Small cards, big quantities
For an online shop, the parcel insert is one of the few printed items that reaches every single customer. A thank-you card, a discount code for the next order, a care guide for the product, a request for a review. It costs little per piece, but a shop shipping a few hundred orders a week goes through thousands of cards a quarter, and that turns a small item into a real bulk print job with real planning problems.
The usual problems are easy to recognise. The shop runs out of cards in the middle of a sale. A discount code printed on ten thousand cards expires while half of them are still in the box. A seasonal design arrives after the season has started. This guide covers how to plan parcel inserts as a bulk job: what to print, how much to order, how to keep codes and designs flexible, and how to schedule reorders so the packing table never runs dry.
What goes into the parcel
Most online shops settle on one to three inserts. More than that and customers stop reading them.
- Thank-you card: the brand piece. A short message, perhaps a handwritten-style signature, and the shop's social handle. This card rarely needs to change.
- Offer card: a discount or free shipping code for the next order, or a referral offer. This is the card that changes most often.
- Information card: product care, sizing, how to use, or a return instruction. This depends on what you sell.
- Review or social card: a QR code linking to a review page or a social profile.
Separating stable content from changing content is the single most useful decision. A thank-you card can be printed in a large run at the lowest unit price. An offer card should be printed in smaller, more frequent runs, because its content goes out of date.
Sizes and stocks that suit packing
Parcel inserts get handled quickly by packers and dropped into bags, boxes and padded mailers of different sizes. A few practical points:
- Business card size and A7 fit almost any mailer, including small padded envelopes.
- A6 gives more room for a message or a care guide and still fits most boxes.
- Square cards look distinctive, but check they fit your smallest mailer before ordering.
- A thick card stock, around 300 to 400 gsm, feels more premium and does not bend in the parcel. If you add a matte laminate, it also resists scuffing.
- Uncoated stock is better if staff write a personal note on the card.
Our business card printing runs are a natural fit for thank-you cards at name card size, since the same stocks and finishes are available.
How many to order
The right quantity is based on your shipping volume and how long the content stays valid, not on the price break table alone.
Start from orders per week
Count how many parcels you ship in an average week and in a peak week. If every parcel gets one thank-you card, your weekly usage equals your weekly orders. Multiply by the number of weeks you want the stock to last. Add a buffer for peak periods such as 11.11, 12.12, the year-end season and Chinese New Year, when order volumes jump.
Match the run to the content's shelf life
- Thank-you cards: six months to a year of stock is reasonable, provided storage is dry.
- Offer cards: one campaign or one quarter, depending on the code expiry date.
- Seasonal cards: only the expected orders for that season, plus a small buffer.
Our guide to forecasting print quantities goes into the method in more detail. Ordering ten thousand cards because the unit price is lower only saves money if you use them before they go stale.
Keeping codes and offers flexible
Discount codes are the main reason parcel inserts get thrown away. A few ways to avoid that:
- Use a QR code to a landing page: the printed card links to a page you control. When the offer changes, you change the page, not the card.
- Use an evergreen code: a "welcome back" code without a printed expiry date, managed in your shop system.
- Print unique codes: each card carries its own code, so you can track redemption and stop misuse. Our article on variable data at volume explains how unique codes and QR codes are printed in bulk.
- Print multiple versions in one run: if you sell in several categories, you can print different offer cards together. See our guide to multi-version bulk runs.
Scheduling reorders
Running out of inserts is not a disaster, but it is a missed chance with every parcel that goes out without one. A simple reorder routine prevents it.
- Set a reorder point. When stock falls to about four to six weeks of usage, place the next order.
- Know your printer's normal lead time and the longer lead time during peak periods, and add it to the reorder point.
- Place peak season orders early. Printers get busy at the same time as online shops do.
- If you reorder the same cards regularly, consider a blanket order with scheduled call-offs. We explain how that works in blanket orders and call-offs.
| Insert | Typical run size approach | Reorder trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Thank-you card | Large, six to twelve months of stock | Four to six weeks of stock left |
| Offer card | One campaign or quarter | New campaign or code change |
| Care or info card | Medium, three to six months | Product change or low stock |
| Seasonal card | Expected seasonal orders plus buffer | Four to six weeks before the season |
Storing inserts at the packing area
Most online shops in Singapore pack from a small warehouse unit, a shared fulfilment space or even a home office. Cards should be stored in closed cartons off the floor, away from windows and aircon drip. Humidity can curl thin stocks and make laminated cards stick together. Keep a small open box at each packing station and the rest sealed. Label cartons clearly by insert type and version, so packers do not mix old offer cards with new ones. Our guide to storing a bulk print run covers the same issues at a larger scale.
Checking whether the inserts work
A bulk run of inserts is worth reviewing after a few months, because the numbers tell you what to print next time. If the offer card uses a unique code or a dedicated landing page, your shop system will show how many customers came back with it. If the review card uses a QR code, you can see how many scans it gets. Compare a quarter with the card against a quarter without, or test two designs side by side in the same run.
Ask the packing team too. They will know if a card size is awkward to handle, if a stock bends too easily, or if two versions look so similar that they get mixed up. Small changes such as a different colour band on each insert type often fix that at no extra print cost. Feed what you learn into the next order instead of reprinting the same file out of habit.
Bulk parcel inserts with us
We print thank-you cards, offer cards, care cards and seasonal inserts in volume for online shops and brands across Singapore, with options for unique codes, multiple versions and scheduled reorders. Many shops start with one run of thank-you cards and a smaller run of offer cards, then move to a regular schedule once they know their usage.
Tell us how many parcels you ship per week, which inserts you use and how often your offers change. We will suggest run sizes, a reorder rhythm and a quote. You can reach us through our contact page.
