Every fulfillment invoice is built from the same six buckets. This guide explains each one, gives typical US market ranges, and shows you the hidden fees to catch before you sign, so you can compare quotes apples to apples.
Almost every fulfillment quote breaks down into the same six buckets: receiving (getting your inventory into the warehouse), storage (the space it occupies each month), pick and pack (the labor to assemble each order), packaging materials, postage, and special projects like kitting or returns. If a quote doesn't map cleanly onto those buckets, that's usually by design, and it makes comparison shopping hard.
Typical US market ranges, for orientation only: receiving runs $25-50 per pallet or $0.25-0.50 per unit. Storage runs $15-40 per pallet per month, or $1-5 per bin for small SKUs. Pick and pack runs $2.50-5.00 for the first item in an order and $0.50-1.00 for each additional item. Returns processing runs $2-5 per return. Kitting and assembly is usually quoted hourly at $25-45 per hour or per finished unit. These are industry-typical figures, not our rate card; your actual quote depends on your SKU profile and order mix.
What actually drives your cost up or down
Order profile matters more than order volume. A single-SKU, single-item order in a poly mailer is the cheapest thing a warehouse can ship. Multi-item orders, fragile items, branded unboxing with inserts and tissue, and oversized products all add labor or materials, and honest 3PLs price them as visible line items instead of burying them in a blended rate.
Storage density is the other big lever. Slow-moving inventory that sits for months costs more than its storage line suggests, because it also drags down pick efficiency. If a large share of your catalog turns slower than once a quarter, expect that to show up somewhere in your pricing, and prefer a partner who tells you where.
Postage usually dwarfs everything else. For most DTC brands, carrier spend is 60-80% of the total fulfillment bill, so a 3PL's negotiated rates with UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL move your total cost more than any handling fee. Ask to see rate cards by zone and service level, not just a discount percentage.
The hidden fees that wreck a clean-looking quote
The classics: account management fees that appear after month one, minimum monthly invoices that quietly convert a per-order quote into a retainer, peak-season surcharges that weren't in the contract, charges for inventory counts or reporting that should be table stakes, and re-rating after launch once your volume is captive.
None of those are inherently illegitimate, but every one of them should be in writing before you sign. The test is simple: could you reconstruct your monthly invoice from the contract alone? If not, keep asking questions or keep shopping.
How Bring Fulfillment prices
Every service line is itemized: receiving per pallet or per item depending on inbound format, storage per pallet, shelf, or bin per month, pick and pack per order with visible line items for inserts, custom packaging, and value-add steps, and postage passed through at our negotiated carrier rates. No bundled minimums, no surprise account-management fees, and the same rate card after launch as during the sales call.
The operational standards behind those numbers: orders submitted before 12 PM Mountain on a business day ship same day, inbound inventory is processed in under 24 hours, order accuracy runs at 99.2%, and questions get answered within 1 business day. Pricing only means something if the service levels behind it hold.
How to compare 3PL quotes apples to apples
Build a one-month model from your real data: your actual order count, your real average items per order, your SKU count and pallet footprint, and your top five shipping destinations. Send the same model to every 3PL you're evaluating and ask each to price it line by line, postage included. The spread between quotes is usually smaller than the spread between what the quotes hide.
Then weigh the things that don't show up on an invoice: cutoff times, inbound turnaround, accuracy rates, and how fast a human answers when something breaks. A quote that's 5% cheaper and a day slower to respond is not cheaper.
Free resource
Want our actual rate structure? Get the 3PL Pricing Guide.
A line-item view of what a 3PL invoice should - and shouldn't - look like, with the questions to ask before you sign.
3PL pricing questions
How much does a 3PL cost per order?
For a typical single-item DTC parcel order, handling (pick, pack, and materials) usually lands in the $3-6 range across the US market before postage. Postage is the bigger number: most brands spend 60-80% of their total fulfillment bill on carrier costs. Multi-item orders, custom packaging, and oversized products push handling up from there.
Do 3PLs charge monthly minimums?
Many do, typically $250-1,500 per month, and it's one of the most common surprises on a first invoice. Bring Fulfillment prices per service line with no bundled minimums, so a slow month costs you a slow month, not a retainer.
What should be included in pick and pack fees?
Picking the items, standard packing into a box or mailer, and the label. Inserts, gift notes, custom or branded packaging, fragile handling, and kitting are legitimate extra line items, but they should be quoted as visible line items up front, not discovered on an invoice.
Why do 3PL quotes vary so much for the same business?
Usually because each 3PL is making different assumptions about your order profile: items per order, packaging spec, storage footprint, and shipping zones. Sending every candidate the same one-month model built from your real data removes most of the variance and exposes who is hiding costs in assumptions.
How do I get actual pricing from Bring Fulfillment?
Request a fulfillment plan with your order volume, SKU count, and channels, and we'll reply within 1 business day with itemized pricing built on your real profile. If you're earlier in the process, the free 3PL Pricing Guide shows the full line-item structure first.
