E-commerce Fulfillment

FBA vs 3PL vs Self vs Dropship Calculator

For 10 e-commerce verticals, compare Amazon FBA, a 3PL like ShipBob, self-fulfillment, and dropshipping on per-order cost, monthly margin, and 5-year net worth — with real published fees.

Most fulfillment advice for e-commerce sellers is written by the platform trying to sell you on it. FBA blogs love FBA, 3PL blogs love 3PL, dropship gurus love dropship. We built an honest comparison per vertical with the actual published fee schedules from Amazon FBA, ShipBob, Easyship, plus realistic self-fulfill labor cost. Each page runs your specific ASP, weight, monthly orders, gross margin, and return rate through all four models and shows true net margin per order. Save scenarios for your operations call, share a prefilled URL with your COO, and read 900+ words of analysis specific to your vertical — not a generic 'FBA is dead' or '3PLs are the future' take.

10 popular e-commerce verticals covered
4 fulfillment models compared: FBA / 3PL / self / dropship
Real published fee schedules + landed-cost math
Return rate impact baked into FBA economics
Save scenarios, prefilled URLs, print to PDF
Cited industry data + platform fee sources

Apparel: $48 ASP, 0.8 lb/unit, 1200 orders/mo, 65% gross margin, 22% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Skincare / beauty

Skincare / beauty: $35 ASP, 0.5 lb/unit, 1800 orders/mo, 75% gross margin, 6% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Supplements: $38 ASP, 0.9 lb/unit, 950 orders/mo, 70% gross margin, 4% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Home decor: $85 ASP, 3.5 lb/unit, 480 orders/mo, 60% gross margin, 11% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Small electronics

Small electronics: $65 ASP, 1.2 lb/unit, 850 orders/mo, 38% gross margin, 12% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Pet supplies: $32 ASP, 2.8 lb/unit, 1500 orders/mo, 55% gross margin, 5% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Kitchen gadgets

Kitchen gadgets: $42 ASP, 1.5 lb/unit, 750 orders/mo, 58% gross margin, 8% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Outdoor gear: $110 ASP, 4.2 lb/unit, 380 orders/mo, 50% gross margin, 10% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Baby / toddler: $38 ASP, 1.8 lb/unit, 1100 orders/mo, 60% gross margin, 12% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25

Books / print: $22 ASP, 1.1 lb/unit, 1600 orders/mo, 55% gross margin, 3% return rate. Comparing FBA, 3PL, self-fulfill, dropship.

4 options · updated 2026-05-25