Choosing the Bag option in Book a Courier

Steven

Most here buy their bags off Trade Me, there are a lot of sellers that sell the white bags,

As I am one who buys their bags on here,

Also make sure your item actually physically fits inside a bag size you book it at,

Do Not sit your parcel on top of a bag and use those 2 dimensions alone, that is wrong,

if it does not fit into a bag it is a parcel,

You will find when it gets to large bags, you are better off just putting an item in a old box or wrap as a parcel and book as a parcel as cheaper than a large bag,

Sorry to contradict 'L' above but I send a lot of trades barely ever in bags.  Generally in recycled paper - like those brown bags you get at supermarket.  I have never had an issue/ query with this.  

You are right about boxes tho.  They are treated differently ( charged volumetrically).  

So as Carol says just make sure it would fit into a bag of the stated dimensions - allow for the thickness of the items.  

Yep, anything that looks like a bag is fine, including reused courier bags, thicker carrier bags, card or paper envelopes or bags (if strong enough for item & item won't get damaged if left in the rain). Can always fold down a bag to fit the paid dimensions too with sticky tape.

For larger bags, look at Pass the Parcel, who have a more generous weight limit & no thickness limit (10cm on TM Book a Courier).

Robert, whereabouts did you see the information about a 10cm thickness limit? 
I’m concerned that I may have sent parcels that were thicker than 10cm as I always assumed that so long as your item fitted in a bag that was no bigger than the dimensions (width x length) given in BAC, then all was ok. 

Andrea, on the PTP Courier price - use your own packaging page, the table there says

A4 Sized Envelope (21x30cm) with maximum thickness of 10 cm.

Which is sort of unnecessary anyway, as anything 10.5cm in one direction and more than 10cm in the other, won't fit in an A4 bag anyway. If it's 12cm thick x 8cm high, then it can just be turned around so the 8cm is the thickness and the 12cm is the width. A bag is a bag. If it fits in an A4 bag, it's ok.

Some people just push and push with oversize things until they start getting charges. The wife received a big parcel the other day not in a bag, just wrapped in bubblewrap, with broken goods inside. The parcel was 340mm long by 200mm diameter and had a DL booked aramex label on it. No way it would have fitted in even the largest bag on BAC so needed to go as a parcel.

Andrea, it's on the booking page after you booked & got the tracking number! Thought it was sooner, but can't see it now on BAC.

Basically what Gary already answered, but here's my experiences.

I'm sure in the past I have sent bigger ones without issue.

NZ Post don't mention it on their bags & the Post Shops happily accept them over 10cm as I have done that many times in the past before BAC.

As for Pass the Parcel, I asked them when I signed up & got told that there's no limit as long as it fits in the bag & seals properly. They also allow up to 25kg in their bags (I don't see many filling that heavy). I haven't tried anything overly thick or heavy with them as yet.

Gary-NZStocked

I received a parcel this week 49cm x 39cm x17cm booked as a large Bag, within Island !,

it included a flat 38.5 x 38.5 flat square item with other stuff, That flat item for one will not fit into a bag, not rocket science,

Had it been packed with care easily gone for the $10.71 with Aramex, but this parcel was in the $21.18 range !!,

So the couriers been cheated out of a good $10!!, unbelievable,

What I was charged was fair no need to question as send the same items,

But when it turned up with a JV Bag code, alarm bells !!, and was not expecting a parcel quite that big!!