What a logo bag costs once every fee is counted.

Start with cost per order, not cost per bag

Most owners compare bag quotes by the price of one bag. That's the wrong question. The bag is part of what every order costs you, right next to the tortillas and the to go cups. So the useful number is what your bag adds to each order once everything is paid for.

To get it, you need the full amount you pay before the first bag reaches your counter. That includes three things a quote can split up or bury.

• Getting your logo ready. Print shops call it a setup fee, a plate charge or an art fee. It often runs $150+.
• How many bags they make you buy. The minimum run. Many shops start in the thousands.
• Getting the bags to you. Paper is heavy. Freight to San Diego can be extra on top of the quote.

The one line formula

Add up everything on your first invoice. Divide it by the number of bags in the shipment. That's your real cost per bag, and since one order uses one bag, it's also what the bag adds to each order.

Run it on our box. Subscribe & Save is $85 and brings 150 bags with your logo already on them. Setup is $0 and shipping is free, so nothing gets added. That works out to 56.7¢ for each order. On the two box bundle it drops to 50.7¢.

Now run a quote that has a $150+ setup fee on a short run. Spread over a few hundred bags, the setup alone can add more to each order than our whole bag costs.

The money you don't see on the invoice

Some costs never show up as a line item. They still come out of your pocket.

• Cash stuck in boxes. A year of bags bought at once is money that can't cover payroll or a new fryer this month.
• Floor space. Rent in San Diego is not cheap. Cases of paper in the walk in or the hallway take room you pay for every month.
• A logo that changes. New name, new number, a second location in Oceanside? Every printed bag left in storage now shows the old one.
• Ocean air. Paper stored for months in a damp back room can soften. Smaller, regular boxes keep your bags fresh.

This is why we sell by the box. You buy what you'll use in the next few weeks, and the next box shows up on a schedule you pick.

What the free bags do to your cost

Every box has free bags packed in with the ones you pay for. A one-time box has 100 paid plus 20 free, so 120 in all. Subscribe & Save adds 30 more, for 50 free and 150 total.

Free bags lower your cost per order the same way a setup fee raises it. You also get 100 free food tamper-evident stickers with every box, so delivery orders leave sealed at no extra cost.

Four lines to send any supplier

Copy these into a text or email before you say yes to any print quote. A good supplier answers all four without a phone call.

• What do I pay to set up my logo, and do I pay it again on reorders?
• What is the fewest bags you'll print for me?
• Is freight to San Diego included?
• Will I see my logo on the bag before I pay?

Ours, in order: $0 and never again, one box, yes it's free, and yes, right in the upload step.