How should directories be set up on ecommerce?

[PlasticandFoamPackaging]

I have a ecommerce site.  I am trying to figure out the best layout for my directories.  Here are my two options.

Option 1. - Each directory in root domain.

Carrying Cases - plastic.com/carryingcases/
Case Type -  plastic.com/casetype/
Specific Product - plastic.com/sproduct

Option 2 - Put them in subdirectories

Carrying Cases - plastic.com/carryingcases/
Case Type -  plastic.com/carryingcases/casetype/
Specific Product - plastic.com/carryingcases/casetype/sproduct

I know this is a very basic question but I am looking for the right answer.  I keep getting conflicting answers from different sources.

[randfish]

It depends a bit on the depth and breadth of the products/categories you've got, but assuming the site has only a few dozen categories and maybe half a dozen brands/types, I'd go with option 2 and use subdirectories. They can help you in your analytics to sort and see what's happening in specific areas, can show up in Google with the category > subcategory delineation in place of the URL (which can help enhance CTR), and provide more detail (and a tiny bit more keyword relevance) for anyone looking at the URL in a browser, in email, in social media, etc.

However, I'd stop before going overboard, e.g. site.com/laptops/thin-light/samsung/series-9 is fine, while site.com/laptops/thin-light/black/gray-highlights/samsung/series-9/make140/model2334 is not Use good judgement and you'll be fine!

This post is still a reasonably good reference: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/11-best-practices-for-urls (though I should probably do a rewrite sometime soon)