A case pack is the number of sellable units in the master carton a brand ships to distributors — 12 jars of moisturizer, 36 bottles of lacquer, 72 lip balms in a counter display. Inner packs are the smaller bundles inside that carton, often 3, 6 or 12 units shrink-wrapped together.
Why case pack matters more than unit price
The cheapest price per unit is only cheap if the units sell. A 48-count case of a mascara that moves five units a week is almost ten weeks of stock — ten weeks of cash sitting on a shelf. The same money spread across four fast-moving SKUs might turn twice in that time.
A useful rule of thumb: buy no more than six to eight weeks of sell-through per SKU, and round to the nearest inner pack rather than the full case where your supplier allows it.
How to read case pack on a price file
Our price file lists each SKU with its UPC, case pack, inner pack and minimum order quantity. When a line shows "12 / 3", the master case holds 12 units and you can order in multiples of 3. Mixed cases — six shades of a lip gloss in one carton — are marked as assortments.
Prepping for Amazon FBA
If the stock goes into Amazon's network, it needs to meet their prep rules before it leaves the dock. For beauty that typically means:
- FNSKU labels over or beside the manufacturer barcode, depending on your listing settings.
- Poly-bagging for liquids over a certain volume, loose items and anything with a flip cap.
- Carton rules — weight and dimension limits, and one SKU per carton unless you declare mixed contents.
We handle all three in-house from $0.40 per unit. Send your shipment plan with the PO and we return carton contents and tracking the day it ships.
Key takeaways
- Order to six to eight weeks of sell-through, not to the full case.
- Inner packs and mixed assortments let you test shades without overbuying.
- FBA prep done at the source saves a second handling step — and a second chance for damage.
Freight thresholds change the math
Free freight above $1,100 can make it worth adding a slower SKU to an order. Do the sum before you do it: if the added stock takes four months to sell, the freight you saved may cost more in cash tied up than it saved on shipping.
Keep reading
- Lot codes, PAO and expiry: what to check before you list beauty stock
- Storing makeup and skincare stock: temperature, light and rotation
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