I bought the first one from Pac N Seal and paid too much for it. I was excited so I bought the sealer and the starter pack - one impulse sealer and an assortment of bags and replacement kit. Half of the bags were so small I've never used them for anything so that was a bit of a waste. I had problems with that sealer burning through the teflon layer and when I called to ask them about it they were very rude and told me it was my problem and to contact the manufacturer. That was a big learning experience for me - both about that company and about the equipment because I did more research on my own to figure out what to do.
The bottom edge of the sealer has a wire that heats up and it's covered by a teflon strip. The one I got was not calibrated correctly, so if I turned it way down it sealed okay. I had to replace the teflon strip every few days while figuring out the problem, and I discovered teflon spray. It comes in a can
and I got it on Amazon for about $6. One can lasts for a year or more - you just put a little squirt on the corner of a paper towel and wipe it across the teflon strip each day before you use the sealer. It makes the teflon strip last forever (I haven't replaced one in 4 years now. BIG difference from replacing it every other day at first!).The sealers can usually be found on ebay for around $25 - $30 plus shipping (they're heavy).
Some sellers offer 'free kits' or extra kits - those are the replacement wires and teflon strips. You're supposed to have to replace them every month or two but I found that with the teflon spray you don't need to replace them at all. It's good to have some on hand regardless - if you need to replace a strip you'll be glad you have one.
The Plastic Bags
The type you'll need are called 'Flat Poly Bags' and should be at least 3 mil (preferably 4 mil).
The first ones I bought were overpriced so I started searching the web. I was able to find some for .20 each and then a sale on one site for .09 per bag (including shipping). Always search and compare and don't forget to add in shipping costs.
I'm seriously cheap - and not just because I like to be but out of necessity, especially when I was first starting this business. I simply had no budget for shipping materials and felt I should be able to get the whole package down to under .20 if I tried.
After some more brainstorming I wondered why it had to be a plastic bag, why not buy the plastic in big rolls and just make bags? That led me to buying and experimenting with painter's plastic, window sheeting, all sizes and kinds. My favorite is the Clear 3.5 mil plastic sheeting that comes on a roll at Walmart. It's in the Paint Section. 4.0 mil is just a bit too thick for the sealer to seal well and anything less than 3.5 will tear and lose the contents.
The rolls have gone up recently in price from $7 a roll to just over $8, but even so it's a good deal. I had the figures all broken down on how much per package this was costing - of course some packages are larger and some are smaller but it come out to pennies each. I had totalled the whole thing up - the wrapping paper, sticker, b-flute, plastic, colorful packing slip and it came out to .20 or .25 per package. When you consider that you'll receive $2.64 from Amazon for shipping (that includes the packing materials and postage and everything) - you have to be wise and inventive to provide a good, sturdy, cost effective package. 
Postage for a one pound book (Media Mail) is $2.23 (it's $2.41 if you use Endicia.com and that's including Delivery Confirmation at a greatly reduced price of only .18 At the post office counter it's .60 or .70 now) so that leaves me only .23 per package left of that postage allowance before I have to dig into my own pocket and come up with my own money.
And Then There's B-flute
B-flute is just basically one side of corrugated cardboard.
I only recently in the past 2 years have started buying it. Before that I scrounged it. I am not proud - if I can find clean packing materials that are being discarded, I grab them. You can ask some stores to save materials for you, or just do some dumpster diving. Furniture stores can be good - they throw out sheets of bubble wrap and b-flute that were used to cover entire dressers and other pieces of furniture! I've gotten bubble wrap that was 10 feet wide and over 40 feet long! Clean, used once to transport some furniture and then tossed. I process it when I get it home - cut it up into manageable sized strips and roll it up and it's ready to use.I had a friend who worked for a little store that did picture framing and she saved me lots of b-flute and some bubble wrap for nearly a year.
If you buy b-flute, realize again that a big part of the cost is shipping. For that reason check your local phone book for paper suppliers and packaging companies and make some calls to compare prices. I found a company 2 hours away that delivers to this area 3 times a week, so there is no shipping charge. I pay now for the big wheels of b-flute (4 at a time) and the truck from the company delivers them to my door. The cost of the b-flute is a bit higher than what I found online, but less than the overall cost I'd pay including shipping.
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