Flexport offers a comprehensive range of fulfillment solutions, including eCommerce fulfillment, B2B fulfillment, and more. The following article describes a transparent breakdown of fees for all our fulfillment-related services, helping you make informed decisions for your business.
Fulfillment
- Domestic Fulfillment
- International Fulfillment (duty paid and duty unpaid)
- Hazardous Materials
- Box Protection and Ready to Ship
- SIOC (Ships in Own Container)
- FEFO / Lot Tracking
- Branded Packaging
- Payment Processing Fees
- Drop Shipping
Storage
- Standard Storage Fees
- Long Term Storage Fees
Other Services
- Return
- Inventory Removal
- Inventory Disposal
- Order Cancellation
- Receiving Non-Compliance
- Prep
- Signature Required Rates
1. Fulfillment Fees
Service | Fee Explanation | Fee Structure |
Domestic Fulfillment |
Flexport’s base domestic fulfillment rates include standard inbound receiving*, inventory placement (for unit based pricing only), pick and pack, packaging material and transportation. Oversize surcharges may apply based on the fulfilled SKU. Rates are based on service level (i.e., delivery speed). More details on our service levels. *Unloading Floor Loaded Containers is a value added service that incurs a fee. |
Flexport provides both unit-based and zone-based pricing models. For unit based pricing, fulfillment fees are calculated per unit fulfilled, based on item size and the quantity of units in each order. For zone based pricing, fees are calculated per package fulfilled based on package size and distance traveled (zones). To view the fulfillment fees, navigate to the billing tab in the Flexport Portal and download the rate card. |
International Delivery Duty Unpaid Fulfillment |
Flexport’s international fulfillment rates include standard inbound receiving*, inventory placement (for unit based pricing only), pick and pack, packaging material and transportation.
Rates are determined by the destination country. For unit-based pricing, they also depend on the number of units per order and the item’s billable weight**. For zone-based pricing, they are influenced by the package dimensions and the number of picks.
*Unloading Floor Loaded Containers is a value added service that incurs a fee.
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Fulfillment fees are calculated either per unit fulfilled (unit based pricing) or per package fulfilled (zone based pricing). To preview the fulfillment fee for a specific SKU, open the inventory list page in the Flexport Portal. If the SKU has not been imported from the channel, manually create the product and input dimensions. |
International Delivery Duty Paid Fulfillment |
Flexport has partnered with third party providers to offer DDP delivery options. DDP streamlines the international shipping process and ensures price transparency and predictability for your customers.
Rate structures and fees will vary based on SLA. Additional fees including duties, taxes, deferment / duty advancement fee, may be passed on at cost.
To learn more about our DDP offerings, please reach out to the Account Management or Support team.
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Hazardous Materials |
Hazardous (Hazmat) products are charged a per unit fulfilled fee to ship items containing lithium-ion batteries. Note: Box protection charges are also applied to Hazmat orders to ensure that your goods can continue to be fulfilled safely in a box to meet relevant regulations.
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Hazardous surcharge is applied per unit fulfilled and box protection fee is charged per order fulfilled. To preview the different fulfillment fees for a specific SKU, see the inventory list page in Flexport Portal. |
Marketplace Carrier Restrictions |
Our fulfillment service relies on a broad network of carriers, allowing us to deliver cost-efficient, and fast shipping to your buyers.
However, certain marketplaces have implemented carrier restrictions that limit the carriers we can use, resulting in higher fulfillment costs.
To ensure continued compliance with these marketplaces for your orders, we apply a surcharge when fulfilling orders from these marketplaces to offset the increased costs.
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Orders from external marketplaces like Target and Walmart will be charged an extra 5% surcharge on your base price |
Box Protection and Ready to Ship |
SKUs that are designated as Box Protection, with the packaging type specified as a box, will incur a surcharge.
For SKUs that are designated Ready to Ship or SIOC, we offer a discount on one unit orders to reward the lower cost to us.
Items that are >20lb or that cannot fit in a 18x14x8 box must be inbounded Ready to Ship. If these SIOC-required items are not ready to ship, they will be subject to a SIOC non-compliance surcharge at outbound. More information can be found here.
SKUs that are left as Flexport Recommended packaging do not have a box protection surcharge or SIOC discount. Some limitations for ready-to-ship may apply. Read more in Packaging Selection: Fragile Protection & Ready to Ship.
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Box protection charges are per order fulfilled.
SIOC discounts are per unit fulfilled. SIOC non-compliance surcharges are per unit fulfilled.
To preview the fulfillment fee for a specific SKU, open the inventory details page in Flexport Portal for a specific SKU. Under Fulfillment Fees, change the packaging selection to Fragile Protection or Ready to Ship.
Oversized items requiring SIOC that do not comply with requirements may be subject to fulfillment surcharges. Oversized SKUs designated as Ready to Ship do not qualify for multi-unit or SIOC discounts.
However, oversized SKUs still count toward the overall quantity of items in the order (e.g. if there is one oversized SIOC SKU and one standard sized SKU in an order, the order is treated as multi-unit and the standard size SKU gets the multi-unit fulfillment rate.) |
FEFO / Lot Tracking
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Flexport employs the FEFO method to prioritize the shipment of items with the earliest expiration date.
Lot tracking provides the ability to monitor and trace specific batches or products throughout the supply chain. In the event of a recall you can stop fulfillment, request removal or disposal of inventory for a specific lot code, or view the orders associated with a lot code.
More details and program enrollment can be found here.
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FEFO is free of charge. Lot tracking is billed per unit inbounded and charged upon receipt. |
Custom Packaging |
Flexport supports custom packaging (boxes, polybags, mailers), inserts, packing slips and systematic gift messages on an exception basis. To learn more about our custom packaging offering, please reach out to the Account Management team or the Support team.
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Payment Processing Fees
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Credit card, debit card and PayPal payments will be charged a 3% processing fee. There will be no fees applied to ACH deposits. Please see here for instructions on how to adjust your payment method to ACH. | |
Drop Shipping
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Flexport supports drop shipping by integrating with third-party providers to ensure efficient order processing and delivery.
Flexport charges a third-party label fee and drop shipping handling fee based on the order or package’s billable weight**. |
For unit-based pricing, the third-party label fee is $1.50 per order, and the drop shipping fees are calculated at the order level based on the order’s billable weight**.
Flexport charges $2.25 for orders below 1 lb, $2.75 for orders weighing 1 lb, and orders exceeding 1 lb incur a charge of $0.35 per pound, starting at the 1 lb base rate of $2.75.
For zone-based pricing, Flexport charges a third-party label fee of $1.50 per package, and the drop shipping fees are calculated at the package level based on the package’s billable weight**.
Packages weighing 1 lb or less are charged a flat drop shipping fee of $2.00, while packages over 1 lb incur a charge of $0.35 per pound, starting at the 1 lb base rate of $2.00.
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2. Storage Fees
Service | Fee Explanation | Fee Structure |
Standard Storage Fees |
Flexport charges a monthly inventory storage fee for the space your inventory occupies in fulfillment centers.
This fee is based on a SKU's dimensions, number of stored SKU unit(s), the length of time the SKU has been in our network and the time of year. |
From January through September, the standard fee is $0.81 per cubic foot, per 30 days. This translates to a charge of $0.027 per cubic foot, per day.
From October through December, the standard fee is $2.40 per cubic foot, per 30 days. This translates to a charge of $0.08 per cubic foot, per day.
Storage rates are calculated on a daily basis and billed monthly. Learn more about storage
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Long Term Storage Fees |
Flexport charges long-term storage fees for units in inventory for more than 365 days.
This fee is based on a SKU's dimensions, number of stored SKU unit(s), and the length of time the SKU has been in our network. |
The long term storage fee is $6.90 per cubic foot, per 30 days or a per unit minimum of $0.15 per unit, per 30 days.
This translates to a charge of $0.230 per cubic foot, per day or a per-unit minimum of $0.005 per unit, per day.
Storage rates are calculated on a daily basis and billed monthly. Learn more about storage
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3. Other Service Fees
Return
Service | Fee Explanation | Fee Structure |
Inspection Fee |
The inspection fees cover the cost of inspecting, processing, and either restocking items back onto shelves or preparing them for removal. More details can be found here.
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Per unit rate applicable to all items in a return |
Shipping Fee |
The label cost for shipping return orders when purchasing shipping labels through Flexport. Purchasing Flexport shipping labels is optional, however labels are required for every return shipment. If Return to Merchant is used as a disposition, shipping label costs also apply. Shipping costs will vary based on the distance traveled and package billable weight**. |
The final cost of the label is calculated after the return has been received by the carrier and dimensions are confirmed. Note: Common reasons for label fees higher than originally estimated: heavier than the anticipated weight of the return, a larger box is used than anticipated, or other unforeseen factors.
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Return to Sender Processing Fee |
The return to sender processing fee is charged to cover the costs of handling the returned package. It may include inspection, repackaging, restocking, or disposal of the returned item.
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$3 per unit |
Return to Sender Label Fee | The return to sender label fee is charged to pass through label costs directly to the merchants, covering the expenses of updating the shipping label and returning the package to the sender. |
The exact fee will be determined by the carrier based on their rates for the return address. No additional markup will be applied by Flexport.
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Address Correction Fee |
An address correction fee is applied when a shipping carrier identifies that the provided address is incomplete, incorrect, or invalid, and the carrier must make corrections to ensure the package can be delivered to the intended address.
The address correction fee is charged to pass through label costs directly to the merchants, covering the expenses of updating the shipping label and delivering the package to the corrected address.
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The exact fee for the address correction will be determined by the carrier based on their rates for address updates. No additional markup will be applied by Flexport. |
Return/Disposal Item Notes and Image Fee |
The return/disposal item notes and image fee is charged to cover the administrative and operational costs associated with documenting returned or disposed items. This includes capturing notes about the item’s condition, processing status, and any relevant discrepancies, as well as taking and storing images for record-keeping and reference.
The return/disposal item notes and image fee is applied only when merchants enable this feature through the seller portal.
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Images + notes for each returned or disposed unit: $1.80 Notes only for each returned or disposed unit: $0.10 |
Inventory Removal Fees
Service | Fee Explanation | Fee Structure |
Inventory Removal |
At a seller's request, Flexport will remove inventory for a SKU from fulfillment centers to a single given location, only within the contiguous US. (At this time, Flexport does not ship to international locations.) The fee is all-inclusive of pick, pack, and ship. Please note: removal orders are typically filled within 10-14 calendar days. However, processing may extend to 30 days or more during the holiday season and peak removal season (February, March, August, and September). Flexport is not able to customize removal orders to adhere to other fulfillment service's packaging specifications
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Charge per unit
Calculated at the per unit level based on the billable weight** of the unit rounded up to the nearest pound (e.g., units <=0.5 lb unit are charged $1.04 per unit, units =3 lb are charged $3.95 per unit and so on).
Removal orders totaling under $25.00 will be charged a minimum fee of $25.00. For a removal quote, please draft a removal order in Flexport Portal. |
Inventory Disposal |
At a seller's request, Flexport will dispose of all inventory for a SKU from fulfillment centers. The fee is all-inclusive, and the disposal method is at Flexport's discretion. Note: Until your inventory is disposed of, you will continue to be charged storage fees, and Flexport will continue fulfilling any orders we receive. If you want Flexport to stop fulfilling orders, you need to update your listing tool to stop sending orders to Flexport.
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Other
Service | Fee Explanation | Fee Structure |
Floor Loaded Container Unloading |
Receiving inventory from Floor Loaded Containers requires additional labor and is considered non-standard receiving for D2C inbounds.
In order to service these inbounds, we charge a fee for receiving inventory sent on Floor Loaded Containers, which varies based on the size of the container.
This is charged once no matter the amount of inventory on the container.
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Per container. $650.00 per 40’ Container $325.00 per 20’ Container
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Non Compliant Inbounds | Inbounds that are not packed correctly according to our specifications are subject to non compliance fees. |
Varies based on non compliance fee.
See a full list of Inbound Non-Compliance fees
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Order Cancellation Fee |
Flexport does not charge a cancellation fee for orders canceled before they are processed.
However, you will be responsible for fees related to orders that have been processed in the warehouse but have not yet shipped. Please note that orders that have already shipped cannot be canceled.
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$3 per unit |
Signature Required Fee | A signature required fee is a charge applied when a carrier requires the recipient to sign upon delivery to confirm they have received the package. The fee covers the cost of verifying the recipient’s identity and ensuring safe delivery. |
$5.00 per package for zone-based pricing $5.00 per order for unit-based pricing
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Prep |
The prep service fee covers the inspection, shipment creation, and outbound of products to ensure they meet specific requirements for storage, shipment, or compliance with third-party guidelines. |
Prep pricing details can be found here. |
Monthly Minimum Fee |
Starting in July 2025, Flexport will implement a minimum monthly fulfillment spend requirement. Merchants who spend less than $500 on fulfillment activities will be charged the difference on a monthly basis. We expect this minimum fee to only impact merchants fulfilling under roughly 40 orders per month (about one order per day).
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Minimum $500 monthly fulfillment spend required More details can be found here. |
**For any item >=1lb, its billable item weight is the greater of the its actual (gravitational) weight and dimensional weight. For any item <1lb, its billable item weight is its actual (gravitational) weight.
Please note these changes go into effect starting 2/14/2025. Have more questions? Submit a request