Retail packaging has to survive a shelf and sell the product without a salesperson, which means printed board, a window or a photograph, and usually a hang tag or a shelf-ready format. It is the most expensive option and the only one that works in a physical store.

Gift packaging is a different job: it has to look worth receiving. That often means a rigid box and an insert, which costs more per unit than retail packaging and takes far more volume in a container, but which is what makes a promotional order approved.

Bulk packaging is a polybag and a carton. It is the cheapest per unit and by far the most efficient in a container, and it suits online sellers who add their own packaging, fulfilment operations, and anyone shipping into a market where the product will be repacked anyway.

The choice changes the landed cost more than most buyers expect, because these are light goods where a container fills by volume. Decide the format before asking for a unit price, or the price you agree will be for the wrong product.