“Customer-specified packaging” just means packaging built to your requirements instead of picked from a catalog. The phrase sounds formal; the practice isn't. What separates a quote you can trust from a guess is whether the request pins down the handful of variables that actually move price and performance.
Here are the eight lines. Send all eight and any serious manufacturer can quote precisely — and two quotes finally describe the same bag, so you can compare them.
1. Dimensions
Width × length in inches, measured flat, plus the flap on a mailer and the gusset if there is one. If you're unsure, send the product instead. A manufacturer should size the bag to the product, not ask the product to fit a stock bag.
2. Gauge — and the tolerance
State the thickness in mil, then ask for the gauge tolerance in writing. Film varies across the width of every extrusion run, so a bag quoted “at 1.5 mil” with a loose tolerance can carry thin zones that fail a spec you thought you'd met.
3. Film
Color and opacity: clear, white, black, or white with a black interior for privacy. Recycled content if you want it, stated as a percentage by polymer weight. Surface finish if it matters on your line — an embossed texture grips an inclined conveyor that smooth film slides back down.
4. Closure
Open mouth, a self-seal lip, or a permanent adhesive strip. On mailers, one strip or two: a second strip with a perforated tear line makes the mailer reusable for customer returns. On FBA bags, vent holes — punched at conversion, so they have to be on the spec, not added later.
5. Print
Unprinted, or the number of colors and which faces print. Pantone references for brand colors. For warning bags, the standard warning or a custom layout. Custom print runs on plates, so it carries a minimum: ours is 50,000 pieces per artwork.
6. Quantities and releases
The order quantity, and just as important, how you'll draw it down: one delivery, or monthly releases against an annual volume. Volume moves the price; the release pattern decides how much inventory and cash you tie up.
7. Pack-out
Bags per case, plus any carton or pallet limits your warehouse or 3PL works to. Case counts set how many units a picker handles at once and how many pallet positions you pay to store.
8. Destination and terms
Where it ships and who owns the freight. We quote FOB Tijuana or DDP to your dock, crossing at Otay Mesa. The same bag can land at noticeably different prices on this line alone.
What comes back
With those eight lines, a quote can be exact: price per piece at each volume break, the pack-out, the lead time, and what's stock versus made to order. We quote in 24 business hours.
If some of the eight are still open, send what you know. The missing lines are the conversation, not a reason to wait.