How to Price Custom Packaging (Tiers, Setup and B2B Quotes)

Selling packaging to other makers means B2B pricing: quotes, tiers and buyers who compare. The core of it is one honest mechanic — setup costs the same whether the run is 100 or 500 boxes, so the per-box price must fall with quantity while never falling through your floor.

The cost of a branded mailer

• Corrugated blank — about $0.85
• Print (250-run, setup spread) — about $0.22
• Tissue liner — about $0.15

$1.22 per box at 250 units — $3.25 is a 62% margin. At 100 units, the same setup spreads thinner and the per-box cost rises past $1.40 — which is exactly why the 100-tier price is higher. Tiered pricing isn't marketing; it's the math showing.

Quote like a supplier

• Setup as its own line (plates, dies, design) — visible setup makes tier pricing legible to business buyers
• Materials per unit scale linearly; publish 100 / 250 / 500 tiers built from real math
• Lead times in the quote — your buyer's launch depends on your delivery; reliability is a priced feature
• [Break-even per run](/blog/break-even-for-handmade-products) before agreeing to small custom runs — tiny runs with full setup are how packaging makers lose money politely

Your MOQ gap is a cash question

Suppliers sell blanks by the thousand; customers buy by the hundred. The gap lives in your storage and your cash flow — track committed vs free blank stock, and let reorder timing follow your actual order pipeline rather than supplier minimums alone.

Packaging pricing mistakes to avoid

• One flat per-box price — the 100-run and 500-run have different real costs
• Hiding setup inside the unit price — buyers compare unit prices; visible setup wins quotes
• Quoting without checking blank stock — a missed launch date loses the customer, not just the order
• Free design revisions — plate changes are setup work, bill them

Tiers, setup spread and blank stock against open orders — Hivara for packaging makers keeps a supplier's books so your quotes answer in minutes. Test a tier ladder in the free wholesale price calculator.