If you’re a retailer, shopping bags should never be an afterthought. You work hard to get customers into your store and buying your merchandise. You need a shopping bag that can carry you across the finish line. Here’s everything you need to know about buying retail shopping bags wholesale. Even getting them customized to reflect your store’s unique identity is a snap.
Buying Shopping Bags Wholesale: At a Glance
After reviewing top distributors that sell retail shopping bags wholesale, we recommend working with Nashville Wraps. Their competitive pricing, quick turnaround on custom shopping bags, generous terms, and significant shipping discounts, make them a great partner for retailers large and small.
We’ll go into each distributor in more detail further in the article, but here’s a summary of where to buy shopping bags wholesale.
Nashville Wraps |
The Packaging Source |
Firefly Store Solutions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Range Per Paper Bag | 20¢ – 35¢ | 23¢ – 36¢ | 20¢ – 31¢ |
| Shipping | Discounted (Currently) |
Standard | Standard |
| Terms Available | Net-30* | Net-30* | Net-30* |
| Retail Packaging Association Distributor of the Year |
2005 2007 2008 2010 |
2013 2014 2015 2016 |
N/A |
Pricing for Wholesale Shopping Bags: In-Depth
In order to do a comparison between top suppliers, we are considering the most common material for paper bags, in the standard colors of kraft (brown) and white, with paper twisted handles.
We’ll also compare a range of shopping bag sizes from relatively small to relatively large:
- 8 x 4 ¾ x 10 ½
- 10 x 5 x 13 ½
- 13 x 7 x 17 ½
- 16 x 6 x 12
If a supplier did not have one of the exact sizes above, we chose a size that was very similar. For printing and hot stamping, we assume a standard size and a single color is used. It should be noted that every company we mention also sells plastic shopping bags. Only Nashville Wraps sells reusable shopping bags and cotton and/or burlap totes.
Nashville Wraps
In addition to retail packaging like shopping bags, they have packaging for gourmet foods and gifts. Their focus on packaging, and packaging alone, might explain their lower prices and quicker turnaround.
They have strong customer service and offer a price match guarantee. Also, their sales staff is not paid on commission so you shouldn’t feel any pressure to purchase anything other than what you want.
Currently, Nashville Wraps is running a discounted shipping promotion that can save you big on your shopping bag order. They’re offering $20 flat rate for stock orders of $150 – $299 and for orders $300+ they offer a shipping allowance of up to 15%. Not only that, they offer a Net-30 term for qualified businesses.
All of this contributed to them winning the Distributor of the Year award from Retail Packaging Association in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2010.
Nashville Wraps: Wholesale Shopping Bags Pricing
 10 x 5 x 13 |
 13 x 6 x 15 ¾ |
 16 x 6 x 12 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft (brown) | 25¢ | 27¢ | 25¢ |
| Per Case (250) |
$61.40 | $66.40 | $61.80 |
| White | 26¢ | 33¢ | 35¢ |
| Per Case (250) |
$64.85 | $83.30* | $88.20* |
| Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
*Sold in cases of 25. Discounts for orders above 4 cases (required to reach the 250 bag total).
Nashville Wraps: Custom Shopping Bags Pricing
| Plate: Print Plate | $85 |
| Plate: Hot Stamp | $95-$115 |
| Art | None |
| Printing | $90 per 4 cases |
| Hot Stamp | 500 bags: $120
501-1000 bags: $136 Each additional 4 cartons: $125 |
| Delivery Time: Print | 4-5 weeks |
| Delivery Time: Hot Stamp | 6 weeks or more |
Custom Shopping Bags: What to Keep in Mind
If you want shopping bags that feature your company name or logo, you will need to customize your bags. One of the first things you’ll need to decide on is how your name/logo should be put on the bag. Most suppliers will offer you two options:
- Standard Ink Printing
- Hot Stamping
Once you have chosen ink or foil for your shopping bags, you’ll need to forward your supplier the artwork you want to use on the bag. Typically this will be forwarded as a JPG or PDF. There may be a small “Art” fee to process a new file to make sure it will work for printing. This is typically a one-time fee rather than per order or per case.
Once your art is in, the printer will need to make a plate. The plate is a physical, metal or high-grade rubber version of your art. These can take some time to create and you will likely be charged for the production of any new plate. Most suppliers will consider the image oversized if it is larger than 50 square inches. The plates can be reused, and as long as you don’t change the art or the printer, you will not be charged for the plate again. A plate for ink printing cannot be used for hot stamping, however.
Custom shopping bags will take longer to arrive to you since they are being produced at your request. Typically these order can be fulfilled in 5-6 weeks, but you should allow for more time if the order will require new art and/or new plates.
The Bottom Line
Potato sacks carry products. Retail shopping bags maintain a continuity of customer experience and serve as traveling brand ambassadors. Like any of your store’s branding, they deserve careful consideration.
The great thing is that once you have a good shopping bag and a wholesaler who can keep you supplied, it is a task that can basically be put on autopilot. We recommend working with the award winning distributors at Nashville Wraps who can meet almost any retail shopping bag need you have.
Read the entire article from Fit Small Business here.
