Custom shipping boxes for small business: what to buy and what to skip

Custom shipping boxes for small businesses can cost less than you would think: a medium printed shipper, 12 x 9 x 6 inches in kraft with a one-colour logo, runs about $1.17 a box at 250 and $0.83 at 500. That's one of the cheapest ways to put your brand on every order. The trick is knowing which upgrades are worth paying for on a box that's going to get thrown around, and which ones aren't.

What a custom shipping box actually is

A shipping box is a regular slotted carton in corrugated board, the shape every warehouse in the country already knows how to pack. It's printed flat, die-cut, and folded into shape at your end, then taped closed. Nothing about it is fancy, and that's the point. It's the oldest construction in the trade and the cheapest to make.

A custom shipping box is that same carton with your name on it. It protects better than a mailer and prints for less per square inch. Where it loses is the opening: a shipper is taped shut and cut open, while a mailer box has a tuck lid that opens like a present. If you're not sure which one you need, our comparison of mailer boxes vs shipping boxes walks through the choice.

The short version is this. If your customer opens the box and you want that moment to feel good, buy a mailer. If a warehouse, a 3PL, or a retail buyer opens it, buy a shipper.

What custom shipping boxes for small business cost

These are the prices our own estimator gives, per box, before shipping and tax. Shipping boxes take no laminate or coating, so the only choices that move the price are size, board, and print.

Two things jump out. Kraft board is about 6% cheaper than white. One colour is about 18% cheaper than full colour. Put both together on a medium box at 500, and you save 24 cents a box, which is $120 on the run.

Our minimum is 100 boxes. At 100, that medium kraft one-colour shipper is $1.85, so if you can use 250 within a few months, the bigger run is the better buy.

The two upgrades worth paying for

The right size

This one isn't really an upgrade, but it's the biggest saving on the page. Every inch of space costs you twice: once in the box, and again in postage, because carriers charge by size as well as weight. Our guide to dimensional weight shows how that's worked out.

All three sizes in the table stay under 1,728 cubic inches, the line where USPS starts billing by size rather than weight. A box built around your product, with room for padding and no more, is cheaper to make and cheaper to post. Measure the product as you'll actually pack it. If you've never done it, how to measure a box shows which side is the length.

Enough strength

A shipper that crushes in transit costs you a refund, a reship, and a customer. Standard single-wall board at 32 ECT carries a box maker's certificate limit of about 65 pounds, which is a lot of room for most single orders. If you're stacking heavy cases or shipping glass, read our piece on ECT ratings before you pick a board. It's the one spec on a shipping box that's worth understanding properly.

The three things to skip on a shipper

1. Full colour on every face. A shipper gets scuffed, stickered, and taped over. A bold one-colour logo survives that. A photo printed edge to edge mostly ends up under a shipping label.
2. Printing the inside. On a mailer it's part of the reveal. On a shipper, the inside is where the packing paper goes. Spend that money on the product instead.
3. A finish. Shipping boxes don't take a laminate here, and you wouldn't want one. Corrugated board that has been through a sorting hub doesn't stay glossy.

What to put inside

A shipper is only as good as what stops the product from moving. The USPS packing guide says it plainly: use strong packaging with enough room to add cushioning (opens in a new tab) so the items can't shift, and close every seam with 2-inch packing tape.

For one product that ships the same way every time, a fitted insert beats loose fill. It's quicker to pack, and it holds the product in the middle of the box, away from the walls. Our guide to custom box inserts covers the styles and what they cost. For mixed orders, crinkle paper or kraft paper is cheaper and works fine. If your product already sits in a printed retail carton, the shipper is only its outer layer, and our guide to the types of folding cartons covers the box inside.

Our pick for a small business

If you're shipping your own orders and want your brand on the doorstep without overspending, here's what we'd order:

• Kraft board. It's cheaper, it hides scuffs, and it reads as honest rather than budget.
• One colour logo. Big, on the top and the long sides, in a dark ink that shows on kraft.
• Sized to your best seller. One size that fits most orders, with padding for the rest, beats four sizes at 25 boxes each.
• 250 to start. It's where the price drops properly, without a stack of boxes you can't use if your product changes.

Subscription brands are the clearest case for a printed shipper, because the same box goes out every month. See what we'd suggest for shipping boxes for subscription brands. And once you know the box works and you're going through it fast, our guide to wholesale custom boxes shows where bigger runs stop saving money.

How ordering custom shipping boxes works

Ordering a printed shipper is a short process, and none of it needs a sales call.

1. Send us the size, the quantity, and your logo. Inside dimensions: length by width by depth. If you don't have a finished logo file, say so.
2. We design it and send a proof. Design is free, including on reorders. The proof shows exactly where your logo sits on each face.
3. You approve the proof. Nothing prints until you do, and you can ask for changes first.
4. It goes on press. Shipping boxes take 3 to 5 days on press once the proof is approved, then transit on top of that.
5. It arrives flat. A hundred flat shippers take up a corner of a room, not the room. Fold them as you pack.

Plan for the transit time, not just the press time. If you're launching on a date, order early enough that the boxes are on your shelf a week before you need them.

Mistakes that cost a small business money

Ordering a mailer when a shipper would do. If your boxes go to a fulfilment centre and get repacked, nobody sees the tuck lid. A medium full colour mailer is about $1.57 at 500, against $1.07 for a white full colour shipper in the same size band.

Choosing a big box to fit everything. The largest product sets the size, and every small order then ships by air. Two sizes usually cost less than one oversized box once postage is counted.

Skipping the sample. Put your real product in a real box before you order a run. A sample pack is the cheapest way to check the fit and the print.

Key takeaways

• Custom shipping boxes for small businesses start at about $1.17 a box at 250 and $0.83 at 500 for a medium kraft box with a one-colour logo.
• Kraft saves about 6% over white, and one colour saves about 18% over full colour.
• Pay for the right size and the right strength. Skip full colour on every face, inside print, and finishes.
• Buy a shipper when a warehouse opens the box, and a mailer when your customer does.

Common questions