Websites · Glossary
What is product bundling?
Product bundling is selling two or more products together as one offer, usually at a lower price than buying each item separately. A pure bundle is only sold as a set, a mixed bundle is offered alongside the separate items, and a build your own bundle lets customers choose the items within set rules.
Bundles raise the average order and move slower stock along with popular items. They also complicate stock counts, returns and price display, which is where small shops tend to get caught out.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Type | How it is sold | Example | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure bundle | Only as the set | A gift box with fixed contents | Customers who want one item cannot buy it |
| Mixed bundle | The set or each item | Shampoo and conditioner, or each alone | The saving must be real and clear |
| Build your own | Customer picks within rules | Any three candles for $60 | Stock checks on every chosen item |
| Kit | Items that work together | A starter kit for a hobby | Returns of one part of a kit |
How bundles are priced
A bundle price is usually set below the sum of its parts, enough to feel like a deal while keeping the combined margin healthy. If a cleanser, toner and moisturiser sell for $32 each, $96 together, a $79 bundle offers about 18 percent off. Check the margin on the whole bundle rather than per item, because the discount may come mostly from the highest margin item. The Australian Government business site lists bundles or packages, such as buy two get one free, as one of the standard pricing approaches, alongside quantity discounts.
Stock, orders and returns
Behind the scenes, a bundle is several products. Each sale should reduce the stock of every component, and an order should record the components as lines that add up to the bundle price, so reports and returns make sense. Returns are the tricky part: if a customer returns one item from a discounted bundle, decide in advance whether you refund that item's share of the bundle price or its full separate price, and say so in your policy.
Price display rules
Consumer law applies to bundle claims. In Australia, the single price rule in the Australian Consumer Law requires a total price to be shown where practicable, and any saving claimed must be genuine, so a was price the items never actually sold at is misleading. In the UK, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 strengthened rules on how prices and unavoidable fees are shown online. Show the bundle price, what is in it, and, if you claim a saving, the real separate prices.
Common mistakes
Bundling slow sellers that nobody wants, even at a discount, is the most common mistake. Others include stock counts that do not reduce components, so a bundle sells when one item is gone; savings calculated from inflated separate prices; unclear returns rules for part of a bundle; and so many bundles that customers cannot compare them. Bundles that make the buying decision easier, such as a complete starter kit, tend to sell best.
Where it shows up in OneCraft
OneCraft has no ready made store, so bundles exist only when the agent builds them. With its bundles guide, the agent adds bundles with their own price and active dates, the products in each with quantities, upsell and cross sell picks chosen by the owner, product specifications and size charts. An order refuses a bundle when any component is out of stock, reduces each component's stock, and records each component as its own line at a share of the bundle price, so the lines add up to it exactly.
Questions people ask
Does bundling increase sales?
It can raise the value of each order and help sell items customers would not have picked alone, but only if the bundle makes sense to the buyer. A bundle that solves a whole need, such as everything required to start, usually performs better than a random discount on unrelated items.
Should bundles have their own product page?
Usually yes. A bundle page can show the contents, the price against the separate items, photos of the set and its own description, and it gives search engines a page to rank for the bundle. Link it from each component's page so customers find it while browsing.
How do I handle GST on a bundle?
GST applies to the bundle price when all items are taxable. If a bundle mixes taxable and GST free items, the price has to be split between them on a reasonable basis to work out the GST, so ask your accountant or check the ATO guidance before selling mixed bundles.
Can customers return one item from a bundle?
That depends on your policy and the consumer law. A faulty item must be dealt with under the consumer guarantees. For change of mind returns, which most shops do not have to offer, set a clear rule, such as refunding the item's share of the bundle price, and state it before purchase.
What is the difference between a bundle and a variant?
A variant is one product in different options, such as a shirt in three sizes, with one item bought per line. A bundle is several different products sold together. The page on product variants covers options, SKUs and stock per variant.
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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .