How does the size of your package affect your shipping costs?

For small products, packaging often accounts for a larger portion of your cost than the product itself. That’s because carriers consider not only weight but also the volume a package takes up. You end up paying for a box that’s just a little too big with every shipment.

Volume matters

A lightweight box that takes up a lot of space is often charged as if it were heavier by many carriers. That’s why it can be worth it to pack an item in a smaller box, even if it requires more packing material.

The line between mail and packages

There’s a clear difference in shipping rates between items that fit through the mailbox and those that are sent as packages. With small items, you often end up just on the wrong side of that line because of the packaging, not the product itself. A few millimeters can make all the difference.

Fewer boxes, better choices

In practice, online stores that use twenty different box sizes always end up choosing the wrong one. A limited set of sizes that fits your product range well works better than a wide selection that goes unused when you're pressed for time.

Multiple items in an order

With small products, an order often contains multiple items. Whether they all fit together in a small box depends on how they were delivered and how much space their individual packaging takes up. There’s room for improvement in this area across many product lines.

Your product details determine the choice

The warehouse selects the packaging based on the dimensions and weights in your database. If those values are estimates, the packaging will consistently be too large. This is the cheapest thing you can improve, and it’s the one that’s most often overlooked.

Calculate it using your own numbers

Take your ten best-selling items and compare their current shipping costs with what they would cost in a smaller size. With many small orders, this can generate revenue faster than negotiating a better rate.

Discuss it at the beginning

Choosing the right packaging for your products is part of the overall design. Be sure to discuss this during the initial meeting rather than trying to optimize it later.

How this affects your total costs

For small products, shipping is often the largest variable cost, and packaging size accounts for a significant portion of that. By optimizing packaging size, you can reduce your costs per order without having to cut back on purchasing or sacrifice your margin. You can read more about what else determines fulfillment costs in the cost overview.