For Purchase heads and business owners
Packaging decisions that show up in your profit
For purchase heads and business owners: cost per order, transit damage, courier weight charges and the packaging choices that change them.
Ask for a cost reviewLatest guides
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Selling to EU and US shoppers in 2027: the per-parcel costs that changed
EU parcels now pay €3 duty and a €2 fee per item, and US de minimis ends by law on 1 July 2027. What each adds to a parcel, with worked examples.
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Your packaging budget for FY 2027-28: the cost lines that change on 1 April 2027
Recycled plastic shares double for flexible packs, UK tax and EPR fees step up, GST stays put. A line-by-line packaging budget sheet for FY 2027-28.
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20% recycled content from April 2027, or pay environmental compensation? The maths for a brand owner
On 1 April 2027 flexible plastic packs need 20% recycled content. Compare your recycled premium with EC per tonne, the 2x and 3x ladder and the refunds.
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UK Plastic Packaging Tax in 2027-28: £236.56 a tonne, and what it adds to your packaging bill
UK Plastic Packaging Tax rises to £236.56 a tonne on 1 April 2027, and pre-consumer recycled plastic stops counting. Work out the cost per 1,000 orders.
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US courier costs in 2027: what UPS, FedEx and USPS have actually published
UPS and FedEx raise rates 5.9% on average for 2027, USPS holiday prices end on 17 January, and DIM weight now uses 139. The box maths, with no guesses.
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Build shipping into the price or charge actual postage? A margin test for bulky products
Absorb it, build it into the price or charge actual postage? A margin test for each bulky product, and the price rise that GST and fees really demand.
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Two of the same item in one order: one poly bag, two boxes or one bigger box?
Two units of one product: a poly bag, two boxes or one bigger box. Compare slabs, packing cost and damage risk, then run the sum with your own figures.
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Why a padded mailer gets a USPS surcharge: how an envelope turns into a package
USPS prices a mailer by what it is, not by the label. The flat limits, the Flat Rate Envelope rules, how adjustments reach you and a check before you ship.
Why this site exists
Packaging is usually bought on price per roll or price per box. What reaches the profit and loss account is something else: courier charges on air, damaged returns, extra microns nobody needed and compliance work nobody planned for.
Profit by Packaging shows that arithmetic in public, for purchase heads and business owners, with worked examples you can repeat with your own numbers.