Gunny bags for online sellers: when a sack beats a carton
Fifty T-shirts for a reseller do not need ten cartons. One bora will do.
That is the short answer. A sack beats a carton when the goods are soft, not fragile and bulky: clothes, textiles, soft toys, cushions, and wholesale lots of them. It folds flat when empty, takes an odd load without complaint, and one sack replaces several cartons. It loses when the goods can break, have sharp edges or can leak, and at courier counters that only take boxes and flyers. So check with your courier before the first dispatch.
We have been manufacturing packaging in Jaipur since 1997, and the sack is still one of the oldest workhorses of Indian trade. We think online sellers forget it too easily.
What is a white gunny bag?
It is a white sack with an open mouth. We sell it in four sizes, in sets of 5, 10 or 20, so you can try a size before you stock up. Our white gunny bags come in these sizes:
- 10 kg, 12 x 18 inch
- 20 kg, 19 x 30 inch
- 50 kg, 24 x 40 inch
- 55 kg, 27 x 45 inch
If the fabric matters for your goods, for example food grains or something that must breathe, ask us before you order and we will confirm it.
The "kg" in each name tells you the size class, not what your goods will weigh. Soft goods fill a sack long before they reach that weight. A cotton T-shirt weighs roughly 150 to 200 g, so even 60 of them come to only about 9 to 12 kg.
When does a sack make more sense than a carton?
Sellers usually reach for a sack in a few clear situations.
- Wholesale and reseller lots. Thirty kurtis or a hundred socks for a shop in another city. Nothing inside can break, and the buyer unpacks it all at once.
- Soft, bulky products. Cushions, pillows, quilts and soft toys squash into a sack and spring back. In a carton, you pay for air.
- Moving stock between home and godown. Sacks carry mixed stock on a tempo without a fuss, and you can fold them and use them again.
- Returns. A pile of returned garments going back to your godown, or to your supplier, travels well in one sack instead of loose polybags.
- Storage. Sorted stock in labelled sacks is easy to find and easy to stack.
A carton is still better for anything you sell as a "premium unboxing". Nobody enjoys opening a gift from a sack.
Which gunny bag size do you need?
Here is a rough guide. I have estimated the filled volume as one fifth of width x width x length (lay-flat sizes), which allows for the rounded shape and for closing the mouth. I have assumed one folded T-shirt takes about 1 litre. Please treat these as starting points. We would rather you fill one sack with your own stock and count than trust our table.
| Size (listing name) | Lay-flat size | Rough filled volume | What roughly fits (soft goods) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 kg, 12 x 18 inch | 30 x 46 cm | about 8 litres | 6 to 8 folded T-shirts, a few soft toys, or one customer's return |
| 20 kg, 19 x 30 inch | 48 x 76 cm | about 35 litres | 25 to 35 folded T-shirts, or 2 to 3 cushions |
| 50 kg, 24 x 40 inch | 61 x 102 cm | about 75 litres | 60 to 75 folded T-shirts, or 5 to 7 cushions |
| 55 kg, 27 x 45 inch | 69 x 114 cm | about 105 litres | 2 folded quilts with room to spare, or a large soft-toy lot |
Two practical notes.
First, a filled sack is billed like any other parcel. Measure it at its widest points once it is full and closed, and use that size when you book. Most couriers charge on the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight, and a fat sack can surprise you.
Second, do not fill a sack to bursting. Leave about a hand's width at the top for closing. A sack you cannot close properly will open on the way.
Should you stitch or tie the mouth?
For anything that goes with a courier or a transporter, I would stitch it.
| Stitching | Tying | |
|---|---|---|
| How | Sack needle and sutli (twine), or a hand-held bag closing machine | Twist the neck, fold it back, tie with twine or a cable tie |
| Shape | Flat top, no tail | Leaves a tail sticking out |
| Tampering | A cut or re-done stitch is easy to see | Can be untied and retied without a trace |
| Reuse | The receiver cuts the stitch | Easy to open and close again |
| Best for | Courier, transport, B2B dispatch | Your own home-to-godown moves |
To stitch by hand, fold the mouth over once by 3 to 4 cm and sew through both layers in one straight line. Leave a small ear at each corner. Those ears are what the loading staff will grab, so they save your sack from being dragged by the stitch line.
If you tie, fold the twisted neck back on itself before you tie it. Then tape the tail flat against the sack, so it does not catch on other parcels.
Do you need an inner liner?
If the goods must stay clean, yes. A woven sack lets fine dust through, and rain soaks in where the sack sits on a wet floor.
You have two easy options.
- A large polythene liner inside the sack. Fill the liner, close it, then close the sack.
- Small packs inside the sack. Put 5 to 10 folded garments in one courier bag and seal it. Then load the bags into the sack. Our courier bags go up to 14 x 18 inch, and the courier bag size chart helps you pick one.
I prefer the second option for reseller lots. The buyer can count stock by the bag, and one torn sack does not spread your whole lot on a wet floor. We do not list sack liners on PackSmith right now, so for the first option you will have to source a liner locally.
How do you label a sack so the courier accepts it?
Start with one honest warning.
Courier systems are built around boxes and flyers.
India Post stopped accepting parcels wrapped in cloth from 1 April 2022, under its Parcel Packaging Policy. As Onmanorama reported at the time, the reason was that barcode stickers on cloth tend to come off. A woven sack is not cloth wrapping, but it has the same problem for a sticker. So expect a post office counter to ask for a box or a flyer, and ask before you go.
Private couriers say much the same in their own way. Delhivery's packaging guidelines (updated November 2024) talk about boxes and flyers, and ask for the label on a flat face of the box or flyer, away from seams and edges. A sack has no such face.
So this is what I would do.
- Ask your courier or shipping aggregator before booking a sack. Goods transport companies that move boras every day are worth asking too.
- Paste the shipping label on a stiff card and stitch or tie the card firmly to one ear of the sack.
- Write the name, full address, PIN code and phone number with a thick permanent marker on two faces of the sack.
- Put a copy of the address and the invoice inside, on top of the goods. A packing list envelope keeps the papers clean.
If the label falls off, the marker writing still gets the sack home.
When should you not use a sack?
I will be plain here, because a sack is cheap and that makes it tempting.
- Fragile goods. Glass, ceramics, electronics. Sacks get thrown, dropped and stacked under other sacks.
- Sharp or pointed goods. Tools, metal parts and hangers with hooks can poke through, and loading staff usually lift a sack against their body.
- Liquids and gels. One leak soaks everything in the sack, and the parcels next to it.
- Fine powders. They can work out through a weave unless there is a sealed liner inside.
- Boxed retail products. Shoe boxes, cosmetic boxes and gift boxes come out with crushed corners, and the customer sees a damaged product.
- Small, high-value items. A sack is easy to slit and hard to check for tampering. Use a tamper-evident courier bag or a sealed carton.
- Loose food. Keep food in proper food-grade packing, not straight in a sack.
For several cartons going to one buyer, number each carton (1 of 3, 2 of 3 and so on) and put the invoice in the first one.
Questions sellers ask
Can I reuse a gunny bag?
Yes, for your own stock moves, as long as it is clean and has no cuts. For a courier dispatch, I would use a fresh sack. A worn sack is the one that splits on the loading dock.
Which size should I try first?
The 20 kg, 19 x 30 inch size in a set of 5. It covers most reseller lots and returns, and it is small enough to lift easily when full of clothes.
Will a sack cost me less in shipping than cartons?
Sometimes. One sack instead of several cartons saves on packing material. The freight depends on the filled size, so weigh and measure your first full sack before you decide.
Send us your typical lot (what it is, and how many pieces), and we will suggest a size. We would rather you buy the right 5 sacks than the wrong 20.
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