bought on ebay because they were stuffed into a PFRE so tightly, the top leather had squashed over and put a nice crease in the top of each from being forced into folding over during shipping. I tried stuffing the shoes and wearing them in the house for awhile, but the crease remained. The seller had to pay shipping both ways. When I first received them, I thought it was fine using the PFRE a la Ryanne style, but they were so stuffed in there, and the flap was over so tight, there was no wiggle room, I could have easily cut or scratched the shoe. So that was my only concern at first, and then I saw the creases and wasn’t happy.

that’s a good point. i never squish shoes into a mailer that they get ruined. always leave some room in there.