Paper Box: wholesale price
A typical US business buyer pays a median of $0.28 per unit at small order quantities, falling to $0.045 at volume, on a typical 20-day lead time. These medians come from published supplier pricing. Treat them as a starting point for a sourcing conversation rather than a binding quote.
Median price by order quantity
| Order size | Median /unit |
|---|---|
| 500–999 units | $0.28 |
| 1,000–4,999 units | $0.18 |
| 5,000–9,999 units | $0.12 |
| 10,000–24,999 units | $0.08 |
| 25,000–99,999 units | $0.06 |
| 100,000+ units | $0.045 |
What moves the price
For paper box, the drivers are tube length, cap style, material, child-resistant certification, print method — the same item can land at either end of the band depending on how those are specified.
Published custom box quotes show a wide spread, with US-facing/marketplace listings around $0.01-$0.10 for 1,000+ units and about $0.05 at 10,000 units, while packaging aggregators and private-label suppliers usually quote higher once child-resistant construction, heavier board, specialty caps, or premium print finishes are added. Price moves most with certification/CR hardware, material thickness, and print complexity; realistic routes are domestic -packaging vendors for compliance-heavy jobs, or import/landed-equivalent sourcing from China for the lowest unit cost when longer lead times are acceptable.
Paying more than the median?
If you reorder paper box regularly, run a free savings check — enter what you pay and see it against these researched medians, item by item. About three minutes, no card or account.