Royal Mail Boxes: Why the Right-Sized Box Could Make Sending Parcels Easier

ooking for boxes to send your products with Royal Mail? A standard Royal Mail-sized box might be the cheapest option – but is it the best fit for what you're actually sending?

If you run a small online business, sell through Etsy, eBay, Vinted or your own website, there's a good chance that at some point you've searched online for "Royal Mail boxes".

And you'll find plenty of them.

There are lots of standard-sized cardboard boxes designed to fit within Royal Mail's parcel dimensions. Because these stock boxes are manufactured in their thousands, they can be extremely cost-effective.

If one fits your product well, they're a great solution.

But what if it doesn't?

If you're putting a small product into a much larger box simply because it fits within the Royal Mail Small Parcel dimensions, you could be creating extra work, using more packaging and taking up more space than you need to.

That's where a custom-sized cardboard box could be worth considering.

What size box can I send with Royal Mail?

Before choosing your box, it's important to understand Royal Mail's parcel size limits.

For a Royal Mail Small Parcel, the maximum dimensions are:

450mm × 350mm × 160mm

with a maximum weight of 2kg.

For a Royal Mail Medium Parcel, the maximum dimensions are:

610mm × 460mm × 460mm

with a maximum weight of 20kg.

These are maximum dimensions – not the size your box has to be.

That's an important distinction.

If your product only needs a box measuring 250mm × 180mm × 80mm, there's no benefit in automatically putting it into a box measuring close to 450mm × 350mm × 160mm just because that's the maximum Small Parcel size.

Your parcel can be smaller.

And for a small business, making it smaller can have some useful benefits.

Aren't standard Royal Mail boxes cheaper?

Quite possibly – and we're not going to pretend otherwise.

Standard stock boxes can be manufactured in enormous quantities.

Producing thousands of identical boxes at a time makes them extremely efficient to manufacture, which is reflected in their unit price.

At ASC Direct, we do something different.

We manufacture cardboard boxes to the dimensions you require, with custom-sized boxes available from just 25 boxes.

That means a made-to-measure box may cost more per box than a mass-produced stock size.

So why would you pay more?

Because the price of the empty cardboard box isn't necessarily the only cost worth considering.

1. Store less cardboard

This is particularly relevant if you're a small seller.

You might be running your business from:

• A spare bedroom
• Your garage
• A home office
• A small workshop
• A stock room
• A small business unit

Space can quickly become valuable.

Cardboard boxes arrive flat-packed, but bigger boxes still require more storage space.

If you're storing 25, 50 or 100 boxes that are significantly larger than you actually need, that stack of cardboard can take up unnecessary room.

A right-sized box uses less cardboard and takes up less space when stored flat.

More room for your products. Less room taken up by your packaging.

2. Use less void fill

You've put the product into your stock box.

Now what?

If there's a large gap around it, you probably don't want the item moving around throughout its journey.

So you reach for the packing material.

Paper void fill, bubble wrap, air pillows or another cushioning material gets added until the product feels secure.

That costs money too.

Some products will always need additional protection, particularly if they're fragile, but there's a difference between protecting your product and simply filling an oversized box.

Starting with a box that's closer to the dimensions of your product can reduce the amount of empty space you need to fill.

3. Pack your orders faster

For a small ecommerce seller, time matters.

If every order involves finding the right box, adding handfuls of void fill, positioning the product, adding some more fill, checking it doesn't move and then taping everything together, packing orders can become surprisingly time-consuming.

Now multiply that by 10, 20 or 50 orders.

A custom-sized box can make the process much simpler.

Make box. Insert product. Add protection where required. Seal. Label. Done.

Saving a little time on each parcel can make a big difference when you're packing orders on your own.

4. Help protect your products in transit

A cardboard box isn't just there to meet Royal Mail's dimensions.

Its main job is to help your product arrive safely.

If an item has lots of room to move around inside its packaging, it may be more vulnerable to knocks and movement during handling and transportation.

Void fill can help prevent this, but another option is to reduce the empty space in the first place.

A box designed around your product can hold it more securely, with additional protective packaging added where it's actually required.

That can be particularly useful if you're sending items that are fragile, delicate or difficult to replace.

After all, saving a few pence on a box doesn't feel like much of a saving if the product arrives damaged.

5. Fit more parcels in your car

Here's something that's easy to overlook.

You've packed 20 orders and now you need to get them to the Post Office or your Royal Mail drop-off point.

Will they all fit in the car?

Twenty oversized boxes take up considerably more room than twenty right-sized ones.

If you regularly take multiple parcels to the Post Office yourself, reducing the physical size of each package can make transporting your orders much easier.

You may be able to fit more parcels in your boot, make fewer journeys and spend less time loading and unloading.

For a large warehouse this might seem relatively insignificant.

For a small seller doing the Post Office run themselves, it can make a real difference.

6. Make your packaging look more professional

Imagine ordering a small handmade product and receiving it inside a box several times its size, surrounded by packing material.

Now compare that with opening a neat box that looks as though it was chosen specifically for the product inside.

Which gives the better impression?

For small ecommerce businesses, your parcel is part of your customer's experience.

You may not have a physical shop, so the package arriving through their door could be one of the few physical interactions they have with your brand.

Right-sized packaging can make that experience feel much more considered.

And if you want to go further, you can add custom printing to your ASC Direct boxes to help reinforce your branding.

7. Reduce unnecessary packaging

Cardboard is widely recyclable, but that doesn't mean we should use more of it than necessary.

The same applies to protective packaging.

If a smaller box will safely do the job, why use a larger one?

Right-sizing your packaging can help reduce:

• The amount of cardboard used
• Unnecessary empty space
• The amount of void fill required
• The physical space occupied by your packed parcels

At ASC Direct, the boxes we manufacture use FSC® Mix 70% certified material and contain a minimum of 70% recycled content.

But responsible packaging isn't only about what it's made from.

It's also about using the right amount in the first place.

Should I use a stock Royal Mail box or a custom box?

There's no reason to overcomplicate it.

If you can find a low-cost stock box that fits your product well, use it.

A mass-produced stock box can be an excellent packaging solution and will often cost less than having boxes manufactured specifically for you.

But if the nearest stock size leaves lots of empty space, requires large amounts of void fill or makes packing and storing your boxes unnecessarily difficult, it's worth looking at the alternative.

Ask yourself:

Does the box fit my product – or am I making my product fit the box?

If it's the latter, a custom-sized box might make more sense.

Custom Royal Mail boxes from just 25 boxes

You don't need to be sending hundreds of parcels every day to use custom packaging.

With the ASC Direct online Box Builder, you can order cardboard boxes manufactured to your chosen internal dimensions from just 25 boxes.

That makes them suitable for:

• Etsy sellers
• eBay sellers
• Vinted sellers
• Small ecommerce businesses
• Handmade businesses
• Independent retailers
• Start-ups
• Home-based businesses

Simply measure the product you need to send, allow the appropriate amount of space for any protection it requires and enter your required internal dimensions into our Box Builder.

You can then choose your box style, board grade and quantity and get an instant price online.

Don't buy the biggest box Royal Mail allows. Buy the box your product needs.

Royal Mail's parcel dimensions tell you the maximum size your package can be within each format.

They don't tell you what size box you should use.

For many small sellers, an inexpensive stock box will be absolutely fine.

But when that box is much bigger than the product inside, the saving on the box itself can quickly be offset by more storage space, more void fill, longer packing times and bulkier parcels.

A right-sized box starts with your product – not the maximum parcel dimensions.

So before ordering another batch of standard Royal Mail boxes, measure what you're actually sending.

You might discover you don't need quite as much box as you thought.

BUILD YOUR CUSTOM ROYAL MAIL BOX →

James Palfrey-Smith is the General Manager at ASC Direct with extensive experience in both operations and sales. James is passionate about solving packaging problems, delivering fast customer support, and building lasting relationships. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and skiing. A fan of real ale and business podcasts, he continuously seeks personal and professional growth. 

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