Wholesale usually means one of two things to a buyer: a lower per unit price, or a supplier who will sell you enough units to stock a season. Here it means both, and it starts at 100 boxes. That number matters because most of what people call wholesale pricing is really volume pricing, and volume pricing is only useful if the entry quantity is one you can actually sell through.
What actually moves the unit price
Two quotes for "the same box" often differ because one of the six inputs below is different. Before you compare suppliers, make sure all six read the same on both sheets.
| Input | Effect on unit price | Where the money goes |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | Falls as volume rises | Setup and press time spread across more units |
| Box size | Rises with area | More board per box and fewer boxes per sheet |
| Board grade | Rises with thickness and coating | Material cost, and heavier board costs more to ship |
| Colour count | Rises with each additional colour | Press passes and ink |
| Finishing | Rises with each added pass | Lamination, foil, embossing and spot varnish are separate operations |
| Freight lane | Rush costs more than sea | Air freight and expedited production carry a premium |
Reading a wholesale quote without getting caught out
Ask for the price to be broken out per unit at more than one quantity, so you can see where the curve flattens. Ask whether tooling is included, because a low unit price with a separate die and plate charge is not a low price on a first order. At iBox the die, the plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof before anything prints are included, and pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes with the exact number confirmed in writing.
Also check what happens on the reorder. A second run of the same artwork should not repeat setup work you already paid for. If you are budgeting a first order, how much custom boxes cost walks through the same inputs from a cost planning angle.
Ordering, plants and turnaround
Production runs at two plants, West Chicago in the United States and Guangzhou in China. Which plant makes your order depends on the specification and on the lane you pick. There are three lanes and they are quoted per product, not as a blanket promise:
- Rush. Expedited production plus air freight, carrying a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job.
- Standard. Air freight, the usual middle option.
- Cost saver. Sea freight, the cheapest per unit if your date allows it.
The floor is from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 days for delivery. Specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks, so if you are stocking for a season, ask for the cost saver lane early rather than paying a rush premium later. There is no sample kit to buy: samples are arranged through the quote conversation.
Send your size, quantity and artwork to the quote form and you will get per unit pricing at your volume with the lane and delivery date written down. Buying a larger single category? See bulk custom packaging.
