Why the unit matters more than the number
A quote is a list of units, and the units decide the bill. Per order or per item. Per cubic foot or per pallet. Per parcel or per unit returned. Two quotes with the same headline rate can produce different invoices because the units underneath are different. So read the unit first and the number second.
Our rate card has seven lines: handling, returns, storage, special-project labor, receiving, packaging and supplies, and postage. The rates are estimates, confirmed in your quote once we see your volume and profile. Postage is billed semi-monthly per shipment. Handling and storage are billed monthly. There are no seasonal or peak surcharges on handling or storage. The sections below take the lines one at a time.
Handling: per order versus per item
Handling is the pick, pack and ship work on each order. The two common units are per order and per item. Per order means one charge for the whole order, whatever is in it. Per item means a charge for the first unit and a further charge for each additional unit in the same order. The difference appears as soon as your average order has more than one unit. A per-item structure grows with the basket. A per-order structure does not.
Our handling is an estimated $3.00 per order, pick, pack and ship. Veiled, the brand this floor was built for, ships orders that average six units. On a per-item structure that order carries six charges. On a per-order structure it carries one. If your orders are bulky or multi-unit, ask any 3PL to price your last three months of orders at their unit, not a one-unit example. Packaging and supplies, cartons, mailers and dunnage, are billed as they are used and sit on their own line, not inside the handling rate.
Storage: per cubic foot versus per pallet
Storage is billed on space, and space has units too. Per pallet means you pay for a pallet position whether the pallet is full or a quarter full. Per bin or per shelf works the same way at a smaller size. Per cubic foot means you pay for the volume your inventory actually occupies, measured at the SKU level.
Our storage is an estimated $0.65 per cubic foot per month, billed on the space you actually use. The math is the cubic feet on the floor times the rate. If your stock drops through the month, the bill drops with it. If you sell small goods, jewelry for example, the cubic feet stay small. If you sell bulky apparel, storage is the line to watch, and the fix is turning inventory faster, not a different rate. Ask every 3PL how the cube is measured and when it is measured.
Returns: per parcel
Returns are their own line because they are their own work: receive the parcel, open it, grade the contents, restock what is sellable, set aside what is not, and tell your store so the refund can fire. The unit on our card is per parcel, an estimated $3.00. Some quotes bill per unit returned, which adds up on multi-unit returns. Some add a restocking line on top. Read for both.
Returns volume is yours to estimate, and it varies by category. A fashion brand sees more returns than a supplements brand. Use your real returns count from the last three months, not a guess, and put it in the intake so the proposal is built on it.
Special projects: per hour
Kitting a season of stock, relabeling, re-bagging, building gift sets, breaking down an inbound that arrived packed wrong. None of that is an order, so it is billed as labor, an estimated $35 per hour, only when you ask for it. Standing kits are different. Once a bundle is set up in ShipStation it picks like any SKU and bills as handling. Ask any 3PL where the line falls between project labor and normal handling, and get the answer in writing before the first project.
Receiving
Many quotes carry a receiving line, billed per pallet, per carton or per hour. Ask which, and ask what happens when a shipment arrives without labels or with a count that does not match the packing list, because that is when receiving charges grow. At YNK receiving is billed hourly: inbound stock is scanned to stock, counted and shelved, and the hours are on your invoice. The rate is confirmed in your quote, and a clean, labeled inbound takes fewer hours than a mixed pallet with no packing list.
Postage: billed semi-monthly per shipment
Postage is the largest number on most 3PL invoices and the hardest to compare on a rate card, because it depends on carrier, service, weight and destination for each shipment. Our postage is billed semi-monthly per shipment, itemized, so each line on the postage invoice is one parcel you can trace to one order. Handling and storage are billed monthly.
When you compare quotes, compare postage on your real shipments. Send three months of orders with weights and destination zip codes and ask for the postage total on that set. A rate card cannot answer that question. A quote built on your data can.
Peak: surcharges or none
A peak surcharge is a fee added to handling or storage for a defined season, usually the fourth quarter. It is easy to miss on a quote because it sits in a schedule, not on the rate card. There are no seasonal or peak surcharges on handling or storage at YNK. The rate in December is the rate in June.
What does change in peak is the SLA on orders that miss the 12pm ET cutoff: two to three business days instead of one. The rates do not move. Nominal’s last-minute warehouse sale put 10,000+ orders on the floor in one weekend, and every order shipped within SLA at the rates in the agreement.
Two months, worked
Both months use the estimated rates above. Postage is billed semi-monthly per shipment and confirmed in your quote, so it appears as a line, not a number. Special-project labor is not on either table because neither month includes a project.
| Line | How it is billed | 1,000 orders a month |
|---|---|---|
| Handling | 1,000 orders x $3.00 | $3,000.00 |
| Storage | 400 cu ft x $0.65 | $260.00 |
| Returns | 30 parcels x $3.00 | $90.00 |
| Postage | Billed semi-monthly per shipment | Confirmed in your quote |
| Total before postage, receiving and packaging | $3,350.00 |
| Line | How it is billed | 300 orders a month |
|---|---|---|
| Handling | 300 orders x $3.00 | $900.00 |
| Storage | 150 cu ft x $0.65 | $97.50 |
| Returns | 10 parcels x $3.00 | $30.00 |
| Postage | Billed semi-monthly per shipment | Confirmed in your quote |
| Total before postage, receiving and packaging | $1,027.50 |
The first month is $3,350.00 before postage, receiving hours and packaging. The second is $1,027.50 on the same basis, and 300 orders a month is where the rate card starts to work well. Notice what is not on either table: no surcharge line, no software line, no dashboard line. Shopify, Amazon and TikTok Shop connections, the ShipStation WMS and the live dashboard are included. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
How to read a quote
- 01Find the unit on every line before you look at the number. Per order or per item. Per cubic foot or per pallet. Per parcel or per unit returned.
- 02Ask for the quote on your last three months of orders, not on an example order. Your average basket and your returns rate are what move the bill.
- 03Add the lines that are not on the rate card: receiving, packaging materials, account or software fees, minimums and peak schedules. At YNK there is no setup fee, and receiving and packaging are their own lines on the rate card, so nothing hides in a schedule.
- 04Check the billing cadence. Ours is handling and storage monthly, postage semi-monthly per shipment.
- 05Ask what changes in peak, the rates, the SLA or both. Ours: the SLA moves to two to three business days on orders after the 12pm ET cutoff, and the rates do not move.
- 06Ask what is included. Ours: Shopify, Amazon and TikTok Shop integrations, the ShipStation WMS and the live dashboard.
- 07Get the exact rates in writing. Ours are estimates on this site and confirmed in the proposal, which follows the intake within five business days.
Related: The full rate card · Run your numbers in the calculator · How to switch 3PLs without missing a day