Why You're Probably Shipping Air (And How to Fix It)

One of the most common problems I see is people shipping way more air than product. You know what I mean — you order something online, and when it arrives, the box is three times bigger than it needs to be, with packing peanuts or air pillows filling the gaps. That's fine when you're receiving a single item. But when you're shipping thousands of units, all that empty space adds up fast.

Where the Air Comes From

Most of the time, it's not intentional. You pick a standard box size that fits your product, and you don't think much about the extra inch or two of clearance. Or maybe your supplier picked the carton size, and you just went with it. The problem is, those extra inches multiply. A bit of wasted space in the product box becomes more wasted space in the master carton, which becomes a lot of wasted space on the pallet.

Here's the thing: freight doesn't care if your box is full or empty. You're paying for the space either way. And if that space bumps you into a bigger size category — for Amazon FBA, for LTL shipping, for container loading — it can cost you real money.

Seeing It Helps

This is where GoatPaca actually helps. When you plug in your dimensions and see the 3D view, it becomes really obvious where the air is. You can rotate the model, look at how things stack, and see exactly how much room you're leaving. Sometimes it's fine — you need a bit of cushion for protection. But other times, you'll look at it and realize you could go down a box size, or rearrange things, and save a lot of space.

I've had people tell me they didn't realize how bad it was until they saw it visualized. Spreadsheets don't really capture it the same way.

What You Can Do About It

Start by looking at your current setup. If you're using standard box sizes, check if there's a smaller size that still fits your product comfortably. If you're ordering custom boxes, measure carefully and don't leave more clearance than you actually need for protection.

For master cartons, think about how many units fit per box and how those boxes fit on a pallet. Sometimes changing from 12 units per carton to 10 or 15 makes the difference between wasting a third of your pallet or using it efficiently.

And if you're shipping by container, the same logic applies — every bit of air you eliminate means more product fits in the same container.

It's Worth Checking

Even small improvements add up over time. If you can fit 10% more product in a container, or drop down one FBA size tier, that's money you're not spending on shipping air. And the best part is, once you figure out the right setup, you're done — it just works better from that point forward.

If you want to see where your air is, try the packing visualizer. It's free, and it's honestly the fastest way to spot the problem.