Buying
Everything we have written on buying, newest first.
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In Buying
How we actually build a quote, line by line
What goes into the number when we price a load of used boxes: the six inputs, how each one moves the figure, and why two suppliers can quote the same lot 30% apart.
Priya Raman · 7 min
August 12, 2025When to buy new: three clear cases and one genuine grey area
We would rather sell you a used box. Three situations where that would be wrong, one where reasonable people disagree, and how to tell which one you are in.
Priya Raman · 6 min
April 15, 2025Lead time beats unit price more often than buyers expect
A four-week corrugator queue and a yard with stock on the floor are different products. What a stockout actually costs, and why the cheaper box frequently is not.
Tom Brennan · 6 min
February 11, 2025How to audit a supplier's grading claims without being a specialist
A sampling method a receiving clerk can run in twenty minutes that tells you whether the grade you paid for is the grade you got, with the arithmetic to make it defensible.
Marisol Vega · 7 min
June 11, 2024The economics of half gaylords, which almost nobody runs the numbers on
A half gaylord holds about 40% of a standard box, ships 900 to a trailer, and fixes a problem full boxes cause: material sitting for weeks waiting to fill a container.
Tom Brennan · 6 min
May 7, 2024Writing a box spec your supplier cannot wriggle out of
A one-page specification with eleven fields that removes ambiguity from used and new bulk box purchasing. What each field is for and the exact wording that closes loopholes.
Priya Raman · 7 min
December 5, 2023How to run a packaging RFQ that gets you honest numbers
Most bulk packaging RFQs invite vague answers. The eight things to specify so quotes are actually comparable, and the three questions that separate real suppliers from brokers with a website.
Priya Raman · 7 min