Packaging for online business in Pakistan: a seller’s guide

Packaging does three jobs on a cash on delivery parcel: get the item there in one piece, keep the courier charge down, and make the buyer glad they did not refuse it at the door. Most guides only talk about the third. This one covers all three, with the courier rules that decide what you pay and what you can claim.

Flyer bag or box: which product needs which

Flyer bags are the default for anything soft: suits, kurtas, scarves, abayas, bedsheets, soft toys. They are light, cheap, take no space on a shelf and keep the parcel small, which keeps the courier charge low. Put the piece in a clear poly bag first, so it stays clean if the flyer gets scuffed or wet.

Boxes are for anything that crushes, bends or breaks: shoes, handbags, jewellery sets, watches, perfume, skincare, candles, decor, anything glass. A box also suits a gift set, where the box is part of what the buyer is paying for.

Both is common for small fragile items: a small box inside a flyer. The box protects, the flyer seals it and carries the label.

A good test: drop the packed parcel from waist height onto a hard floor, then press on it with your palm. If you would still be happy to receive what is inside, it will survive the courier.

Pick two or three sizes, not ten

New sellers buy one size of everything and then stuff a small item into a big flyer, or fold a big suit into a small one. Lay out your products, and put each in the smallest flyer or box it fits in flat. Most catalogs end up needing two or three sizes:

• A small flyer for one unstitched suit, a scarf or accessories.
• A larger flyer for two or three pieces, or a bulky item like a shawl.
• One box size for fragile or gift items, if you sell any.

Flyer sizes are sold in inches, for example 10 by 12, plus a flap for the seal. Measure your folded product, add an inch or two each way, and buy that. Fewer sizes also means faster packing and a courier charge you can predict.

How the box changes the courier charge

Couriers charge for space as well as weight. Leopards publishes its rule for e-commerce parcels on its e-commerce page: the standard size is 12 cm by 12 cm by 12 cm, and anything bigger is weighed as length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 5,000, as of October 2026. You are billed for whichever is higher, the real weight or that number.

Example. A kurta that weighs 0.4 kg.

• In a flyer that packs to 30 × 25 × 5 cm: 3,750 ÷ 5,000 = 0.75 kg. Billed as 0.75 kg, rounded up to the courier’s weight step.
• In a 30 × 25 × 15 cm box: 11,250 ÷ 5,000 = 2.25 kg. Billed as 2.25 kg, rounded up, for the same 0.4 kg kurta.

That is the most common packaging mistake on clothing: a box nobody needed, paid for again on every order. Use the courier charges calculator to compare your actual and volumetric weight before you settle on a box size.

Declare the right weight and size when you book. Leopards’ e-commerce FAQ says that if the weight and dimensions are wrong, the parcel may be held, the difference in cost charged, and an extra service fee added before it moves on. A held COD parcel is a parcel the buyer may refuse.

Cosmetics, glass and anything that breaks

Read this before you pack your first bottle: Leopards’ FAQ says fragile goods should be packed properly and labelled, and that it takes no responsibility, claim or insurance for them. Its insurance policy lists glass and liquids among shipments that cannot be insured at all. In practice, if your serum arrives broken, the loss is yours. Packing is your insurance.

How to pack a bottle or jar so it arrives whole:

1. Tape the cap or pump shut, or put a strip of cling film under the cap.
2. Put each bottle in its own zip bag. If it leaks, it ruins nothing else.
3. Wrap it in two or three layers of bubble wrap, bubbles facing in, and tape it.
4. Use a box a little bigger than the wrapped items, and fill every gap with crumpled paper, more bubble wrap or shredded cardboard.
5. Shake it. If anything moves or clinks, add filler.
6. Seal every seam with tape, then put it in a flyer or mark it fragile on top.

Keep bottles upright and away from the box walls, with padding on all six sides. Two bottles should never touch each other.

Couriers also sell packing at the counter. Leopards offers bubble packing and special handling as extra services, and M&P lists cellophane wrapping, brown boxes and special handling. Useful for the odd big order, but on daily parcels it is cheaper to pack yourself. Ask the counter for the charge before you use it.

If you sell beauty products, our Urdu guide to the cosmetics business covers sourcing and spotting fakes.

Branded packaging on a small budget

Custom printed boxes look great on Instagram and are the wrong first spend. Printers want a minimum order, your sizes will change as your catalog does, and the box is thrown away within a minute. Start with things that cost little and say your name:

• A rubber stamp with your logo, used on plain kraft boxes, tissue or the insert card. Pay for it once and stamp thousands.
• A round sticker to seal the tissue or the poly bag. A printed sheet of stickers goes a long way.
• One colour of tissue paper, the same on every order. Consistency reads as a brand more than print does.
• Plain flyers in one colour instead of the cheapest mixed ones. Black, white or grey all look deliberate.

Move to printed flyers when you are sending enough orders to use up a printer’s minimum in a couple of months, and your flyer sizes have stopped changing. Ask for the minimum quantity and the price per piece in writing, and a printed sample before the full run.

What goes inside the parcel

The buyer opens the parcel at home, after paying the rider. What they find decides whether they order again. Keep it short:

• A small card. Thank them, and give your store address and WhatsApp number for the next order. A handwritten first name on it is worth more than a glossy print.
• A printed slip. What was ordered, the price and the order number, so the buyer can check the parcel. The invoice generator makes one you can print.
• Care instructions for clothing: wash, dry, iron. It cuts complaints that a colour ran or a fabric shrank.
• A QR code to your store on the card, from the QR code generator, if you want reorders to come straight to your store.

If you add a discount for the next order, give it an end date, or it never gets used. One card, one slip, done. Our guide on how to get repeat customers covers what to send after the parcel arrives.

Where to buy packaging

Buy small first, then by the hundred once your sizes are settled.

• Daraz. Flyer bags, bubble wrap, tape and boxes sold in packs of 20 to 200. Good for a first order and for trying sizes. Compare the price per piece, not per pack, and read the reviews for flyer thickness.
• Your city’s wholesale market. Plastic and packaging shops sit in most general wholesale markets. In Karachi, Boulton Market in Saddar sells plastic goods; our guide to wholesale suppliers in Pakistan lists the markets in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Ask the shop that sells you flyers where they buy theirs: one step up the chain is usually cheaper.
• Packaging companies and printers. For printed flyers, printed boxes or a large regular order. Most cities have them in their industrial areas, and many take orders on WhatsApp with delivery by courier.
• Your courier’s counter. Some couriers have their own flyers and boxes. M&P, for example, runs MyFlyer and MyBox services in its own branded packaging. Handy for a one-off parcel.

We have not listed prices here because flyers, boxes and bubble wrap are priced by size and thickness and change with plastic and paper rates. Get two quotes for the same size and thickness before you buy in bulk.

Packing against returns and damage claims

Bad packing causes refusals in quiet ways. A torn flyer, a dented box or a leak through the side makes a buyer at the door think the inside is damaged too, and they hand it back. A few habits stop most of this:

• Use flyers that cannot be resealed. The buyer can see the parcel was not opened on the way, which matters when they are paying cash before they look inside.
• Film the packing of anything costly: the item, its condition, sealing the parcel and the label. A one-minute phone video settles most “it came broken” and “it was empty” arguments.
• Make the label readable. Full address with a landmark, the buyer’s phone number and the COD amount, on a flat side, under clear tape or in the flyer’s pocket.
• Pack what was confirmed. Check the size and colour against the order before you seal it. A wrong size is a return you caused.
• Open returns the same day. Check the item and the outer packing, and raise any damage with the courier at once, with photos.

Know your courier’s claim rules before you need them. As of October 2026, Leopards’ e-commerce FAQ says claims must be lodged within 10 days of the incident and are settled after an investigation, within 45 days. Its insurance policy says a parcel sent without insurance is covered at Rs 100 per kg under the Postal Act, and every option, insured or not, requires “transit worthy packing”. For a 1 kg parcel, that is Rs 100, whatever was inside. Other couriers have their own limits; ask for them in writing when you open the account. Our guide to the best courier services in Pakistan compares what each one publishes.

Packing is one part of keeping parcels from coming back. The confirmation call, the address and the listing matter more: see how to reduce COD returns in Pakistan.

Put packaging in your price

Add up the flyer or box, poly bag, tape, tissue, card and printed slip for one order. It is small, but it is on every parcel, including the ones that come back, and returned packaging usually cannot be used again. Count it as a cost per order, the same way you count the courier. Our guide on how to price products for online selling shows where it goes in the formula, and the COD profit calculator shows what is left per order after packaging, courier and returns.

Questions sellers ask

What packaging is best for an online clothing business?

A courier flyer bag. Fold the piece neatly, put it in a clear poly bag so it stays clean if the flyer tears, and use a flyer just big enough to hold it flat. Keep boxes for gift sets, shoes, bags and anything that crushes.

What is a courier flyer bag?

A thick plastic mailer with a self-sealing strip. It cannot be opened and closed again without tearing, so the buyer can see the parcel was not opened on the way. Many come with a clear pocket on the front for the courier’s label.

How do couriers calculate volumetric weight in Pakistan?

Length times width times height in centimetres, divided by 5,000. The courier charges the higher of that and the real weight. Leopards publishes this formula for its e-commerce service and treats anything bigger than 12 cm by 12 cm by 12 cm this way.

How do I pack cosmetics and glass bottles for courier?

Tape the cap shut, put each bottle in its own zip bag, wrap it in two or three layers of bubble wrap and pack it in a box with no empty space, so nothing moves when you shake it. Mark the box fragile, but do not count on the label: Leopards says it takes no responsibility for fragile goods, and glass and liquids are on its list of shipments that cannot be insured.

Where can I buy packaging material in Pakistan?

Daraz sells flyer bags, bubble wrap and tape in packs, which is fine for a first order. Once you know your sizes, buy from a packaging shop or wholesaler in your city by the hundred, and go to a packaging printer only when you want your name printed on flyers or boxes.

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