When it comes to purchasing shipping and packaging, there are a lot of options to choose from. And with so many companies vying for your business, it can be tough to decide who you should go with.
One option that's becoming increasingly popular is ordering boxes from companies like Packlane. But is it the right choice for you? It has become easier and easier, but sometimes it might not be the best decision.
In this blog post, we'll take a look at some of the pros and cons of using Packlane to ship your products. While we would recommend ordering from a packaging supplier directly (because we are one), we want to give you our thoughts on the differences.
We'll also compare them to some of the other top players in the shipping and packaging industry, so you can make an informed decision about who you want to work with.
It's no secret that purchasing goods and items online has become incredibly popular in recent years. In fact, it is estimated that for the first time ever, more purchases are being made online than in brick-and-mortar stores.
Buying from an online company usually means they have an advanced order form to make the purchasing process simpler. It can be great to pick your dimensions, upload artwork, and relax.
Instead of needing to go through a rendering process or creating a sample. Online Box Builders are a great way to see a 3D Mockup of your box before you order. These typically use stock box designs, but allow you to pay more for customization.
For most other companies, you might need to order in large quantities or face having high minimums. Most online packaging companies will not have this problem.
If you're a business that's just starting out, they make it a painless process to order smaller quantities. The only problem is they simply mark up the smaller amounts for you to purchase.
These brands have streamlined their product offerings for customers, allowing them to speed up shipping. They typically have their shipping times front and center on their website as you make the order.
These businesses typically offer discounts on repeat purchases with them. So the more you buy, the more you save. Manufacturers offer the same, but online brands have made it a more customer-focused process.
They have a limited option of products, and that allows them to have instant pricing available. You simply choose the dimensions, printing process, and they will show you a quote right there.
There are a long list of pros to using an online company like packlane, packwire, packola, and more.
However, there are some disadvantages to ordering from these suppliers.
There may be hidden costs involved, inventory shortages might make it impossible for your order to ship on time, or there may be problems with the products you receive.
Many companies have realized this and started offering a variety of shipping and packaging supplies so customers don't have to take care of it themselves or search for another solution.
Often, brands like these aren't as knowledgeable about packaging as a manufacturer is. They are more of a tech company that can help you make the purchase. So if you need to learn more from an expert, you're better off finding one.
When it's an online company, you're often dealing with a person on the other side of the world. Consider how long it may take for them to respond and provide adequate customer support if needs be.
One of the biggest cons is that many times they'll provide you with their 'best' prices when you first start looking at them, but after seeing the actual costs they might be more expensive than you think.
For example, say if their "regular" price for boxes is $1 each and then down to 75 cents during your quote phase, only to see that their actual cost is $1.75 each and then they charge you an additional 35 cents for your design. Multiply this across all of the items you'll need and soon enough, things can start getting expensive!
There's also a strong chance that your shipping costs will be much higher using them as well because you will probably have to pay separate shipping fees for each box order instead of one flat rate like with local suppliers. The only time this might not happen is if your boxes are coming from the same location as the online company, but then why even go through them?
You'll also find that many online companies don't do custom designs or multiple color printing on their boxes (and if they do it will end up being very expensive).
To avoid all of those pitfalls, you're much better off finding a packaging manufacturer that can help you out! As we can see online manufacturers can be quite useful for quickly placing an order. However the lack of customer support and hidden costs can make ordering from them very problematic.
If you're looking for something simple like moving boxes then these companies might just help fill your needs but if not, consider heading directly to a manufacturer or using another method to get what you need instead!
Contact Bennett Packaging today for a custom quote!
This article is by Simon Preece, director of effectiveness stuff at Elmwood, a brand design consultancy whose clients include Fairway Supermarkets, Kimberly-Clark and Nestle .
Consumer products brand design is wrongly predicated on the notion that shoppers make rational, informed decisions. In truth, most are purely instinctive and reactive. Eye-tracking studies show that consumers read on average only seven words in an entire shopping trip, buying instinctively by color, shape and familiarity of location. Best sellers succeed by appealing to the reptilian brain, which decides before logic has a chance.
Instinctive reactions can be designed into packaging through the application of Biomotive Triggers. These are sensory cues that affect our subconscious, generating emotion and action before the conscious part of our brain can respond. There are lots of triggers, and we have identified 16 key combinations that are interconnected. Understanding these primal cues can help brands connect emotionally with consumers, build defendable assets and sell more products.
To be successful, every brand must have a distinctive point of view and be able to express this clear and unique reason for being. Effective packaging makes it easy to understand at a glance, who I am, what I am, and why I am relevant to your life. Naturally, the product has to deliver on its promise to ensure repeat purchase.
1. Stand out. You need to make your brand the consumer’s signpost to the category. Just covering the shelf and shouting louder than everyone else won’t cut it. You need a point of orientation on the package that draws a shopper’s eye and communicates the essence of the proposition. One way to do this is with cusps. Cusps are sharp, pointy shapes that trigger feelings of fear, danger and caution. You couldn’t miss the ads for Maleficent before the Disney premiere, because everything from the typeface to Angelina Jolie’s clothing, headdress and eye makeup formed cusp shapes that demanded your attention. Similarly, you can’t miss Nexxus on the shelf, because the cusp shapes in the logo attract your eye and thus stand out on the shelf.
2. Be Simple. Simple design is more effective. In a busy, visually agitated market, we so rarely experience moments of visual or auditory calm that we gravitate toward it. Buster, the drain cleaner once barking on the heels of Mr. Muscle (Europe’s Mr. Clean), unseated the giant in England by introducing a small pack devoid of the power graphics that typify products in the aisle. An Elmwood client, Buster also recognized the emotional agitation of consumers who need to unclog a drain, and answered it with a calm, clean, simple package that contrasted with the visual noise at the shelf. Sales rose 42% and market share hit 30% with no above-the-line support, and the brand is now expanding into Europe and Asia.
3. Pass the five-year-old test. If you can describe your brand to a five-year-old, send them into a store to find it, and actually get it, your packaging creates an iconic connection. Consumers will come back week after week looking for it. The key to this stickiness is a distinctive brand mark. For example, you could tell a five-year-old, to get the salt pack with the girl in a yellow coat with an umbrella on it; she will come back with Morton Salt. Similarly, ask for the blue pack with the big black and white cookie splashed in milk, and he will return with a package of Oreos.
4. Trigger emotional engagement. Consumers act when a brand makes them feel something. When someone looks at you, you’re compelled to look back to determine the nature of the attraction. That’s your survival instinct at work. For this reason, there’s nothing more powerful in packaging than eye contact. The next time you’re in an aisle, notice how many packages bear photos of people that don’t make direct eye contact; they’re looking away, or slightly past you.
5. Create iconic assets. The best packaging creates a series of visual equities, a sort of tool kit that can be transferred to every form of consumer communication. Coke is the master of this. The brand has an array of assets – the agitated red, the dynamic contour wave, the iconic bottle shape and the logo typography – that can all be used to help amplify the brand experience. People think the Coca-Cola logo is all about the signature and flowing curves. But look closer, and you’ll see three cusps– two under the “C” and the “a” of Coca and one in the center of the “C” in Cola – that focus your eyes on the center of the words. From there your eyes can take in the curves and the suggestion of flow that’s accentuated by the rest of the typography and amplified by the bottle. The assets are so memorable that even the suggestion of one in any marketing communication connotes the feelings associated with the brand.
At a time when many consumers actively screen out marketing messages, the surest place for CMOs to make a bigger impact is at the point of consideration. This can be done consciously when Biomotive Triggers are designed into packaging. The creativity conversation shifts from subjective likes and dislikes to the science underlying attraction, which allows design to be accountable for quantifiable sales uplift. That way, manufacturers and retailers can make more informed choices that make more money.
Are you interested in learning more about 30 OZ oval margarine packaging with IML, Injection Molding IML, 8oz Yogurt Container with lid Wholesale? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!