More filament, same shipping fee
Most 3D printing filament sellers in Australia ship every single spool inside its own retail box. That cardboard adds 80 to 100 grams of weight per roll and 4 to 5 cubic centimetres of volume that you, the customer, end up paying to ship and then paying again to dispose of.
We did the maths and decided no thanks. Our V1 roll is 1.2kg total: 1004 grams of filament, a 130 to 150 gram spool, 10 grams of silica gel and a 10 gram resealable bag. No retail box, no inner sleeve, no glossy slip. Just filament that prints.
What fits in one parcel
Aramex 25kg box
- Siddament V1: up to 20 spools
- Siddament V2 (240g heavier spool): up to 17 spools
- Boxed competitors: 16 spools at best
AusPost 22kg parcel
- Siddament V1: up to 17 spools
- Siddament V2: up to 15 spools
- Boxed competitors: 15 spools at best
Even on V2, where our spool weight matches what other vendors use, our pricing still wins because the filament itself is priced lower per roll. You are paying for plastic, not for cardboard you are about to bin.
The cost example: 20 rolls of matte black PLA to Victoria Metro
Let us walk through a real order. Twenty rolls of matte black PLA headed to a Vic Metro postcode.
- Siddament matte black PLA is $17.99 per roll. That is roughly $2 to $3 cheaper per roll than the typical Australian competitor.
- Across 20 rolls, that is around $40 saved on filament alone.
- The whole order ships in one Aramex 25kg parcel for around $25 to Vic Metro. Once our delivery threshold discount kicks in, shipping is effectively free.
- A competitor would need 2 parcels (16 boxed rolls per parcel) or charge you more per roll to absorb the extra packaging weight.
Net savings on a 20 roll matte black PLA order
Roughly $60 cheaper than buying the same 20 rolls boxed elsewhere, before you even factor in the fuel surcharge differential.
How the fuel surcharge punishes boxed filament
Australian carriers have ramped fuel surcharges hard over the last three quarters: 4.8% to 12.8% to 20%. That surcharge is calculated against the parcel rate, not against how much filament is inside. So if you ship the same kilogram of plastic in a heavier, bulkier retail box, you eat the surcharge on the packaging too.
Pack 25% more spools per parcel and the surcharge spreads thinner across each kilogram of usable filament. That is structural, not a coupon, and it stays true every time fuel goes up.
How we protect every spool without retail boxes
The retail box around each spool is not what keeps it safe in transit. The outer carton is. Ours are custom sized, double walled premium cartons, and we keep 19 different box sizes on hand so every order packs out snug with no room to shift.
Loose movement is what cracks filament spools. A 17 spool order goes in a carton sized for 17. A 4 spool order goes in a carton sized for 4. Nothing rattles, nothing slides, nothing crushes. Builders, schools, makerspaces, print farms and anyone running more than a handful of rolls a year all get the same fit graded packing.
We are also rolling out a stronger 160 to 170 gram V2 spool, standardised across all 9+ of our suppliers. As that stock cycles through the warehouse, in transit damage drops further.
What this also means behind the scenes
Removing the boxes has knock on effects we did not initially plan for:
- Our 10 roll inner cartons weigh 12.5kg instead of 13.8kg. Easier on backs, faster to move.
- We stack 480 rolls per pallet in 2.2 cubic metres, oriented so labels read from any side. Pallets sit flat and stop tipping in transit.
- Stock arrives pre sorted by the factory, so two people can unload 14 pallets onto shelving in 5 to 6 hours. That speed flows back into faster restocks for you.
- We save more than $20,000 a year on packaging and another $45,000+ on logistics, sea freight and disposal. That is real money that funds lower prices and faster restocks instead of landfill.
Credit where it is due
The original idea is not ours. We saw Protopasta ship boxless filament back in 2024 and thought, this is obviously correct. They have since gone back to boxes because their spools are cardboard and behave differently in transit. Our plastic spools made it the right move for us, so we kept going. Hat tip to them for the lightbulb.
Frequently asked questions
How many spools per Aramex 25kg box?
Up to 20 V1 spools or 17 V2 spools per Aramex 25kg parcel.
How many spools per AusPost 22kg parcel?
Up to 17 V1 spools or 15 V2 spools per AusPost parcel.
How do you protect spools without retail boxes?
With 19 custom sized double walled premium outer cartons. Every order ships in the right sized box so spools pack out snug with no shifting in transit. Loose room is what cracks filament, not the absence of per spool retail packaging.
What kind of outer box do you use?
Custom sized, double walled premium cartons. We carry 19 sizes so every order, from 4 spools to 20, packs out snug. The change is removing the per spool retail box, not the protection.
Do I get the same filament quality?
Yes. The retail box is decorative. The filament, spool, silica and bag are unchanged.
Stack the savings
If you have been buying filament boxed elsewhere, you are paying twice: once for cardboard you do not want, and once for shipping that cardboard across the country. Switch to boxless and your dollar buys more plastic on the print bed instead.
Want to bulk order? Get in touch for pallet pricing.