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For brands

How do I become a Packsmith brand?

Thanks for your interest in Packsmith! Right now, we’re carefully onboarding brands to ensure we’re a good fit for each other. For now, the best thing to do is to register your interest by joining our waitlist and requesting a demo, and we’ll be in touch.

What makes Packsmith better than other fulfilment platforms?

Packsmith offers intelligent, distributed fulfillment for growing e-commerce brands — this means we put your inventory as close to your customers as possible, allowing for quicker delivery times. Additionally, our handcrafted approach to fulfillment allows you to customize your packaging to provide an unboxing experience that matches your brand. Packsmith also gives you unparalleled insight into your fulfillment and logistics, so you always know exactly how things are going.

How much does Packsmith’s software platform cost?

Packsmith’s software platform, which includes our real-time sales reports and order and sku-level insights, is completely free for brands. This allows you to connect the Packsmith app to your Shopify store and manage inventory, orders, fulfillment, shipments, forecasts, and more.

Which e-commerce platforms does Packsmith support?

Packsmith currently supports brands with stores selling on Shopify. We hope to expand to other e-commerce platforms starting in 2023.

Where are Packsmith’s fulfillment locations?

We currently have over 50 verified Packsmith fulfillment locations that cover all regions of the U.S., and are adding more every week. Our unique model allows for individuals to store inventory and fulfill orders right from their homes, which lets us quickly scale our operations and put your products closer to where your customers are. This means that the last mile of delivery is faster for your customers, cheaper for you, and more sustainable than our competitors.

What does Packsmith’s flat rate fulfillment cost include?

Our flat-rate fulfillment pricing includes picking the order (up to 3 items per order), packing the order, all standard packaging materials, and shipping the item to your customer.

I’ve heard about zone skipping – does Packsmith support it?

Zones refer to the geographic areas a particular carrier services — generally, the more zones a given package passes through, the more expensive it is to ship said package. Zone skipping refers to the practice of bundling shipments together in order to move inventory closer to their final destination, allowing for a cheaper price per shipment, as the smaller shipment will end up traveling through fewer of these zones. This is, essentially, the way Packsmith works — we use the data we gather from your Shopify store to move the right products in bulk to distribution nodes that match where your customers are at, and then ship individual orders from there. This allows for faster shipping times for your customers, and lower shipping costs per order for you. Yes, Packsmith does support zone skipping – and we enable it to work better than ever for e-commerce brands of all sizes! Zone skipping is a way to save money on shipping fees, by moving inventory and packages closer to final customers in one bulk shipment instead of individual shipments. This helps to cut down on last mile delivery fees which can mean major savings for brands. Delivery zones are the geographic areas a carrier ships packages. Typically, the more zones a package passes through, the higher its shipping cost. While the general structure of shipping zones is similar across carriers, they aren’t the same for every delivery. A package’s origin is designated as Zone 1, with the zone numbers increasing as the delivery destination gets further away. For example, if you shipped an item from San Francisco to St. Louis, San Francisco would be considered Zone 1, and St. Louis would be considered Zone 7.This is why online brands can provide benefits like free shipping to customers in their warehouse’s immediate area.

Does Packsmith offer brands shipping boxes and packing supplies for free with fulfillments?

All Packsmith brands are offered unbranded compostable mailers as well as bubble mailers for free. If you’d prefer to keep using your existing packaging or packing supplies, or want to offer new custom packaging, we’ll work with you to make it happen, and help you integrate your own packaging into our hassle-free packaging replinishment process.

How do I know my brand’s inventory will be safe and secure?

We offer insurance and full liability coverage on all Packsmith brand inventory held in Packsmith locations – if anything happens, we’ve got you covered. Unlike traditional 3PLs, we accurately track all incoming and outgoing inventory at the unit level and then provide 100% transparency across all inventory movement to our brands. Not only does Packsmith manage your inventory with greater security than other 3PLs, but we place and store your inventory more efficiently than other 3PLs. When inventory or packaging is running low, we’ll let you know straight away and let you know exactly how much inventory needs to be restocked. Less stress, more sales, and fewer operational issues for you!

What is the cost to have my brand’s inventory received by Packsmith? Is there an intake fee?

There’s no cost involved with receiving and storing inventory or fulfilling orders. Packsmith brands cover the cost of shipping inventory and branded packaging to our central Packsmith locations, and that’s it. There are no hidden costs and no additional intake charges, period.

Are there particular categories that work best with Packsmith?

At launch, we’re partnering with beauty, skincare, and fashion accessory brands. If you’re a brand in one of these categories, we’re able to offer a significant competitive advantage over other fulfillment providers. We’re always looking for opportunities to expand our services, so if you’re not a brand in one of these categories, but are interested in Packsmith, please let us know — we'd love to learn more about your business.

Does Packsmith allow brands to use their own custom packaging?

Yes! While we offer standard packaging, all of our current brands have opted to use their own custom packaging for all orders. 55% of shoppers are more likely to return to a brand’s website if their order arrives in branded packaging, and it’s our mission to help support your continued success. If you don’t currently have your own packaging, we can work with one of our packaging partners to help you offer beautiful, sustainable packaging that matches your brand and keeps your customers coming back.

Which shipping carriers does Packsmith offer rates with?

We offer bulk discount rates with UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL for domestic and international shipping across five different service levels, and we pass those savings on to you with our distributed fulfillment approach that reduces zone charges and long distance shipping costs.

Does Packsmith offer fulfilment and shipping outside of the U.S.?

Not currently, but it’s coming soon! Sign up for more information and we’ll let you know as we continue to expand our fulfillment and shipping services beyond the United States.

Does Packsmith offer returns?

Currently, we ask that our brands handle return services directly. Soon, we’ll be partnering with leading e-commerce return providers to offer integrated return services.

How are Packsmith’s shipping costs calculated?

Shipping costs are always variable — weight, dimensions, destination, and service type all have an impact on the final shipping costs. Our unique distributed model allows us to limit these variances and offer more expected shipping costs based on your business and products, rather than on the location and operations of your logistics and fulfillment provider.

Does Packsmith offer kitting?

We do! Our verified Packsmiths can perform a wide range of specialized services to accommodate your brand’s needs, to ensure a delightful unboxing experience for your customers. You can also adjust your customized kitting by region, city, state, country, or customer segment. Let us know if this is something you’re interested in.

For Packsmiths

What does it mean to be a Packsmith?

As a Packsmith, you’ll package and fulfill orders for the leading e-commerce brands on our platform. We provide Packsmiths with inventory from our partnered brands and Packsmiths hold these items in their homes until they are ready to be fulfilled. When there’s an order that is a good fit for a Packsmith (based on inventory and shipping distance), we’ll assign that order to the Packsmith for fulfillment Packsmiths don’t do delivery. We bring your inventory to you, and we partner with local carries to pick up completed orders. You can also drop off completed orders, if you prefer.

How long does it take to become a Packsmith?

Signing up as a Packsmith takes just a few minutes — we just need to ask a few basic questions to make sure it’s a good fit, after which we’ll run a brief verification process. Once you’re verified, we’ll send you a welcome kit and starting inventory.

How much do Packsmiths make?

Packsmiths earn by fulfilling orders, which involves packing an order and having it picked up (or dropped off at) USPS, UPS, or FedEx as applicable. Each order nets a Packsmith $1–$2, and most Packsmiths can pack 20-30 orders per hour.

Do I have to do Packsmith full time?

Only if you want to! Most Packsmiths earn part time, and we expect most Packsmiths to work anywhere from 2-6 hours per day, but your schedule is your own.

Do you have to buy inventory to become a Packsmith?

Nope. The inventory you hold belongs to our partner brands — Packsmiths do the storing and packing, but they do not own any inventory or need to pay for it, ever.

What kind of products will I receive as a Packsmith?

To start, we’re launching with the latest brands in skincare, beauty, wellness, and fashion jewelry. We’re quickly expanding the brands and products we support — if you know of someone with their own brand who might benefit from Packsmith, let us know!

I live in a condo or apartment — can I be a Packmith?

Currently, Packsmiths must reside in a single-family home. We hope to enable more people to be Packsmiths soon, so feel free to sign up and let us know you’re interested, and we’ll be in touch!

What kind of space do I need to be a Packsmith?

To ensure a great experience for our brand’s customers, we ask that the space you devote to your Packsmith inventory be free of smoke or other odors, and be stored away from pets and children. Aside from that, you can keep your inventory in whatever place makes sense for your home.

How much space is required for inventory?

It’s up to you! While Packsmith requires very little space for inventory storage, the more space you have available the more brands you can fulfill orders for! A small bookshelf approximately 41 ¾” (80cm) high and 31 ½’’ wide with a depth of 11” (28cm) is a great fit for our current brand’s products.

Am I liable for damage of inventory or packages?

All Packsmith inventory and packages are fully insured, managed, and tracked. We ask that you store your inventory in a safe and secure place, but if disaster strikes, we’ve got you.

How do I become a verified Packsmith?

Complete 50 fulfilments on the platform.

How do I know the inventory is safe and I’m not doing anything illegal?

Packsmith is a BBB accredited business and we only partner with established, verified, and approved brands already selling on Shopify. All products meet the strictest handling requirements and we do not handle weapons, drugs, alcohol, or any illegal or restricted items.

Do I have to deliver Packsmith orders?

Nope. As a Packsmith, you fulfill orders and earn from home. All you need to do is hand off packed orders to one of our carriers, such as USPS, UPS, or FedEx. You can drop off packages yourself, or schedule a pickup directly from the carrier.