A startup founder’s guide to shipping options — from garage packing to Amazon’s walled garden
Every physical product founder faces the same moment of panic.
“Wait, HOW do I actually get this thing to customers?”
You’ve perfected the product, built the website, launched ads. Now someone orders your amazing creation and you realize you have no clue how to ship it efficiently.
Welcome to the fulfillment decision tree.
In-house fulfillment means you (or your team) pack and ship everything. Full control, personal touch, but it doesn’t scale. Fine for early days, nightmare at volume.
Third-party logistics (3PL) companies warehouse your inventory and handle shipping. You send them bulk shipments, they handle individual orders. Middle ground between control and scalability.
Amazon FBA stores your products in their warehouses and ships to customers. Massive reach, Prime eligibility, but you’re trapped in their walled garden with changing fees and policies.
Drop-shipping means your supplier ships directly to customers. Low upfront costs, but zero quality control and longer shipping times.
Hybrid approaches combine multiple methods — Amazon for volume, direct shipping for custom orders, 3PL for international.
Here’s what most founders under-think: The “best” option changes as you grow.
Start in-house to learn your packaging and shipping challenges. Graduate to 3PL when volume overwhelms your garage. Add Amazon when you need their reach (but never depend solely on their platform).
The Amazon reality check: Yes, they have incredible reach and Prime customers convert better. But their fees creep up, policies change overnight, and account suspensions can kill your business instantly.
Use Amazon as one channel, not your only channel.
The decision framework: Match fulfillment method to your current volume, margins, and control needs.
Under 100 orders monthly? Stay in-house.
100-1000 orders? Consider 3PL.
Over 1000? Test Amazon while building other channels.
Never put all your eggs in someone else’s warehouse.
What fulfillment surprise caught you off guard when you started shipping physical products?
Forward this to someone figuring out their shipping strategy, or reach out to my team of product marketing strategists at Graphos Product.