How Packaging Marketplace Works
What we do
Packaging Marketplace is a price comparison site for stock cardboard boxes in the UK. We gather box listings from multiple UK suppliers, put them onto a common set of dimensions and specifications, and show you the prices side by side for the size you need. Think of it as comparing box prices the way you would compare energy or insurance, applied to something businesses buy constantly and rarely shop around on.
We are infrastructure, not a shop. We do not sell boxes ourselves and we do not hold stock. We show you who sells the box you need and what they charge, so you can buy from the supplier that suits you.
Why comparison is needed
The same box, a single wall 305 x 220 x 100mm regular slotted case for example, is sold by dozens of UK suppliers at prices that vary more than most buyers realise. On top of that, suppliers describe boxes differently: some quote internal dimensions, some external; some price ex-VAT, some inc-VAT; free delivery thresholds and carriage charges differ; board grades and flutes are not always stated the same way.
That makes honest comparison hard by hand. Most businesses settle on one supplier and stop checking, which quietly costs money on every order. Our job is to make the comparison quick and fair.
How the comparison works
Our method comes down to normalising everything onto a like for like basis before we compare price.
1. We standardise the size. Every listing is mapped to internal dimensions in millimetres, in length x width x depth order, so you are always comparing the usable space your product fits into, not a mix of internal and external figures.
2. We record the specification. Single or double wall, flute profile and board grade where the supplier states it, and the FEFCO style. A 0201 single wall box is only comparable to another 0201 single wall box at a similar grade.
3. We normalise the price. We work in ex-VAT prices, the B2B convention, and we capture the price at standard quantity breaks so you can see the per unit cost at the volume you actually buy.
4. We surface delivery terms. Free delivery thresholds, carriage charges and any postcode surcharges affect the real delivered cost, so we show them alongside the box price rather than letting them surprise you at checkout.
5. We show it by size. You search the internal size you need, and we list the suppliers who stock it with their prices, so you can pick on total delivered cost, not sticker price.
What we normalise, in short
- Dimensions to internal, in mm, length x width x depth
- Wall type, flute and board grade where available
- FEFCO style
- Price to ex-VAT, at quantity breaks
- Delivery thresholds and carriage
When those line up, a price difference is a genuine saving, not an artefact of two suppliers describing different things.
How suppliers get listed
If you are a UK box supplier, listing is straightforward. We take your stock range: sizes, specifications and pricing, and add it to the comparison so buyers searching your box sizes can find you. There is no charge to the buyer, and being listed puts your prices in front of businesses at the moment they are choosing where to order.
We list your products as they are. We do not rewrite your specifications or hide your delivery terms. Accurate, well described listings tend to win business, because buyers can see exactly what they are getting and trust the comparison.
If you supply stock single wall cardboard boxes in the UK and want to be included, get in touch and we will walk you through what we need: your size range, board specifications, pricing at quantity breaks, and delivery terms.
The point of all this
Buying boxes should be a solved problem. You know the size you need; you should be able to see who sells it and what it costs, on a fair basis, in one place. That is what Packaging Marketplace is for: a clear, defensible comparison of stock box prices across UK suppliers, so both buyers and suppliers deal on the real numbers.