{"id":2178,"date":"2022-05-24T19:29:30","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T19:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/wholesale-shipping\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T22:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T22:06:38","slug":"wholesale-shipping","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/wholesale-shipping\/","title":{"rendered":"Wholesale Shipping: Definition, Costs, & Outlook for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is wholesale shipping?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does wholesale shipping compare to regular shipping?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to ship wholesale <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to find wholesale suppliers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shipping methods <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic shipping<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why can shipping be expensive in 2022: Outlook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale shipping FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

No customer likes slow, expensive shipping \u2014 and wholesale customers are no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But whether you\u2019re running a growing business that\u2019s shipping wholesale or or an ecommerce giant, wholesale shipping poses both cost- and timing-issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With fast and affordable shipping<\/a> as the standard, exorbitant shipping costs or delays on wholesale orders often lead a B2B<\/a> customer to abandon their cart<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with the right fulfilment solution in place, wholesale shipping can get easier. If you partner with a logistics platform that can negotiate shipping rates and support B2B fulfilment, your business can win new opportunities that grow your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we’ll cover what wholesale shipping is, different wholesale shipping methods, and how a 3PL like ShipBob can help make the wholesale shipping process<\/a> seamless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is wholesale shipping?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale shipping is the process of shipping wholesale orders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale orders (also called B2B orders) are orders placed by a business, rather than an individual customer, and are usually for a large quantity of a particular product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does wholesale shipping compare to regular shipping?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Regular shipping and wholesale shipping seem similar in theory; but in actuality, there are nuanced differences between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a breakdown of the main features, costs, and risks associated with standard shipping<\/a> and wholesale shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale shipping involves one business (the “wholesaler”) shipping large quantities of a product or products to a different business that purchased the goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When selling wholesale, many brands establish a minimum order quantity<\/a> (MOQ). Buyers will have to purchase goods that are equal to or more than this minimum quantity for the order to be approved. Such limits help the wholesaler get better deals on shipping costs, and pass on the savings to the buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the downside, this can tie up the buyer\u2019s capital in inventory for a longer period. In addition, if the entire shipment gets stuck somewhere en route due to logistical issues, the customer will receive all of the stock a few business days late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wholesale shipping also limits flexibility in managing orders, and the size and quantity of the items ordered may require more expensive types of transportation, such as air or ocean freight shipping<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Standard shipping (also known as DTC<\/a> shipping) involves transporting a single unit or a very small batch of goods to an individual customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is typically less expensive than wholesale shipping, as the dimensional weight<\/a> and\/or billable weight<\/a> of a few individual SKUs is almost always significantly smaller than that of a wholesale bulk order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard shipping is also usually faster than wholesale shipping. Since only a few items need to be transported, the order can be picked, packed, and shipped as soon as it’s processed, shortening delivery times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, smaller orders are easy to accidentally misplace or lose in transit, and standard shipping orders rarely qualify for bulk discounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhile we initially used ShipBob exclusively for our retail fulfilment, we quickly outsourced DTC fulfilment to them as well once we experienced how easy and effective it was. ShipBob\u2019s omnifulfillment solution could handle every sort of order we had, including retail, DTC, and B2B, and had no qualms whatsoever about facilitating our FBA prep orders for Amazon. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multichannel fulfilment with ShipBob is affordable, too, as not having to do any shipping ourselves enables us to keep low overhead, and ShipBob\u2019s transparent pricing across channels provides even more cost-savings.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Garrison, Co-Founder and CEO of Sharkbanz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How to ship wholesale <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shipping wholesale can get complicated, especially if your business is new to B2B. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some best practices to follow when shipping wholesale orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding wholesale shipping supplies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Choosing the right wholesale shipping supplies can help you ensure that your goods reach the customer undamaged and keep wholesale shipping costs down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard shipping supplies used in DTC shipments such as mailers<\/a>, pouches, or totes will not be cost-efficient for large quantities of items. Depending on what products you are shipping, consider using shipping boxes or pallets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may need additional packaging supplies as well, such as container liners, bubble wrap, and labels<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When shipping fragile items<\/a> like perfumes<\/a> and smart gadgets, it is especially important to ensure that they are securely packaged (with cushioning) and handled carefully to ensure that integrity is maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you have the right permits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is important to research and obtain the licenses and permits required to sell wholesale in your location and industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may need a reseller\u2019s permit, employer identification number (EIN), a sales license, and\/or a sales tax ID, but specific requirements vary from country to country and even between municipalities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose the right platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to sell and ship wholesale orders, you\u2019ll need an ecommerce platform that enables you to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than creating a whole new website for your wholesale channels, invest in an ecommerce platform that has B2B capabilities or plug-ins. This allows you to manage your B2B and DTC orders through one platform, which saves you tons of time and trouble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the best wholesale ecommerce marketplaces to consider are Alibaba, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce<\/a>, and WooCommerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider partnering with a logistics provider<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you commit to selling wholesale, you need to establish a fulfilment and distribution strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is possible for a merchant to buy or rent their own warehouse space, hire workers to pick and pack wholesale orders, print labels, and navitage EDI on their own, many find it helpful to outsource<\/a> these functions to experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Logistics providers like ShipBob take care of retail dropshipping and retail distribution on behalf of wholesalers, which makes selling B2B that much easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the hands of experts, your B2B operations can also become much more cost-effective and efficient, which together can further improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to find wholesale suppliers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you wish to buy wholesale, rather than sell, there are a variety of ways to find wholesale suppliers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n