MODE A
Quick buy
The first factory to meet your target price wins.
- Best for
- Standard, repeat orders
- Duration
- You set it, 3–14 days
- Delivery terms
- One, fixed by you
- Ranking
- None — first to accept
For buyers
From spec sheet to pallet, in the open.
You describe the packaging once. Verified factories bid on exactly that, line by line. You choose, you pay into escrow, and the factory is paid when you accept the goods.
01
Eight steps, all on the record
- 01
Specify
Category, dimensions, paper and grammage, print, quantity with tolerance, packing requirements, delivery terms and your target price per 1,000.
- 02
Choose a mode
Quick buy for standard, repeat items. Tender for large, printed or first-time orders.
- 03
Factories bid
Matching verified factories get the order. Each bid is itemised: product, printing plate, logistics, customs.
- 04
Award
Quick buy awards itself to the first factory at your target. In a tender, you pick the bid you want — not necessarily the cheapest.
- 05
Pay into escrow
You pay PACKbid. The money is locked; the factory sees it is secured.
- 06
Approve the artwork
The factory uploads a versioned print proof. Nothing is produced until you approve it.
- 07
Production with proof
The factory uploads the reel label and grammage measurements from production.
- 08
Accept and release
The goods arrive, you check them, you accept. Only then is the factory paid.
02
Two ways to buy
Pick the mode per order. Both use the same spec sheet, the same escrow and the same quality rules.
MODE B
Tender
Bids collect until a fixed deadline. You choose.
- Best for
- Large, printed or first-time orders
- Duration
- You set it, 7 days by default
- Delivery terms
- One or several accepted
- Ranking
- Live, one list per delivery term
What a factory sees in a tender
4th of 9 bids
Gap to first place: 2–5%
- Never another factory’s price
- Gap shown in bands: 0–2%, 2–5%, 5–10%, 10%+
- With fewer than 3 bids only the rank is shown
- Up to 5 bids per factory: the first plus 4 revisions
- A late bid briefly extends the deadline, up to a hard close
03
Delivery terms, in plain words
Behind each option is an Incoterms 2020 rule. You pick the plain-language version; the factory prices exactly that.
| FCA | Pick up at factory | The price includes the product, packing, export clearance and loading. You or your forwarder collect it. Within the EU, EXW can also be offered. |
|---|---|---|
| DAP | Delivered, I clear customs | The factory also pays transport to your address. If the goods cross a customs border, import clearance and duties are yours. |
| DAP+ | Delivered incl. import clearance | DAP plus an import clearance service and duties in the price. Import VAT is always paid by the buyer, because the buyer is the importer. |
Origin and destination both inside the EU? Customs lines disappear from the bid automatically. They appear for origins such as Türkiye, the UK, Switzerland or Norway. Read the Incoterms guide →
04
Itemised bids
No more lump sums with surprises later. Every bid is broken down the same way.
| A | Product | € per 1,000, packing and export clearance included |
|---|---|---|
| B | Printing plate / cliché | One-off; zero on repeat orders |
| C | Logistics | Total, for delivered terms |
| D | Customs | Only when a customs border is crossed |
05
Escrow
You pay into escrow when you award the order. The factory sees the money is secured and starts. When the goods arrive, you check and accept — and only then is the factory paid. If you do not respond, payment is released automatically after a fixed period, so factories are never held hostage.
If something is wrong, you open an issue instead. The money stays in escrow until it is resolved.
06
Quality you can verify
Factories upload the paper TDS with every bid, the reel label when production starts, and precision-scale grammage proofs from production. If measured grammage is outside the TDS tolerance, an issue opens and the payment stops.
The quality method →07
Artwork approval
After award, the factory uploads a versioned PDF proof. You approve or request changes. The approved version is locked with date, user and file fingerprint. No approval, no production.
Ready when you are