Many owners pack their own orders because it feels cheaper: you only pay for boxes, tape and padding. Once you count the costs you can't see, the numbers can look very different.
The obvious costs
Boxes, mailers and cushioning
Tape, shipping labels and ink
Trips to drop off parcels, or pickup fees
The hidden costs
Your time: 3 hours a day is nearly 90 hours a month not spent on marketing or new products
Space: a room turned warehouse has a rent or value you're giving up
Mistakes: wrong colour, wrong size or missing items mean re-shipping and lost customers
Stock drift: overselling and cancelling lowers your shop rating
Missed sales: during campaigns you take fewer orders than you could sell
Packing staff: if you hire help, there are wages, social security and days off to manage
A quick calculation
Take the hours you spend packing each month, multiply by what an hour of your time is worth (for example, what you could earn selling instead), add materials, space and the cost of mistakes, then divide by the number of orders. That's your real cost per order.
Real packing cost per order = (materials + value of time + space + mistakes) ÷ orders
When fulfillment pays off
When that per-order cost is close to or above a fulfillment fee, or when the time you get back can become more sales, which is usually true for a growing shop.
Want to know whether Easy Pack makes sense for you? Tell us your order volume and product types on LINE for a free, no-commitment estimate.
