ShipBob Fulfillment Reviews and the Best Alternative

Picture of June Andria

June Andria

As the Content Manager at NextSmartShip, I specialize in crafting compelling narratives and innovative content that engages our audience and drives our brand forward.

Picture of June Andria

June Andria

As the Content Manager at NextSmartShip, I specialize in crafting compelling narratives and innovative content that engages our audience and drives our brand forward.

Table of Contents

Today, E-commerce platforms are ruling the world. In a single click, you can buy any product of any category from anywhere worldwide. Although you get the product at your doorstep, a whole new system is working behind you to ensure you get your product on time. This article will explore ShipBob fulfillment options and provide honest ShipBob reviews. Even If you want to deliver any item around the world, how can ShipBob benefit you? So, stick with the article to learn more. ShipBobShipbob Review Cover

Table of Content

Part 1. What is ShipBob?

ShipBob fulfillment acts as the best shipment provider and the game changer for e-commerce platforms. According to the ShipBob reviews, it simplifies the complex order and overcomes shipment management and problems. It also ensures that your business focuses on growth and makes you tension-free from the shipment hurdles and worries. ShipBob Website ShipBob handles the entire process for you, from receiving orders to packaging, and also makes sure that your product is delivered at the right time so your business doesn’t lose its reputation; this is a core quality of ShipBob fulfillment. Utilizing ShipBob service will save your business time that might be wasted in packaging and provide customer satisfaction with minimum ShipBob pricing.

Part 2. Exploring ShipBob Fulfillment Services

ShipBob fulfillment‘s primary service is to endow the best quality service. The primary services of ShipBob include order fulfillment, managing the inventory of the investor, and shipping the ordered goods and products. Once the order has been made for the product in the inventory, the ShipBob hops in to manage the order. ShipBob fulfillment picks, confirms, and picks the order, then packs it delicately and finally ships products directly according to ShipBob pricing at customers’ doorstep. It also keeps an eye on the inventory of the investor and manages it by updating the inventory.

Key Features

Fast and Accurate Fulfillment – ShipBob’s strategically located fulfillment centers ensure prompt order processing, leading to quicker delivery times. Real-time Inventory Tracking – It allows the investor to have real-time insights into the inventory to keep a track record of the products and items. Easy Integration – ShipBob integrates seamlessly with leading e-commerce platforms, streamlining the order submission and fulfillment process. Distributed Inventory –  With multiple fulfillment centers, ShipBob helps decrease ShipBob pricing by choosing the facility closest to the customer.

Pros

  • The fast and more accurate fulfillment helps your business to enroll more happy clients and satisfy the existing customers.
  • Using ShipBob fulfillment not only saves the investors money but also manages the packaging of items, saving a lot of time for the e-commerce business.
  • They use advanced technology and AI tools that increase the chance of any business growing.

Cons

  • Although ShipBob pricing is quite competitive, the shipment charges are quite expensive if the product is heavy or requires more space.
  • This pricing is good for the large-scale e-commerce business because maintaining the cost of ShipBob can be expensive for small-scale businesses.

Tip: If you are start-up and want to save on shipping costs, you can rely on 3pl services like NextSmartShip. Get Custom Solutions According to honest ShipBob reviews, their service offers a perfect solution for large-scale e-commerce businesses looking forward to accuracy and customer satisfaction.

Part 3. How Much Does ShipBob Cost Shipping Fee?

ShipBob pricing structure is designed to provide flexibility and transparency to e-commerce businesses and endow the best customer satisfaction from both end customer and investors’ points of view while offering various services required in e-commerce business. Now, let’s explore different factors that make ShipBob extraordinary.

Inventory Check and Storage

ShipBob offers an initial inventory check fee of $35 for the first two hours, followed by $45 per person-hour beyond the initial two hours. When it comes to storage, charges depend on the storage unit type:

  • Pallet: $40/month
  • Shelf: $10/month
  • Bin: $7/month

Pick and Pack

The amazing part of the ShipBob fulfillment is pick and pack services. This service includes the first 4 picks on the order, and these first 4 picks will not cost a single penny. It will be on the behave of ShipBob, which works as a marketing trick for them so they have more ShipBob users. As the first 4 picks are completed, ShipBob will cost $0.25 USD per pick. Moreover, a minimum spend requirement is $275 after 90 days. This spend covers a range of order types, including B2C, B2B, and kitting orders, encompassing fulfillment fees and pick fees.

Additional Services

ShipBob offers services to large-scale businesses to make things more comfortable and flexible.

  • Workstation – $25 per order
  • De-kitting – $0.40 per action
  • Breakdown – $25 per SKU per work order

Transparency and Flexibility

Different ShipBob pricing structures provide a window to the different scale business as large-scale business requires more services than just delivering the goods. ShipBob works as an extra helping hand for large-scale businesses. Their transparency in pricing allows investors and business owners to make wise decisions in the future without staking their inventory and resources.

Part 4. ShipBob vs NextSmartShip

Getting the right fulfillment partner is one key to win the holiday sales battle. Are you looking for a new fulfillment service provider for your eCommerce business? Are you thinking of upgrading your current service to a better one? About making the fulfillment part global, here is the side-by-side comparison, NextSmartShip Vs. Shipbob.

First, let’s talk about the common ground. Both NextSmartShip and Shipbob provide full-service order fulfillment and 2 days shipping. That means all the eCommerce business owners need to do is sending the items in bulk to one of the fulfillment centers, NextSmartShip or Shipbob will take care of the rest, and the consumers will happily get the items they order in just 2 days.

The specific services include:

order fulfillment process

Second, here are 4 differences between NextSmartShip and Shipbob.

1. Inventory receiving

To receive goods, Shipbob’s charging method is special, they calculate the cost by working hours. That is to say, regardless of the size and weight of the items, ShipBob will charge by the working hour when handling them: first 2 hours: $25/hour, after the first two hours: $35/hour. And ShipBob also sets a minimum charge, 2 hours, they consider the receiving fees for less than 2 hours as 2 hours in total. This is unfriendly for eCommerce businesses with a lot of SKUs or small inventories.

NextSmartShip doesn’t charge any receiving fee. NextSmartShip does not charge for anything except the handling fee, warehousing fee, and shipping fee. Compare to the working hour charging method, which seems to be a little confusing and opaque, the word “free” is so easy to understand and pleasing.

2. Handling fee

ShipBob’s handling fee is also a little complicated, including standard packing fee, over 5 SKUs per order packing fee, sticker fee, labeling fee, packing material fee, etc. Every operation step will generate a cost, and the minimum cost is 10 dollars.

NextSmartShip charges the handling fee by item weight, the minimum handling fee is very low, only $0.99. Handling fees comprise all the manual packing, labeling, and other operating costs, no hidden cost, or incomprehensible charging items.

3. Warehousing fee

ShipBob charges the storage fee by inventory volume and time. Inventory should not sit in ShipBob’s fulfillment center for long (maybe more than a month), or the merchant might get stuck paying high warehousing fees.

NextSmartShip provides 30 days free storage in Shenzhen, China, the USA and Europe, leaving eCommerce business owners longer turnaround time and less risk of stock up during the shopping season.

4. Fulfillment center locations

ShipBob has 5 fulfillment centers, all over in the United States. Depending on the address of each warehouse provided on the website, these warehouses are in various regions of the United States: California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas. Many people are curious about ShipBob Europe fulfillment centers or Australia fulfillment centers. By far, ShipBob don’t have warehouse facilities there. So for online stores focus on European and Australian markets, it will be difficult to fulfill the promise of “2 days shipping”.

NextSmartShip has fulfillment centers in China, the US, Europe, Canada, and Australia.

7 fulfillment centers (more are being put into use in succession because of the growing demand for order processing during the shopping season) form a global fulfillment network, no matter the consumers are in the east coast or west coast of the USA, in Europe or Asia, they can get items they ordered in 2 days. More than that, for the eCommerce business owners whose manufacturers are in China, the fulfillment center in Shenzhen will provide very affordable and easy fulfillment service, just as affordable and risk-free as dropshipping from China.

Comparison – NextSmartShip vs. ShipBob

Here’s a comparison between NextSmartShip and ShipBob

Features NextSmartShip ShipBob
Warehouse Period Free storage for 60 days Don’t offer free storage
Receiving Free Free
Pricing Structure The pricing structure is based on Shipping + Pick &Pack Complicated Structure
Additional Service Brand Packaging, Photography, Gift Cards Limited Offerings
Labor Charges No Labor Fee Labor Fee involved
Fulfillment Center Locations Shenzhen, Hong Kong, USA, Europe, Australia, Canada USA

Part 5. The Best ShipBob Fulfillment Alternative – NextSmartShip

If you are Looking for a better service provider, ShipBob, the only shipment service we recommend is NextSmartShip. It offers a wide range of services just like ShipBob, and the plus point of the NextSmartShip is that it is more cost-effective than ShipBob. NextSmartShip China Fulfillment CenterGet Custom Solutions Their workstations are more advanced and reliable; moreover, the overall user experience is rated positive and has more users worldwide.

  • Free Storage for 60 Days – NextSmartShip offers a quality storage area with extensive duration, so the investor doesn’t need to worry about running out of space. It allows investors to store goods and use the space for 60 days.
  • Global Shipping Routes – They have access to over 100 shipping routes from China. NextSmartShip provides businesses with diverse options to ensure timely and efficient deliveries.
  • No Minimum Order Quantity & Free (OMS) – The core feature of NextSmartShip is that it makes investors stress from the MOQ requirement and provide a comfortable zone to all type of business, especially those businesses that run an e-commerce store.
  • Extensive Fulfillment Network – They have more than 10 different fulfillment centers worldwide that make it more reliable, fulfill the customer’s needs, and make the delivery time even more precise so the customer can receive the product before the estimated time.
  • Additional Services – NextSmartShip offers supplementary services like brand packaging, photography, and gift card inclusion, providing businesses with added customization options.

Conclusion

In this exploration of e-commerce fulfillment solutions, we’ve journeyed through the innovative realm of ShipBob and discovered an alternative that stands strong. NextSmartShip shines with its extended free storage, global shipping routes, and simplified pricing. For businesses seeking a cost-effective approach with customized services, NextSmartShip stands as the best choice. As the world of e-commerce is taking new turns day by day, it is important that you should choose the service that satisfies the customers. The pro tip to satisfy customers is to deliver the product before the estimated date. It will have a positive impact on the customer.

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