Yes, The Best Price Boxes makes custom ecommerce boxes with no minimum order, and we will beat any written quote you already have. An ecommerce box is judged on three numbers that have nothing to do with how it looks. What it costs to ship, how often the contents arrive damaged, and how much labor it takes to pack. Get those right first and then make it beautiful, because a beautiful box that is an inch too deep costs you money on every order for as long as you sell the product.
Custom ecommerce box specs
| Spec | What you get |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | None. Test a size on real orders before you standardize. |
| Constructions | Roll end tuck top mailer, roll end front tuck, regular slotted container, one piece folder for flat goods, literature mailer. |
| Board | E flute for print quality, B flute for stronger walls, C flute for general shipping, double wall for heavy goods. |
| Grades | 32 ECT single wall for most parcels, 44 ECT double wall for heavy or palletized loads. |
| Printing | One or two color flexo for economy, litho laminated or digital for full color exteriors and interiors. |
| Closures | Tuck flap, tape strip, tear strip, second adhesive strip for returns. |
| Inserts | Corrugated dividers, board platforms, molded pulp, die cut foam, paper void fill. |
| Ships flat | Yes. Mailers and RSCs both ship and store flat. |
| Sizes | Any interior dimension. Right sizing is where the savings are. |
| Design | Free. Die lines, mockups and revisions included. |
| Samples | Free. |
| Shipping | Free. |
Dimensional weight is the whole game
Parcel carriers bill on whichever is greater, actual weight or dimensional weight. Dimensional weight for domestic parcels is commonly length multiplied by width multiplied by height in inches, divided by 139. Most ecommerce goods are light relative to their volume, so the dimensional figure wins and you are effectively paying for the size of your box on every single order.
Work an example. A 12 by 10 by 6 inch box is 720 cubic inches, about 5.2 billable pounds. The same footprint at 4 inches deep is 480 cubic inches, about 3.5 billable pounds. Nothing about the product changed. You removed two inches of air and took more than a pound and a half off the billable weight of every parcel.
This is why custom sizing beats buying stock boxes for anything you ship in volume. The recurring shipping saving is almost always larger than the difference in the unit price of the packaging, and unlike a one time discount it compounds for the life of the product.
Right sizing without underpacking
There is a limit, and it is damage. A box cut too close to the product transfers every impact straight into it, and a box with contents that move gets damaged even when the walls hold.
The practical rule is that fragile items want about two inches of cushioning on every side, and non fragile items want just enough clearance to pack quickly. Between those two, the answer is an insert rather than a bigger box. A fitted corrugated or molded pulp insert holds the product still, uses far less volume than loose void fill, and makes packing faster because there is one obvious way to load the box.
Most damage in parcel networks comes from contents moving, not from walls failing. Spending on the insert and saving on the box size is usually the right trade.
Mailer or regular slotted container
| Roll end tuck top mailer | Regular slotted container | |
|---|---|---|
| Assembly | Folds and tucks, no tape | Needs tape top and bottom |
| Print surface | Large flat lid, excellent | Interrupted by flaps, adequate |
| Side wall strength | Double thickness on two sides | Single thickness all round |
| Material used | More board for the same interior | Least board for the interior, most efficient |
| Best for | Direct to consumer where the box is part of the experience | Bulk, wholesale, heavy goods, outer cartons |
If the person opening the box is your customer, use the mailer. If it is a warehouse, use the RSC and put the money somewhere the customer will see it.
Packing labor is a real cost
Packaging decisions are usually made on unit price and shipping, and the third cost gets ignored. Every second of pack time is paid on every order.
Three things reduce it. A box that assembles without tape, because taping is the slowest step in most packing benches. An insert with one obvious orientation, because ambiguity makes packers stop and think. And a size that fits the product without wrestling, because a box that is technically big enough but awkward slows everything down and increases damage in the process.
If you fulfill in house, time a packer against your current box and against a sample of a new one before you commit. It is a five minute test that often decides the specification.
Returns
If your category has a meaningful return rate, specify a second adhesive strip. The customer removes the tear strip to open, then reseals the same box with the second strip. It removes a whole class of support contact, saves the customer a trip for tape, and avoids a second box being manufactured for the return journey.
It costs very little and it is one of the few packaging decisions that improves cost, customer experience and waste at the same time.
Testing, if you sell through a marketplace
Ecommerce transit testing follows recognized protocols, and marketplaces often reference them. If you supply a marketplace that requires packaging to ship in its own container without additional overpacking, the specification will normally be tied to a named transit test standard. Ask before you tool up rather than after, because a failed test means new die lines, not just a new supplier.
For everyone else, the practical test is simpler. Pack ten real orders, ship them to yourself and to a colleague across the country, and open them. That tells you more than a specification sheet.
What an ecommerce box will not do
It will not protect a product that needed an insert. It will not make a fragile item survive a drop test on wall strength alone. And a printed mailer will not pay for itself on a low margin commodity, where a poly mailer or a plain RSC is the honest recommendation. We will tell you when that is the case.
Related packaging
See mailer boxes for the retail format, shipping boxes for outer cartons and wholesale, shipping box sizes for common dimensions, and subscription boxes for recurring programs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out dimensional weight?
For domestic parcels it is commonly length multiplied by width multiplied by height in inches, divided by 139. Carriers bill whichever is greater, that figure or the actual weight. For most ecommerce products the dimensional figure is the one you pay.
Do you have a minimum order for ecommerce boxes?
No. There is no minimum, which means you can test a right sized box on real orders before committing to a run of a size you are guessing at.
Is a custom size really cheaper than a stock box?
Usually yes, once shipping is included. The unit price of a custom box can be higher, but the recurring dimensional weight saving from removing unnecessary volume typically outweighs it within a few hundred parcels and keeps paying after that.
How much cushioning does my product need?
Roughly two inches on every side for fragile items. For non fragile goods, enough clearance to pack quickly and no more. Between those, use a fitted insert rather than a larger box, because contents moving causes more damage than walls failing.
Should I use a mailer or a plain shipping box?
A mailer if your customer opens it, because it assembles without tape and gives you a large printable face. A plain regular slotted container if a warehouse opens it, because it uses the least board for the interior volume.
Can you beat a quote I already have?
Yes. Send the written quote with the specification and we will beat it on a like for like build. We will also model the dimensional weight of the size you have been quoted, because that number usually matters more to your margin than the price of the box.
Get a quote for custom ecommerce boxes
Tell us the product, its weight, how fragile it is, how many orders you ship and whether returns are common. Send us the product if you can. Design, samples and shipping are free, there is no minimum order, and we will size the box to reduce what you pay the carrier rather than to make our own quote look better.