What does your packaging cost per package? How to convert bundle prices to price per item
- , by Verpakkingdeals.nl
- 7 min reading time
A bundle of one hundred boxes says nothing about the cost of a single package. Here's how to convert bundle prices to a price per item, using the current prices of boxes, tape, film, and envelopes.
You order a bundle of one hundred letterbox boxes for €17.95 and a box of thirty-six rolls of tape for €108.00. On your bank statement, you see two three-digit amounts. What you don't see is what one package actually costs you in packaging. And that's exactly the number you need when calculating your shipping rate, your free shipping threshold, or your margin per order.
Converting bundle prices to a price per item is simple math, but almost no one does it consistently. Below is how to approach it, using today's retail bundle prices, so you can have your cost per package on paper in fifteen minutes.
The calculation consists of four items
A ready-to-ship package almost always consists of the same four components: the box or envelope, the protective material, the sealing material, and the paperwork. Calculate these four separately and add them up. What you're left with is an amount from a few cents to one or two euros — not a large number, but a number that recurs a hundred times a month.
The formula is always the same: bundle price divided by the number of items in the bundle. For tape and film, you work with meters instead of items: roll price divided by the number of meters, multiplied by the number of meters you use per package.
Item 1: the box or envelope
Here lies the biggest difference between buying loose and buying in bulk. A few examples from the assortment, with the price per item next to them:
| Product | Content | Price | Per item |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled letterbox box A6, 180 x 115 x 28 mm | 100 pieces | € 17.95 | ± € 0.18 |
| Recycled letterbox box A5+, 255 x 160 x 28 mm | 100 pieces | € 24.00 | ± € 0.24 |
| White envelopes 156 x 220 mm | 500 pieces | € 3.00 | ± € 0.01 |
| C6 white envelope 114 x 162 mm | 50 pieces | € 4.00 | ± € 0.08 |
| C5 white envelope 162 x 229 mm | 25 pieces | € 4.95 | ± € 0.20 |
| A4 envelope 229 x 324 mm | 10 pieces | € 4.00 | ± € 0.40 |
| Mini pizza boxes 85 x 85 x 20 mm | 100 pieces | € 10.00 | ± € 0.10 |
For larger shipments, you simply use the single item price. The 15 x 15 x 15 cm white cardboard shipping box costs €1.99 per piece, and the 480 x 430 x 330 mm moving box costs €3.50. These are not bundles, so there's nothing to convert — but list them together, otherwise you'll be comparing apples and oranges.
What the conversion shows you
Two things stand out once you fill in the "per piece" column. First: the difference between an A6 and an A5+ letterbox box is six cents. For five hundred packages a year, that's thirty euros. That's rarely a reason to send your customer a tighter box. Second: the leap from bundle to single sale is substantial. A single A4 envelope costs forty cents, a white envelope from a box of five hundred pieces costs about one cent. If you ship regularly, that's where your profit lies — not in squeezing your box size.
Item 2: protective material
For film, you calculate per meter. The 50 x 500 cm roll of bubble wrap costs €5.00 and is five meters long: €1.00 per meter. If you use half a meter per package, that's fifty cents — more than the box itself. For those who ship more often, the large 500 mm wide bubble wrap roll for €12.95 is much more economical; check the roll length on the product page and divide that price by your own consumption.
The shortest route to a lower price per package is often not cheaper material, but less material. A product that fits snugly in the box needs one layer of film instead of three. Going one size smaller in your box saves you twice: on cardboard and on filling material.
Bubble envelopes combine both items into one. A 22 x 17 cm metallic bubble envelope costs €0.90, and a larger 33 x 23 cm one costs €0.80. For one flat, light product, this is often faster and cheaper than a box plus separate film plus tape.
Item 3: tape and seals
Tape is the item that is most often underestimated, because no one keeps track of how many meters are used per package. Calculate what you actually use: for a standard box with the H-method, you quickly reach one and a half to two meters.
| Product | Content | Price | Per roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box of tape rolls 48 x 66 mm | 36 rolls | € 108.00 | € 3.00 |
| Tape rolls 48 x 66 mm | 6 rolls | € 21.00 | € 3.50 |
| KINZO packaging tape 50 meters x 48 mm | 1 roll | € 3.00 | € 3.00 |
With the fifty-meter KINZO roll, you get six cents per meter, so about ten cents per box. A tape dispenser with two rolls for €9.95 doesn't change that price, but it does change your consumption: with a dispenser, you cut where you want and waste less.
If you seal your packages, include the seal. The VOID security seals, 60 pieces cost €9.95, or about seventeen cents per package. That's a conscious choice: you pay to make an opened package visible, not for extra strength.