Question 1

How much does a 3PL cost per order?

Accepted Answer

A typical 3PL costs $8-$15 per order including pick, pack, materials, and shipping label fees — but excluding the carrier shipping cost itself. Including shipping, total fulfillment cost is usually $15-$25 per order. This breaks down roughly as: pick fee ($0.50-$1.50/item), pack fee ($2-$4/order), materials ($0.75-$2), and shipping label fee ($0.25-$0.75). Volume discounts apply above 1,000+ orders/month.

Question 2

What percentage of revenue should 3PL costs be?

Accepted Answer

Aim for total 3PL costs (including shipping) to be under 15-20% of revenue. Under 15% is excellent. Fulfillment excluding shipping should be under 8-10% of revenue. If 3PL costs exceed 25% of revenue, your AOV may be too low, or you need to negotiate better rates. Increasing AOV through bundles or upsells is often the fastest way to reduce fulfillment as a percentage of revenue.

Question 3

What fees do 3PLs charge?

Accepted Answer

3PL fees fall into six categories: 1) Receiving — $0.20-$0.50 per unit to receive and shelve inventory. 2) Storage — $15-$45 per pallet per month. 3) Pick & pack — $0.50-$1.50 per pick + $2-$4 per order to pack. 4) Shipping — carrier cost + $0.25-$0.75 label fee. 5) Returns — $3-$6 per return processed. 6) Platform/tech fee — $300-$1,000/month for WMS and integrations.

Question 4

When should I switch from self-fulfillment to a 3PL?

Accepted Answer

Consider a 3PL when: you're shipping 100+ orders/month, fulfillment is consuming 20+ hours/week, you're missing SLAs (late shipments), or you need to scale for peak seasons. A 3PL makes sense when the per-order cost is less than your internal cost (including labor, rent, supplies, and opportunity cost of your time). Most brands switch between 200-500 orders/month.

Question 5

How do 3PL costs change with volume?

Accepted Answer

3PL costs per order decrease with volume because fixed costs (platform fees, storage, account management) are spread across more orders. At 500 orders/month, fixed costs might add $1.50/order. At 2,000 orders/month, that drops to $0.40/order. Variable costs (pick, pack, shipping) stay roughly constant but you can negotiate volume discounts — typically 10-20% off at 1,000+ orders and 20-30% off at 5,000+ orders.

Category	Monthly	Per Order	% of Total
Receiving	$700	$0.88	5%
Storage	$360	$0.45	3%
Pick & Pack	$4,200	$5.25	31%
Shipping (carrier + label)Highest	$7,200	$9.00	54%
Kitting / Inserts	$240	$0.30	2%
Returns	$256	$0.32	2%
Platform / Fixed Fees	$500	$0.63	4%
Total	$13,456	$16.82	100%

3PL Cost Calculator

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