A 3PL quote can look like a single page of clean numbers or a dense spreadsheet with a dozen line items and three pages of footnotes. Either way, most sellers read it wrong — focusing on pick and pack rate while skimming past the line that actually determines whether the relationship is profitable: shipping. Here's how to read every line, what the ranges look like across the industry, and where operators get surprised after the first invoice.
A standard 3PL rate card has eight cost categories: receiving, storage, pick & pack, packaging materials, outbound shipping, returns processing, account/tech fees, and special services. The shipping line is the one that varies most — and where undisclosed markups of 5–15% commonly hide. The quote that looks cheapest isn't always the one that costs least once the first invoice arrives.
A full sample rate card: 8 categories with industry ranges
Below is a representative industry-standard rate card for a mid-market ecommerce operation. These are real ranges — not best-case numbers — based on what operators actually encounter when evaluating 3PLs in 2026.
| # | Category | Typical Range | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Receiving / Inbound | $20 – $45 | per pallet |
| 1b | Carton receiving (if palletized shipments not standard) | $0.20 – $0.50 | per carton |
| 2 | Storage — pallet | $15 – $30 | per pallet / month |
| 2b | Storage — bin / shelf | $3 – $8 | per bin / month |
| 3 | Pick & Pack — per order | $2.50 – $5.50 | per order |
| 3b | Pick & Pack — per additional item | $0.20 – $0.50 | per item after first |
| 4 | Packaging materials (box, poly bag, dunnage, tape) | $0.50 – $2.50 | per order (or at cost) |
| 5 | Outbound shipping ⚠ | Carrier cost or carrier cost + X% | per shipment |
| 6 | Returns processing | $3.00 – $8.00 | per return |
| 7 | Account / technology fee (WMS portal, integrations) | $150 – $500 | per month |
| 8 | Special services (kitting, labeling, inserts, bundling) | $0.25 – $1.50 | per unit |
Line 5 — outbound shipping — is highlighted because it's the only line where the quoted number and the billed number frequently diverge. Every other line is what it says. Shipping is where the math can quietly shift after the relationship starts.
What each line actually means
Receiving / Inbound (Lines 1–1b)
This covers the labor to unload your shipment, count units, verify against your packing list, and put inventory away in the warehouse management system (WMS). You're billed per pallet for full pallet loads, or per carton for floor-loaded or mixed shipments. A 10-pallet inbound at $30/pallet = $300. Rates go higher if your shipments require lot tracking, expiration date capture, or inspection beyond basic count verification.
Storage (Lines 2–2b)
Billed monthly on the space your inventory occupies. Pallet positions are the standard unit — a standard pallet position is typically 4×4 ft of floor space plus vertical clearance. If your products are small enough to bin-slot (individual shelf bins rather than full pallets), you'll be quoted a bin rate instead. Some 3PLs also use cubic foot rates for non-standard items. The key variable: how your inventory turns. Slow-moving SKUs sitting in racked pallet positions for 90+ days add up fast.
Pick & Pack (Lines 3–3b)
The core labor line: picking each item from its location, packing the order, applying the label. The per-order fee covers the base handling; the per-item fee (sometimes called a "pick fee" or "split fee") applies to orders with more than one SKU or multiple units. An order with 3 items might be billed as $3.00 base + (2 × $0.30) = $3.60. Know your average items per order before comparing quotes — a low base rate with a high per-item fee can cost more than a higher base with no per-item fee.
Packaging Materials (Line 4)
Standard materials — corrugated boxes, poly mailers, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, tape — are either included in the pick fee, billed at cost, or billed at cost plus a handling margin. Branded or custom packaging is almost always billed separately. If packaging materials aren't explicitly mentioned in the quote, ask: "What packaging do you use and how is it billed?" The answer changes the true per-order cost meaningfully for some product types.
Account / Technology Fee (Line 7)
Covers access to the WMS client portal, EDI or API integrations, reporting, and account management overhead. Some 3PLs roll this into their pick fee; others charge it as a flat monthly line. It's often not mentioned in initial conversations and appears in the contract. At $250/month, that's $3,000/year — worth knowing upfront.
Special Services (Line 8)
Kitting, bundling, insertion of marketing materials, re-labeling, poly-bagging individual units, FBA prep — all fall here. These are project-rate or per-unit fees quoted separately for each project type. If you run any of these services, get specific per-unit rates in writing before signing.
Pass-through vs. markup — and how to tell the difference
Line 5 is where 3PL pricing gets complicated. Unlike every other fee on the rate card — which is what it says — the shipping line has two fundamentally different structures that look identical on paper.
The reason this matters: on 1,000 orders per month averaging $7.50 in shipping per order, a 10% markup is $750/month — $9,000/year — that never appears as a line item on your invoice. The fulfillment rates look competitive. The shipping line says "at carrier cost." But the actual carrier invoice doesn't match what you're billed.
This practice isn't inherently deceptive when disclosed. Some 3PLs openly charge a shipping margin and justify it as covering the cost of carrier relationship management. That's a business decision you can evaluate. The problem is vague "pass-through" language in the contract paired with a refusal to share carrier invoices — where clients only discover the gap when the invoices don't add up.
Matt Vandevander at Simple Distribution describes the environment directly: "I get companies trying to sell me software for client portals specifically designed to misrepresent shipping costs so the 3PL can take hidden profits. Fulfillment seems like a bargain until the shipping bill arrives. Then the 3PL just blames it on industry shipping prices."
Simple Distribution operates on true pass-through. Their fulfillment numbers may look higher than competitors marketing lower pick rates — because those competitors are recovering margin on the shipping side instead.
4 questions to verify any 3PL's shipping billing
A transparent 3PL can produce a redacted carrier invoice and show that the line-item charges match what the client was billed. Hesitation here is a red flag.
Ask for a number, not language. "We pass shipping through at competitive rates" is not an answer. "We add 8% to carrier cost" is. Get it in writing as a contract term.
The right to request and review underlying carrier invoices at any time protects you even if you trust the relationship. A 3PL with nothing to hide will grant this without negotiation.
If you know the carrier rates and you know what you're billed, the math is simple. A 3PL that won't share rate card access makes that comparison impossible by design.
The same 1,000-order operation: itemized industry quote vs. Simple Distribution's 3-line card
To show how the numbers actually work, here's the same operation — 1,000 orders per month, averaging 1.5 items per order, shipping 10 pallets inbound per month, storing 25 pallets — quoted two ways.
| Industry Itemized Quote | Simple Distribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving (10 pallets) | 10 × $35 = $350 | 10 × $35 = $350 |
| Storage (25 pallets) | 25 × $25 = $625 | 25 × $25 = $625 |
| Pick fee (per order) | 1,000 × $2.75 = $2,750 | 1,000 × $5.50 = $5,500 (all-in: pick, pack, packaging) |
| Per additional item (500 extra) | 500 × $0.30 = $150 | |
| Packaging materials | 1,000 × $1.00 = $1,000 | |
| Shipping — quoted rate | "At carrier cost" = $7.50 avg × 1,000 = $7,500 | True pass-through = $7.50 × 1,000 = $7,500 |
| Technology / account fee | $300/month | — |
| Quoted total | $12,675 | $13,975 |
| ⚠ Shipping markup billed (12%) | +$900 (not on quote) | $0 — none |
| Actual first invoice | $13,575 | $13,975 |
This is the scenario Simple Distribution is describing when they say their upfront numbers sometimes look worse than competitors. The competitors aren't cheaper — they're recovering margin on shipping instead of pick-and-pack. The full cost of both relationships is similar; the difference is where it appears on the invoice.
Three things rarely on a 3PL quote — but always on the invoice
At 7–10% return rates typical for ecommerce, 70–100 returns per month on a 1,000-order operation costs $210–$800/month at $3–$8 per unit. This line is almost never in initial quotes. Always ask for the return processing rate specifically and factor it into your true monthly cost comparison.
Setup costs — WMS configuration, integration development (Shopify, Amazon, etc.), SKU profiling, initial receiving — can run $500–$3,000 as a one-time charge. Some 3PLs waive this for larger accounts. Either way, it affects your true cost of switching and should be negotiated before signing, not discovered at go-live.
Beyond the monthly tech fee, some 3PLs charge for reporting, carrier disputes, rate renegotiation, or dedicated account management time above a threshold. These typically appear as separate line items after the relationship matures. Ask what happens if you need to escalate an issue — is that included or billed at an hourly rate?
Carrier accessorials — residential delivery fees, fuel surcharges, DIM weight adjustments, peak surcharges — are real costs that pass through on every shipment. How they're handled varies: some 3PLs pass them through cleanly; others bundle them or round up in ways that add margin. Ask how accessorials are billed and whether they're included in the quoted shipping rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
A standard 3PL quote covers receiving/inbound, storage, pick and pack, packaging materials, outbound shipping, and sometimes a monthly account or technology fee. What's frequently missing: returns processing rates, onboarding fees, and special services like kitting or labeling. Always ask specifically about these before signing.
3PLs negotiate volume discounts with carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS) based on their combined shipping volume across all clients. Some pass those rates through at cost. Others keep part of the discount or add a percentage markup — typically 5–15% — to the carrier rate before billing. The difference between what the 3PL pays the carrier and what they charge you is their shipping margin.
Pass-through shipping means the 3PL bills you exactly what the carrier charges them — no markup, no margin. You get the benefit of the 3PL's negotiated carrier rates without an added layer of profit on top. True pass-through is verifiable: the 3PL can show you carrier invoices that match what they billed you.
Very common. Industry analyses consistently describe shipping markup as normal and widely used — not the exception. Typical markups run 5–15%, though some providers go higher. The practical rule: assume your 3PL is marking up shipping and ask specifically how much, rather than assuming pass-through.
Ask for sample carrier invoices from an existing client account and compare what the carrier charged versus what the client was billed. Request a written markup percentage or per-shipment fee in your contract. Ask for audit rights so you can request carrier invoices at any time. A 3PL unwilling to answer these questions directly is a red flag.
Pallet storage typically runs $15–$30 per pallet per month. Bin or shelf storage for smaller items runs $3–$8 per bin per month. Rates vary by market — Memphis and Midwest markets typically run lower than coastal markets.
The pick and pack fee covers the labor cost of pulling items from shelves, packing them into a box or poly bag, and preparing the order for shipment. Most 3PLs charge a per-order fee ($2.50–$5.50) plus a per-item fee for orders with multiple SKUs ($0.20–$0.50 per additional item). Some simpler pricing models roll everything into one flat per-order rate.
Sometimes, sometimes not. Some 3PLs include basic packaging in their pick and pack fee. Others bill packaging materials separately — either at cost or with a markup. If you're using branded or custom packaging, that's almost always a separate line item billed at cost plus a handling fee.
Many 3PLs have monthly minimums of $500–$2,000, meaning even if your actual usage falls short, you pay the floor. This is designed to ensure the relationship is profitable for them at low volume. Ask about minimums upfront — they're often not included in the initial quote but appear in the contract.
Returns processing is the most commonly omitted line — rates of $3–$8 per unit add up fast at any meaningful return rate. Onboarding fees ($500–$3,000) for system setup and integration are frequently not mentioned until the contract stage. Account maintenance and reporting fees may also appear later. Ask for a full fee schedule, not just a rate card.
Want to see what a simple, transparent quote actually looks like?
Matt will walk you through Simple Distribution's pricing — no hidden shipping margin, no surprise fees on the first invoice.