What's the cost of sending a gift? Including the box, filler, and shipping.
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Sending a gift costs more than just the gift itself. This calculation list shows what the box, filling, tape, and shipping cost per package — and where you truly save.
You've found a gift for €12.95 for someone who lives two hundred kilometers away. Great find, within budget, done. Until you get to the shipping checkout and have to add a box, some filling, tape, and the parcel rate. Suddenly, the thirteen-euro gift becomes an almost twenty-euro expense, and you haven't even put anything in the box to make it look presentable.
Most people only do that math afterward. Below, you'll find it beforehand: what each step costs, where the big differences lie, and how you can save about three euros per package with a few choices without making the gift look cheap.
The breakdown: four items, not one
Sending a gift consists of four cost items. They are all small, and that's precisely why they are underestimated.
The gift itself. The item you already knew about.
The packaging around it. A box or envelope, between €0.80 and €5.00 each.
Protection and finishing. Filling material, tape, possibly a seal. Often less than one euro per package, provided you don't buy per piece.
The shipping. Depending on size and weight. PostNL advertises parcel shipping within the Netherlands from €4.55. Current rates can be found at postnl.nl/tarieven and exact maximum dimensions on the customer service page on dimensions and weight. Always refer to the source there, as rates change annually.
The biggest jump is between item 4 in the letterbox variant and item 4 as a parcel. Everything you do to stay below the letterbox limit yields the most savings there — and that's mainly a matter of thickness, not weight.
What thickness decides
A letterbox shipment must fit through the slot. The maximum height is decisive: a gift that remains flat will pass through, and a gift that is one centimeter too high becomes a parcel. Therefore, measure not your gift, but your gift plus its packaging.
Consider two realistic situations. All prices below are the retail prices of the mentioned items; you fill in the shipping costs with your own carrier's rate.
Item
Flat gift, letterbox
Mug, parcel
Packaging
Flat gift box with window — €1.99
White cube box 12 x 12 x 12 cm — €2.99
Protection
Bubble envelope 22 x 17 cm — €0.90
Bubble wrap, approx. €0.05 per package
Finishing
—
Packaging tape, approx. €0.06 per package
Packaging subtotal
€2.89
€3.10
Shipping
Letterbox rate
Parcel rate
Two things stand out. First: packaging costs about three euros in both cases, while the difference in shipping costs is much larger. Second: the 'protection' item becomes cheap as soon as you buy by the roll or in bundles. A bubble wrap roll of 500 mm x 500 m costs €12.95 and covers hundreds of packages; KINZO packaging tape of 50 meters x 48 mm costs €3.00 and yields about fifty packages at roughly one meter per box. For one gift a year, that's excessive; if you send ten packages during the holidays, you immediately recoup the cost.
Four ways to really save money
Choose the gift partly based on shape. A flat gift for €15 will ultimately cost you less than a spherical gift for €12. Playing cards, a pin, a keychain, or a book will stay below the letterbox limit; a mug, a glass, or a figurine will not.
Let the gift packaging do the protective work. A sturdy box with the right internal dimensions saves on filling material. If the gift fits snugly, you won't need half a roll of wrap.
Buy packaging in bundles, not individually. The difference between €1.99 for one box and €0.18 for the same type of box from a bundle of 100 is significant. Only worthwhile if you actually use them all.
Bundle multiple gifts in one shipment. Two separate packages almost always cost more than one slightly larger box. If gifts are going to the same address, put them together and wrap them individually inside.
What not to cut corners on
There are three items where saving money will ultimately cost you more. The first is padding for fragile items: a broken glass costs you the gift and the shipping fees, plus the cost of re-sending it. The second is decent tape. A box that opens during transit cannot be salvaged; sealing a package costs you a meter of tape and half a minute.
The third is the finish when sending something valuable. Security seal stickers with VOID effect, 60 pieces cost €9.95 and show if a package has been opened en route. For a ten-euro gift, that's overkill; for jewelry or electronics, it gives you a starting point if something goes wrong.
Boxes, envelopes, tape, and filling material are all together under Packaging & Shipping and Letterbox Packaging. For the exterior of the gift itself, look in Gift Packaging & Gift Boxes, and for bundles, in Bulk Packaging for Webshops. Not sure which box size fits your gift, or want to know if something will still fit through the letterbox? Provide the dimensions via info@verpakkingdeals.nl and we'll help you figure it out. For current shipping rates and precise maximum dimensions, please refer to your carrier's website.
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