per unit at 1,000 units — goods, agent fee, freight, US import fees and delivery. Duty is not included; see below.
Basis: Aggregated from 9 current wholesale listings in this category, costed with our standard import model. volume and weight assume a typical export carton for this category, not one supplier's packing list — 52 × 42 × 50 cm, 40 per carton, 19 kg gross, giving 0.00273 CBM and 0.48 kg per unit; your own carton will move the freight line. duty excluded, because the rate depends on how your product classifies — the table below shows what any rate adds. figures as of 10 October 2026. individual figures are not attributable to any one supplier.
What duty adds
We do not publish a single duty rate for this category, because classification depends on the product's construction and materials rather than on what it is called. Rather than print a number that would be wrong for some readers, here is what any given rate does to the figures above.
| Duty rate | Landed per unit | Versus no duty |
|---|---|---|
| No duty | $1.84 | — |
| 5% | $1.90 | +3.3% |
| 12% | $1.98 | +8.0% |
| 25% | $2.15 | +16.8% |
| 37% | $2.29 | +24.8% |
Establishing your own rate is your responsibility as importer rather than your supplier's — our guide to classification sets out how, including requesting a binding ruling if you intend to import repeatedly.
The number that matters is not the factory price. Non-woven storage boxes are bulky and light, so ocean freight is charged on volume — and carton design moves the landed cost more than negotiating the unit price does.
Where the money goes
Freight is a far larger share of the landed cost here than in a dense category, because ocean freight is billed on the space a carton occupies rather than what it weighs. A nested or flat-packed version can therefore cut landed cost by more than a full round of price negotiation.
That single ratio is why this product is worth sourcing differently from most. The figures at the top of this page are costed on a typical flat-packed carton; a box that does not fold flat would carry several times that freight.
What drives cost in this category
Cubic volume, not weight
Freight is billed on the space a carton occupies. A nested or flat-packed version can cut landed cost by more than a full round of price negotiation.
Fabric weight and board thickness
The two components most commonly reduced between sample and production run. Both are invisible in a photograph and obvious in the hand.
Printing and custom colour
Moves the minimum order from roughly 500 to 1,000–2,000 pieces, and adds a setup charge that only makes sense at volume.
Retail packaging
Hang tags, barcodes and inner boxes add more to landed cost than most buyers expect, and are usually specified too late.
Minimum order quantities
| Stocked plain versions | From around 500 pieces. Colours limited to what the factory already runs. |
| Custom colour | 1,000–2,000 pieces, depending on fabric availability. |
| Custom printing | 1,000–2,000 pieces plus a plate or setup charge. |
| Fully custom size and construction | 3,000 pieces upward, with tooling or pattern costs quoted separately. |
Where these are made
Stocked plain goods concentrate around Yiwu, where minimums are lowest and multi-SKU consolidation is straightforward. Custom printing and larger runs tend to sit with dedicated factories in the wider Zhejiang cluster. Which one you use changes lead time more than it changes price.
What goes wrong
- Fabric substitution. A lighter non-woven feels similar new and collapses after a few months of use. Specify grammage, not "good quality".
- Frame board downgrade. Thinner board is the cheapest saving a factory can make without changing anything you can see in a photo.
- Transit crushing. These ship compressed. Carton strength and stacking limits matter as much as the product itself.
- Handle failure. The most common warranty complaint in the category, and the cheapest thing to check at inspection.
All four are catchable at pre-shipment inspection — but only against a written specification that named them in the first place.
