Build the per-unit stack
Product, decoration, setup, packaging, fulfillment and freight. A program that looks affordable at product cost alone often is not.
Quantity breaks
Quantity affects unit pricing and decoration efficiency. Consolidating orders across departments is often the fastest savings.
Leave room for round two
Successful programs create demand. Reserve budget for replenishment rather than re-launching from zero.
Building a realistic per-unit cost stack
- 1Start with product cost, then add decoration and any one-time setup charge
- 2Add packaging cost — even simple packaging has a real per-unit cost
- 3Add fulfillment and freight, especially if kits ship to individual addresses
- 4Apply a small contingency for art revisions, reprints or size corrections
- 5Reserve a separate replenishment line rather than spending the full budget on launch
Planning mistakes to avoid
Budgeting from product cost alone
Decoration, setup and packaging routinely add a meaningful percentage on top of raw product cost. A program sized only on the product line item is sized wrong.
Ordering in small, frequent batches
Smaller orders usually mean worse unit pricing and less efficient decoration setup. Consolidating orders across departments or time periods is often the simplest cost reduction available.
Spending the entire budget on launch
A program with no replenishment budget has to re-justify spend from zero every time it needs a reorder — much harder than extending an existing, proven program.
Where Bagley changes the outcome
We'll always quote the full stack — product, decoration, setup, packaging and freight — rather than a product-only number that looks better on paper and worse once the real invoice arrives. If a number seems too good, it's worth asking what's not included.
Common questions
- What's a healthy first order size to budget for?
- Roughly $2,500 is a reasonable healthy first order for most programs — not a minimum, but a size that generally allows for decent product variety and decoration efficiency.
- How much should we set aside for replenishment?
- Enough to cover a second order at similar volume without re-starting the approval process from scratch — exact amounts depend on how often the program repeats.
- Does consolidating orders across departments actually save money?
- Often, yes — combining smaller department orders into fewer, larger ones typically improves both unit pricing and decoration setup efficiency.