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OrderingHow Many Corrugated Boxes Should You Order?
Ordering custom corrugated boxes for the first time, most brands either overbuy on a size they’ll adjust or underbuy and miss the volume price — and both cost money. Because printed and die-cut boxes carry a setup cost for the print plate and cutting die, the per-unit price drops sharply with quantity, so the right order size is as much about economics as it is about how many products you’ll ship.
Here’s how to size an order once you separate your program into its real needs.
First run: order to a real tier
For a first packaging run, don’t order the bare minimum — tooling and setup dominate at low volumes, so the per-box price at 100 can be several times the price at 2,500. If the dimensions and design are final, ordering up one tier usually costs only marginally more total while cutting your per-unit cost sharply. If the size might change, order a small proof run first.
Replenishment: base it on ship rate
Tie your quantity to how fast you ship — order 8–12 weeks of boxes and reorder at about 3 weeks of cover so a reprint lands before you run out. Because we keep your dieline and board spec on file, reorders are fast and match exactly.
Multi-size: consolidate to share setup
If you run several box sizes, order them together where they share a board grade. Combining a production window shares setup and hits a higher combined tier, which lowers the price across the whole program.
| Stage | Starting quantity | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Design final | Order to a real tier (often 2,500+) | Tooling and setup dominate at low volume |
| Size uncertain | Small proof run first | Validate the fit before scaling |
| Replenishment | 8–12 weeks of ship rate | Reorder at ~3 weeks cover |
| Multi-size | Combine sizes in one run | Share setup, hit a higher tier |
The single biggest lever on per-box cost is quantity: once your dimensions and artwork are final, ordering up one tier usually pays for itself immediately.
Tell us your product, dimensions, and volume and we’ll show you exactly where the price tiers fall — with a free mockup, within one business day.