Industry Trends

Fillmore Container Order Checklist: 7 Steps to Get Your Packaging Right the First Time

Fillmore Container Order Checklist: 7 Steps to Get Your Packaging Right the First Time

This checklist is for you if you're ordering glass jars, bottles, or containers from Fillmore Container—whether it's your first order or your fiftieth. I've placed somewhere around 200 packaging orders over six years (I really should pull the exact count from our procurement system), and about 15% of those had issues that could've been avoided with a proper pre-order check.

Seven steps. That's it. Follow them in order, and you'll avoid the mistakes I've made—and documented—along the way.

Step 1: Confirm Your Product Compatibility Requirements

Before you even browse containers, write down what's going inside them. Sounds obvious. It's the step most people skip.

What you need to know:

• Product type (food, beverage, cosmetic, craft)
• Hot-fill or cold-fill?
• Acidic content? (Think pickles, hot sauce, citrus)
• Oil-based or water-based?

I only believed the hot-fill advice after ignoring it and watching a batch of jars crack during our salsa production. That was an $800 lesson. The jars weren't rated for the temperature. Entirely my fault—I assumed glass was glass.

If you're filling anything above 180°F, you need containers specifically designed for hot-fill applications. Fillmore Container lists thermal specifications in product details. Check them. Actually check them.

Step 2: Measure Your Closure Requirements

Here's where it gets technical. Container openings are measured by "finish" size—that number like 70-450 or 63-2030 that seems arbitrary until you order 500 lids that don't fit.

The first number is diameter in millimeters. The second indicates thread pattern. They're not interchangeable.

What I do now: I keep a reference jar on my desk for every product line. When ordering, I physically check the finish code stamped on the bottom. If I remember correctly, about 8% of our early orders had closure mismatches. That dropped to zero once we started verifying finish codes before checkout.

Fillmore Container groups lids and caps by finish size. Use their filter. Don't eyeball it.

Step 3: Calculate Your Actual Quantity Needs (Plus Buffer)

Standard advice says order what you need. Real advice: order 10-15% more than you think.

Why:

• Breakage during production (1-3% is normal in my experience)
• QC rejects
• Sample requests from buyers
• That one batch where something goes wrong and you need extras

I have mixed feelings about buffer stock. On one hand, it ties up cash and storage space. On the other, emergency reorders cost more and kill your timeline. We compromise: 10% buffer for standard items, 15% for anything custom or hard to source.

Do the math before you hit "add to cart." If you need 1,000 jars for a production run, order 1,100-1,150.

Step 4: Check for Active Discount Codes

This is the step where five minutes of searching saves real money.

Fillmore Container frequently offers coupon codes—I've seen them range from free shipping thresholds to percentage discounts on bulk orders. Before finalizing any order, search "Fillmore Container coupon" or "Fillmore Container discount code." Check their homepage banner. Check if you're on their email list.

In Q2 2024, we almost placed a $2,400 order at full price. A quick search found a 10% code that saved $240. That's a meaningful dent in our quarterly packaging budget.

Note to self: bookmark their promotions page and check it every order, not just when I remember.

Step 5: Verify Shipping Costs Before Checkout

Glass is heavy. Shipping glass is expensive. This is not a surprise, and yet.

Everything I'd read about container suppliers said shipping costs are predictable. In practice, I found they vary wildly based on your location, order weight, and whether you're close to a distribution point.

What to do:

1. Add items to cart
2. Enter your shipping address
3. Get the actual shipping quote before confirming
4. Compare that quote against your budget

Sometimes it makes sense to increase your order quantity to hit a free shipping threshold. Sometimes it doesn't. You can't know until you see real numbers. Fillmore Container shows shipping estimates at checkout—use them to make the call.

For reference: a recent order of 288 jars (12 cases) to the Midwest ran about $45 in shipping. Smaller orders to the same address were around $25. The per-unit shipping cost drops significantly with volume. At least, that's been my experience with orders to our facility.

Step 6: Review Your Complete Order Summary

Slow down here. This is where errors hide.

Your checklist for the summary screen:

• Container size matches your product volume needs
• Closure type and finish size match your containers
• Quantity matches your calculated need (plus buffer)
• Discount code applied (if applicable)
• Shipping address is correct (we once shipped 40 cases to a former facility—don't be us)
• Total cost aligns with your budget

I've caught three significant errors at this step over the years. Two were quantity typos. One was the wrong jar size entirely. Each would have been a painful, expensive correction.

Take sixty seconds. Read everything.

Step 7: Document Your Order for Future Reference

The order confirmation email isn't enough. Not for a business that reorders.

What to record:

• Order date and number
• Exact product SKUs
• Quantities and unit prices
• Total cost (including shipping)
• Any discount codes used
• Expected delivery date

After tracking 200+ orders over six years in our procurement system, I found that 40% of our "budget overruns" came from not having baseline cost data for comparison. We implemented a simple order log policy and cut cost surprises by roughly 60%.

A spreadsheet works. A shared doc works. Anything searchable that your team can access. The point is having a reference when you reorder—or when someone asks why packaging costs jumped last quarter.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ordering lids separately without checking finish compatibility. Not all lids fit all jars, even if they look similar. Always match by finish code, not eyeball.

Assuming "standard" sizes are standard across brands. A "16 oz jar" from one supplier may have different dimensions than another. If you're switching suppliers or comparing, measure the actual container, not just the volume.

Skipping the shipping calculation until checkout. Glass shipping costs can exceed 15-20% of product cost on smaller orders. Build it into your planning, not as an afterthought.

Not accounting for lead time. Fillmore Container typically ships quickly, but popular items occasionally go out of stock. If you have a hard production deadline, order earlier than you think necessary. I'd say add a week buffer to whatever timeline you're working with—though I might be being overly cautious based on supply chain chaos from 2022-2023.

That's the checklist. Seven steps, maybe 15-20 minutes of your time. Compared to fixing an order gone wrong? Worth it. Every time.