12 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a 3PL

Updated: Feb 27

Most fulfillment problems start before you ever ship the first order.

They start with vague answers, soft promises, and pricing that looks clean until it isn’t.

Here are 12 questions that expose the truth early.

## 1) What exactly is included in pick & pack?

If they can’t explain it clearly, you’ll pay for it later.

## 2) How do you charge for “additional items”?

Some providers use per-item fees as a hidden margin lever.

## 3) Are packaging materials charged at cost or marked up?

This one matters more than people realize.

## 4) Is shipping marked up?

Ask directly:

**“Do you markup postage, or do I pay true carrier cost?”**

## 5) What carriers do you support?

If your options are limited, your costs will rise.

## 6) What happens during peak season?

Do you get deprioritized? Charged extra? Delayed?

## 7) What’s your inventory accuracy process?

If it’s vague, inventory will drift.

## 8) How do returns work?

Returns are part of the business now. The process matters.

## 9) What integrations do you support?

Shopify is the baseline. Ask what else matters.

## 10) Can I speak to a real operator?

You want access to the people doing the work—not just sales.

## 11) What happens if I want to leave?

Bad contracts punish exit.

## 12) Do you offer any pricing stability options?

If your logistics costs creep every year, your business becomes fragile.

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If you want a quote that answers these questions upfront, we can help.

No sales haze.

No pricing tricks.

Just a clean fulfillment plan.

Our Shopify fulfillment model answers those questions in practice.

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