When you're doing 20 orders a day, fulfilling from your garage makes sense. But at what point does it stop making sense — and start costing you money?
The True Cost of In-House
Most sellers only count the obvious costs: boxes, tape, labels, and their own time. But the real cost includes:
- Warehouse rent — even a small space in a decent location runs $2-5k/month
- Staff — you need at least 2-3 people for consistent daily fulfillment
- Equipment — scales, printers, shelving, packing stations
- Software — WMS, shipping rate comparisons, inventory management
- Insurance — warehouse liability, workers comp
- Your time — the most expensive cost of all
When a 3PL Makes Sense
A 3PL becomes cost-effective when:
- You're processing 50+ orders per day consistently
- You're spending more than 20 hours per week on fulfillment
- You're missing shipping SLAs or getting customer complaints
- You want to scale but fulfillment is the bottleneck
The Math
For most sellers doing 100-500 orders/day, a 3PL saves 20-40% compared to fully loaded in-house costs. The savings come from shared infrastructure, carrier rate negotiations, and operational expertise.
The Real Question
It's not "which is cheaper?" — it's "what's the highest-value use of your time?" If you're packing boxes instead of sourcing products, running ads, or building your brand, you're leaving money on the table.