Overview of Fulfillment Services

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Our book shipping fulfillment service pairs seamlessly with our book printing services to allow publishers and creators to focus on their strengths instead of shipping orders.

 

Fulfillment Eligibility

If you’re printing books with us, then you can certainly have us ship them as well. This means any customer that places an order for 50 or more copies (which is our minimum order quantity) can request that we ship their books to their provided addresses.

Please ask your customer service representative for more information on setting up a fulfillment account so they will add this feature to your account and send you a ship report outlining baseline costs.

Shipping & Packaging Orders

Our fulfillment service will package your book(s) into a strong corrugate mailer and seal it with strong reinforced tape to be shipped anywhere in the world. We use a variety of shipping carriers and pass the cost along to the customer, which includes some pretty significant volume discounts that we have negotiated over years of experience.

Shipping Carriers Used

The shipping carriers we use for shipping your books are:

 

Shipping Costs

The cost to ship to any address always depends on the address, because there are no flat rates in the shipping world. In order to obtain a shipping cost, we require the following information:

  • Item weight (the weight of the item or items in the package)
  • Package Dimensions (the length, width, and height of the package)
  • Receiver Address
  • Value of Goods (for insurance purposes in case of loss or damage in transit, the value set for the goods will be paid upon approval of a claim, the default value is $50)

As an example, imagine a 1 lb book that is 8.5″ x 11″ with a 1″ spine height. The cost to ship this book in a strong ULINE mailer is as follows:

  1. USA – $15 – $30 per package
  2. Canada – $14-$25 per package
  3. International – $15-75 per package

We always pass the shipping cost along to the customer and break down each fulfillment order’s costs for you to see which addresses cost the most in shipping.

Picking and Packing Costs

The cost to package items into cartons varies based on the item weight and dimensions, which determines the type of package to use and the cost associated. The following costs comprise the pick and pack charge:

  • Inserting (inserting items into a box starts at $0.15 each)
  • Packaging (the cost of the box, ranges from $1-5)
  • Minimum Charge (administrative charge to label, report tracking and manage inventory, starts at $2.50 per package)

For example, to package 1 book in a box with a cost of $2 each is as follows:

  • Inserting ($0.15) + Packaging ($1) + Minimum Charge ($2.50) = $3.65 plus applicable taxes

 

Fulfillment Items

Packages may contain single books, multiple copies of the same book,  inserts, postcards, and any printed paper-based items you can think of. If we print the items, we can ship them, and in some cases, we can accept customer-supplied materials (subject to review).

Before shipping begins for your fulfillment orders, your customer service representative will send you a packout form to approve that will break down the contents of the package and associated fees for packaging, insertings, and minimum charges.

Shipment Data Transfer

When you have your shipment data ready to send to us, there are two ways you can provide this information to us. The easiest way is by sending us a spreadsheet in a specific format that we require that contains your shipping addresses and item requirements. For customers with more advanced distribution requirements, we can integrate your system with ours through API integration.

Spreadsheet

Send us your spreadsheet with all your shipping addresses in it and item definitions. We require addresses to be split across columns instead of all contained in one cell. Have a look at the screenshots below to see how we require addresses to be supplied.

Addresses must be supplied with each part of the address separated by columns

Make sure you send your spreadsheet with the following columns present:

  • Company Name (if applicable, can be left blank if you’re shipping to a residence)
  • Receiver Name (the person who the package is for)
  • Address 1 (street name and number)
  • Address 2 (apartment, suite or unit number)
  • City
  • Province (or state)
  • Postal Code (zip code for USA)
  • Phone (in case the courier has to call the receiver, you should always include a phone number as it will reduce returns)
  • Country (in ISO format)
  • Item Name (the item to ship)
  • Copies (we can ship multiple copies)

Download Spreadsheet Template Here

API Integration

Integrate your e-commerce platform or custom application with ours to transfer your shipping information in real-time. With this method, your order data is submitted to our system (known as Sparky) in real-time or according to a set of rules.

Our order cut-off time is 1 PM EST (Toronto time). This means that any orders that are submitted after 1 pm will be processed the following day.

Speak with your customer service representative for more information on this, and check out our API documentation here.

 

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