These aren't hidden exactly — they're in ShipBob's documentation if you know where to look. But they're rarely surfaced during the sales process, and they show up on your first invoice as surprises.
ShipBob's pricing makes sense at high volume. Once you're doing 2,000+ orders a month and actually using the multi-warehouse network, the per-unit economics improve and the infrastructure earns its cost. Below that, you're paying for capacity and complexity you don't need. For a deeper look at where ShipBob works well and where it doesn't, read our full ShipBob review.
Realistically $5-12+ per order once you factor in the $0.30/unit pick fee, storage ($5-40/month per location), and shipping markups (15-30% over carrier rates). The $275 monthly minimum inflates your per-order cost at lower volumes: at 100 orders, the minimum alone adds $2.75 per order. ShipBob doesn't publish rates, so you won't know exact costs until you get a custom quote.
The big ones: $150-200 per order B2B/FBA surcharge, $150-200/hour integration troubleshooting, receiving at $35-45/hour, and shipping markups of 15-30% not broken out on initial quotes. The $275 monthly minimum also surprises people because it doesn't cover storage, receiving, or shipping. Those are all separate.
Yes. ShipBob's Growth Plan targets brands doing 400+ orders per month in the US (1,000+ in Europe), with a $275/month minimum spend on fulfillment services. New accounts get a 90-day grace period on the spending minimum. If you're below 400 monthly orders, ask upfront whether you qualify and what your actual costs will look like at your current volume.
At low volume, yes — significantly. A brand doing 150 orders per month will pay roughly $7.40-12.40 per order all-in at ShipBob once you add up pick fees, the monthly minimum, storage, and marked-up shipping. Flat-rate 3PLs like Simpl Fulfillment start at ~$7/order with pick, pack, shipping, and materials included. At high volume (2,000+ orders), ShipBob's per-unit costs come down and the multi-warehouse network adds real value.
ShipBob removed published pricing from their website and now requires a custom quote through a sales call. This is common among larger 3PLs because it lets them tailor pricing to volume and negotiate. The downside for brands is that you can't compare costs upfront without committing time to the sales process.
