How Much Does Ecommerce Fulfillment Really Cost? A Straightforward Guide for Small Brands

If you run a growing ecommerce brand, you have probably asked yourself a version of this question:

“What will it really cost us if we move to a 3PL?”

The honest answer is: it depends. But it should not be a mystery.

In this guide, I will break down the main cost buckets in ecommerce fulfillment and show you how to think about them in a simple, model-friendly way. I will also share how we handle this at On-Demand Warehousing and Fulfillment (ODWF) so you can see what transparent pricing looks like in practice.

The Problem With Most 3PL Pricing

Many small brands talk to a few 3PLs and walk away more confused than when they started. Quotes are full of line items that are hard to compare:

• Receiving fees that are not clearly defined
• Storage that changes based on how the 3PL measures your product
• Pick and pack fees with add-ons you did not expect
• “Miscellaneous” charges that show up on the invoice later

That makes it almost impossible to answer basic questions like:

• What is my cost per order at 300 orders per month?
• What happens to my cost if I double my volume?
• How much am I really paying for storage versus shipping?

At ODWF, we take the opposite approach. We give you a straightforward pricing sheet that you can drop into Excel or Google Sheets and run your own models. You should be able to pressure-test the numbers yourself before you move a single box.

The Main Components of Ecommerce Fulfillment Cost

Most 3PL pricing for ecommerce can be broken into a few core buckets:

1. Receiving
2. Storage
3. Pick and pack
4. Packaging and materials
5. Shipping
6. Returns handling

Let’s walk through each one in plain English.

1. Receiving

Receiving is everything that happens when your product arrives at the warehouse:

• Unloading pallets or floor-loaded containers
• Counting and inspecting product
• Labeling and putting inventory away

Some 3PLs charge per pallet, some per unit, and some by the hour. What matters to you is that the method is clear and you can estimate it.

How we handle it at ODWF: We spell out receiving on the pricing sheet so you can plug in a realistic inbound scenario. For example, if you are bringing in a container with a known pallet count or unit count, you can estimate the receiving cost before it ever hits our dock.

2. Storage

Storage is usually charged monthly based on how much space your inventory occupies. That might be per pallet, per bin, or per cubic foot.

For small brands, storage can swing quite a bit if you have seasonal products, bulky packaging, or slow-moving SKUs. You want to understand how your 3PL measures space and what happens if your footprint grows or shrinks.

How we handle it at ODWF: We keep storage pricing simple and predictable. On the pricing sheet, you will see clear pallet or bin rates so you can estimate your monthly storage cost based on your current and projected inventory levels.

3. Pick and Pack

Pick and pack covers the labor to:

• Pick items from storage for each order
• Pack them into a box or mailer
• Prepare the shipment for the carrier

This is often charged as a base fee per order plus an additional fee per item after the first. This is where your order profile really matters. A brand shipping one item per order has a different cost structure than a brand shipping five items per order.

How we handle it at ODWF: Our pricing sheet breaks pick and pack into simple, understandable charges so you can plug in your average units per order and see what your cost per order looks like at different volumes.

4. Packaging and Materials

Boxes, mailers, tape, dunnage, labels, and branded inserts all cost money. Some 3PLs roll this into pick and pack. Others charge separately.

How we handle it at ODWF: We separate materials so you can see what you are paying for labor versus packaging. If you have specific packaging requirements, we can model that with you up front.

5. Shipping

Shipping is usually the largest single cost in your fulfillment stack. It is also the one that is easiest to underestimate.

Many small brands start out buying labels directly from carrier websites or a basic shipping tool. That works at low volume, but it often means you are overpaying on certain zones, services, or package sizes without realizing it.

This is where our tech stack matters.

At ODWF, we use Rabot to automatically shop rates across multiple carriers and services in real time. You set the rules based on what matters to you (speed, cost, service level), and Rabot helps us pick the best option for each shipment inside those rules.

For a lot of small brands, that is the difference between “we think we are profitable” and actually protecting a few dollars of margin on every order.

6. Returns Handling

Returns are a fact of life in ecommerce. The question is how you handle them:

• Who receives the return?
• Who inspects it?
• When does it get restocked, refurbished, or written off?

Some 3PLs treat returns as an afterthought. Others charge premium rates because they do not really want to deal with them.

How we handle it at ODWF: We treat returns as a defined process, not a side job. We break out returns handling on the pricing sheet so you can see the cost and decide how you want your returns workflow to operate.

A Simple Example: Modeling a 300-Order-Per-Month Brand

To make this more concrete, imagine you are shipping around 300 orders per month with an average of 3 units per order. You are bringing in inventory a few pallets at a time and you have a mix of small parcels going around the country.

With a clear pricing sheet, you can sit down and estimate:

• Receiving cost for your next inbound shipment
• Monthly storage based on your pallet or bin count
• Pick and pack cost at 300 orders and 3 units per order
• Average packaging cost per order
• Estimated shipping cost range, with Rabot helping us keep the actuals on the lower end of that range

Now you are not guessing. You can compare that modeled cost per order to what you are spending today doing it yourself, including your own time, labor, and space.

Why Transparent, Model-Friendly Pricing Matters

For a small brand, the decision to move to a 3PL is not just about outsourcing work. It is about gaining control:

• Control over your time so you can focus on sales and product instead of packing boxes
• Control over your costs so you are not surprised by invoices
• Control over your customer experience so orders ship on time and accurately

That is why we built our pricing approach at ODWF around clarity. We expect you to ask hard questions and run your own numbers. Our job is to give you the information to do that.

How On-Demand Warehousing and Fulfillment Approaches Pricing

On-Demand Warehousing and Fulfillment is a Jacksonville-based 3PL focused on small and emerging brands that need a practical, no-nonsense partner for ecommerce and fulfillment.

Here is how we approach pricing and technology:

• Straightforward pricing sheet: We give you a clear, line-item pricing sheet covering receiving, storage, pick and pack, materials, shipping, and returns. You can plug it into your own model and see what happens at different volumes.
• Modern tech stack: We use a warehouse management system and shipping tools that integrate with common ecommerce platforms so orders flow in automatically and tracking flows back out.
• Rabot for rate shopping: We use Rabot to automatically shop rates across carriers in real time, helping you protect margin on every shipment without having to manage it yourself.

The goal is simple: give you a clear picture of your fulfillment costs so you can make a confident decision about when and how to use a 3PL.

Thinking About Moving to a 3PL?

If you are at the point where your space is full, your days are disappearing into packing and shipping, and you are not sure what your true cost per order is, it is probably time to at least model what a 3PL would look like.

If you want to see how our pricing would apply to your brand, we can walk through your current order volume, product mix, and inbound plan and map it directly to our pricing sheet. You will walk away with a clear, numbers-based view of what fulfillment with ODWF would actually cost.

From there, you can decide whether it makes sense to keep doing it yourself, bring on a 3PL partner, or plan a phased transition as you grow.

If you are still handling everything yourself, this post on moving from DIY fulfillment to a 3PL walks through the signs it is time to make a change.

If you want to see how these numbers would look for your brand, the next step is simple: reach out to us and share a bit about your products and order volume . We will map your situation directly to our pricing sheet so you can see your true ecommerce fulfillment cost before you make a decision.