Retail Packaging Costs

[IN_Varmntr]

Just curious if anyone here is in the industry or knows from experience, but about how much would you expect we as consumers pay for product packaging?

Custom boxing for bows like the Hoyt Redworx series and such got me thinking about it. A lot of the broadheads like Rage, Sevr, and others also have really flashy packaging and I was just curious if anyone has an idea.

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[Mt Al]

I hate it when people answer "it depends", but

It depends. With high volume packaging cost is pretty low. Blister pack molds and materials, even the equipment if you roll your own in volume, can be pretty low. In a lot of Bill of Materials (BOM), packaging costs can be almost the smallest expense, especially when things are sold in multiples like broadheads. I've never costed a broadhead, but bet the rubber ring (if present) is the lowest cost, then the packaging.

When something's imported and you cube out a container, the cost for the cubic inches for packaging can start to add up.

I've seen where the artwork, logos, etc, for the print on the packaging is pretty high. That cost almost always goes into marketing, so doesn't show up on the BOM, but it's still an expense that has to be added in.

Regardless of what we/I'd like to think about how we buy products, a big part of it is how the packaging pops off the wall or rack, how we perceive the product will make us look or perform, and how or if the company pays for placement at eye level on the wall. Packaging plays a huge role, the design cost can be high but, in volume, the material costs can be a small portion of total expenses.

That's my opinion/experience.

 

[IN_Varmntr]

So what would you consider a ballpark then? 3%?

I couldn't care any less about the packaging that something comes in. I'm in the Midwest so 95% of the gear I'm buying to hunt out west is bought online where I don't give a rip about packaging to begin with.

I guess it would be considered common for most guys on this forum that when we buy something, we've already decided before we see it in retail form it's what we're buying just because we tend to put so much thought into the gear before we hand over the money.

Maybe that's just me...

 

[ODB]

I hate it when people answer "it depends", but

It depends. With high volume packaging cost is pretty low. Blister pack molds and materials, even the equipment if you roll your own in volume, can be pretty low. In a lot of Bill of Materials (BOM), packaging costs can be almost the smallest expense, especially when things are sold in multiples like broadheads. I've never costed a broadhead, but bet the rubber ring (if present) is the lowest cost, then the packaging.

When something's imported and you cube out a container, the cost for the cubic inches for packaging can start to add up.

I've seen where the artwork, logos, etc, for the print on the packaging is pretty high. That cost almost always goes into marketing, so doesn't show up on the BOM, but it's still an expense that has to be added in.

Regardless of what we/I'd like to think about how we buy products, a big part of it is how the packaging pops off the wall or rack, how we perceive the product will make us look or perform, and how or if the company pays for placement at eye level on the wall. Packaging plays a huge role, the design cost can be high but, in volume, the material costs can be a small portion of total expenses.

That's my opinion/experience.

100%. Am doing this as we speak with some products.

 

[Jimbob]

You can say what you want about what matters to you BUT your still human and our minds work a certain way.

I purchased some Killzone broadheads online and they came in the same bubble package that I see the cheap crappy heads hanging at the local sporting store, I thought nothing of it. But, when my package of Sevr broadheads showed up the other day I was impressed.

My inner dialogue with the sevrs was "cool stickers, nice of them to send that along" that equaled to me feeling valued as a customer and forming a relationship with this company. The impressive packaging made me feel that these heads are high quality than the bubble pack heads. "If they put this much thought and care into there packaging it only makes sense that they put this much thought and care into their product". I didn't choose to feel these things or decide on them that just my natural thoughts.

Performance trumps all but I'm human and my perception of a company is formed through a variety of inputs.

I hate to think I'm paying for all that and would opt to have my products show up in a plain box with no stickers and no instructions. I'm sure that would be business suicide though.

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

Packaging prices vary a lot, and I’ll be looking into that a lot more soon, but I do honestly like it when I get something that comes with a little hand written note. If it’s shipped in a box that protects it, I’ll be happy.

 

[Mt Al]

So what would you consider a ballpark then? 3%?

I couldn't care any less about the packaging that something comes in. I'm in the Midwest so 95% of the gear I'm buying to hunt out west is bought online where I don't give a rip about packaging to begin with.

I guess it would be considered common for most guys on this forum that when we buy something, we've already decided before we see it in retail form it's what we're buying just because we tend to put so much thought into the gear before we hand over the money.

Maybe that's just me...

Total guess, like 3 - 6%???? Good thought on buying on research, but like Jimbob wrote above, there's something about seeing the whole way the company thinks of the consumer and what it means to us.

 

[IN_Varmntr]

You can say what you want about what matters to you BUT your still human and our minds work a certain way.

I purchased some Killzone broadheads online and they came in the same bubble package that I see the cheap crappy heads hanging at the local sporting store, I thought nothing of it. But, when my package of Sevr broadheads showed up the other day I was impressed.

My inner dialogue with the sevrs was "cool stickers, nice of them to send that along" that equaled to me feeling valued as a customer and forming a relationship with this company. The impressive packaging made me feel that these heads are high quality than the bubble pack heads. "If they put this much thought and care into there packaging it only makes sense that they put this much thought and care into their product". I didn't choose to feel these things or decide on them that just my natural thoughts.

Performance trumps all but I'm human and my perception of a company is formed through a variety of inputs.

I hate to think I'm paying for all that and would opt to have my products show up in a plain box with no stickers and no instructions. I'm sure that would be business suicide though.

You're correct to a certain level on that's how our minds work, but only because we've been trained that way. We are engineered from the time we are young to be attracted to flashy packaging, target words, etc...it's all packaging science and advertisement. There is a field that specializes in this because human attention is the #1 commodity. Own it and you own the person and that's what they want to do with packaging.

For example, you thought the packaging the Sevr heads came in was indicative of the amount of thought and care put into a product. I believe that to be a laughable idea. Just me. They're trying to buy you with packaging, that is its only purpose unless the intention of the package was otherwise. Take Kudu heads, for example. They come in a plastic box that's intended for storage and also have a built in broadhead wrench.

If you honestly believe that the quality of a product's package is in any way related to the quality of their product, then they've got you exactly where they want you. That's not natural thought, that's an idea unknowingly messaged into your brain for so long they have you believing it to be natural. Again, just my opinion, but have you ever seen Tommy Boy? There are few companies out there that do put legitimate thought into their packaging for it to be useful beyond being thrown away.

To show how much on opposite ends of the spectrum we are, I would love for companies to offer product in plain packaging. I don't want to pay for the flashy packages as it serves zero purpose to me other than more junk to fill a trashcan with.

Packaging prices vary a lot, and I’ll be looking into that a lot more soon, but I do honestly like it when I get something that comes with a little hand written note. If it’s shipped in a box that protects it, I’ll be happy.

Agreed! I just had a couple of hats from Gulch Gear delivered. There they were, 2 hats stuffed inside a plastic USPS mailing bag with a receipt and handwritten note from the owner. That means way more to me than if they had been packaged up nice and neatly in a pretty package with no note.

Total guess, like 3 - 6%???? Good thought on buying on research, but like Jimbob wrote above, there's something about seeing the whole way the company thinks of the consumer and what it means to us.

Thanks for your input.

I like to look at a company as part of product research too. When you start looking at parent companies and seeing TOG, Feradyne, etc...I can only help but wonder what the company thinks of a consumer ($$$). I can't count the number of times I've heard of broadhead companies (since we've been talking broadheads) that have sold patents to another company and the result is a broadhead whose quality went right down the toilet. But there it is, a nice, shiny package that looks like quality. That speaks volumes to me about what a company thinks of a consumer.

 

[CiK01]

It costs more for a company to have multiple packages.......1 for the store shelf to catch the eye of the consumer and another for the guy that doesn't care about it. Be happy with your flashy package or your cost could go up.

I worked for a large consumer goods company. The TDC (total delivery cost) for the packaging components to mass produce their shampoo was $0.25. That was bottle, closure, label and corrugate. I don't know what the rest of the associated costs were to get that product to shelf, but they sold that shampoo for $5.00 and it was a $1B brand, and they have several of those revenue producing cash cows in the stable.

 

[Jimbob]

You're correct to a certain level on that's how our minds work, but only because we've been trained that way. We are engineered from the time we are young to be attracted to flashy packaging, target words, etc...it's all packaging science and advertisement. There is a field that specializes in this because human attention is the #1 commodity. Own it and you own the person and that's what they want to do with packaging.

For example, you thought the packaging the Sevr heads came in was indicative of the amount of thought and care put into a product. I believe that to be a laughable idea. Just me. They're trying to buy you with packaging, that is its only purpose unless the intention of the package was otherwise. Take Kudu heads, for example. They come in a plastic box that's intended for storage and also have a built in broadhead wrench.

If you honestly believe that the quality of a product's package is in any way related to the quality of their product, then they've got you exactly where they want you. That's not natural thought, that's an idea unknowingly messaged into your brain for so long they have you believing it to be natural. Again, just my opinion, but have you ever seen Tommy Boy? There are few companies out there that do put legitimate thought into their packaging for it to be useful beyond being thrown away.

To show how much on opposite ends of the spectrum we are, I would love for companies to offer product in plain packaging. I don't want to pay for the flashy packages as it serves zero purpose to me other than more junk to fill a trashcan with.

In my post, I said I would prefer plain packaging as well. Totally agree about the less junk as well.

The way we disagree is that I think marketing taps into our natural way of thinking and you believe that marketing has conditioned us to think this way. Most likely it is a bit of both.

Rationally thinking, of course, I don't think the packaging makes the product better. It does not factor one bit into my decision making. I'm just being honest about my subconscious thoughts.

Here is a good test. Do you like your food to look good? Can you honestly tell me that presentation of food means nothing to you?

I think how an item looks and how the packaging of that item looks has some influence on us.

I'm just honest with myself that what my eyes see really effects what I think/feel.

 

[IN_Varmntr]

In my post, I said I would prefer plain packaging as well. Totally agree about the less junk as well.

The way we disagree is that I think marketing taps into our natural way of thinking and you believe that marketing has conditioned us to think this way. Most likely it is a bit of both.

Rationally thinking, of course, I don't think the packaging makes the product better. It does not factor one bit into my decision making. I'm just being honest about my subconscious thoughts.

Here is a good test. Do you like your food to look good? Can you honestly tell me that presentation of food means nothing to you?

I think how an item looks and how the packaging of that item looks has some influence on us.

I'm just honest with myself that what my eyes see really effects what I think/feel.

Anymore, no, I'm definitely not the right person to talk about food looking good. I guess I'm not just an accurate representation of most people in that regard because very few people source all of their own meat. That's an entirely different discussion though.

I've been there though, I know where you are coming from and remember that train of thought. My wife and I choose to not follow along those lines anymore. We've spent more money on stuff that initially looked to be awesome but turned out to be absolute turd-like that we've changed the way we shop for pretty much everything now. It is especially prevalent in this industry now, with people telling us why we need to buy something.

Makes for good conversation though!