Sometimes — and the contract rarely says so in words you can act on. The dependable way to know what you pay per package is to look at who holds the carrier account and which document your charges come from.
What does a shipping markup look like?
Fulfillment providers handle transportation charges in two ways. Some bill the charge that appears on the carrier's own invoice, unchanged, next to their pick and pack fees. Others quote a per-package shipping rate of their own, built from a rate sheet they control, and that rate is what lands on your monthly invoice. Both can be described as "our shipping rates" in a sales conversation. Only the first lets you compare what you were billed against a document the carrier issued. The second is not always padded — but you have nothing to check it against, so you cannot tell.
Why doesn't "we pass rates through" settle it?
Pass-through describes how a charge reaches your invoice, not whose account produced it. A provider can pass through, at cost, the rates on its own master account, pooled across every client it serves, and the pass-through is still real. You are seeing the provider's rate card, not a carrier document issued to your company. That matters for three things: what you can audit, who negotiates the terms your charges rest on, and what happens to those terms when the relationship ends. A pass-through promise answers none of the three.
How do I find out who owns my carrier account?
| Where to look | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The shipping label | The name printed on the label. If it is the fulfillment provider's name, that is a clue, not proof; ask whose account the shipment was billed to. |
| Your monthly invoice | Whether the transportation lines match a carrier invoice you can also request, or a rate sheet only the provider holds. |
| The contract | Whom the transportation terms name — your company or the provider — and what happens to those terms at exit. |
| The carrier portal | Whether you can log in and see the account yourself, or only see what the provider's dashboard chooses to show. |
Any one of these can be checked in an afternoon, before or after signing.
What should I ask before signing?
- Show me a sample invoice for my order profile, with the transportation line broken out.
- Which document do these charges come from — a carrier invoice I can also receive, or your rate sheet?
- Whose name is the carrier account in, and who renews its terms?
- If I leave, what happens to the account and to the terms I was billed under?
Ask for the answers in writing. A provider that answers only in generalities has told you something too.
What happens to my rates when I leave?
If the account is in your company's name, the transportation terms are yours. They do not belong to the warehouse, and moving to a different fulfillment provider does not put them back up for negotiation. If the account is in the provider's name, the terms stay with the account — which is to say, with the provider. This is why new3PL contracts parcel and freight transportation in the brand's own name: it keeps the rates decision separate from the warehouse decision, so the brand can choose its fulfillment partner on how well that partner runs fulfillment.
FAQ
Do all fulfillment providers mark up shipping?
No — structures vary by provider, and some bill the carrier's charge directly. The question to settle is not what the model is called but which document your charges come from and whose account stands behind them.
Can I ship on my own carrier account through a 3PL?
Many warehouses will ship on a brand's own carrier accounts, but support varies by facility and system. Ask before signing, not after.
Whom should the carrier contract be with?
Your company. A contract in the brand's name keeps the rates decision separate from the warehouse decision, so a change of warehouse does not reopen the rates conversation.