Questions to Ask a Collectibles 3PL

1. Can you walk me through your packing, step by step, for each kind of product?

If a partner can't name its packing steps, it doesn't have any. Ours follows a written order of layers for each kind of product, set for each order instead of left to box-picking software. A raw card goes into a penny sleeve, then a rigid toploader or magnetic one-touch, then a team bag or box, then a rigid mailer, with an overbox on higher-value orders. A graded slab gets an over-sleeve against scratches and ships in rigid, cushioned packaging built to hold the case still. Ask any partner to walk through that sequence for your own product. A good answer is a procedure you can check, not a promise. Our guide to packing collectibles layer by layer explains each one.

2. What stops a look-alike parallel from shipping?

Two cards can share a name and differ only in the parallel or the print run. If nothing checks the card against the order, the near-twin goes out and the wrong card turns into a dispute. We scan the barcode at pick and again at pack against the SKU and variant ordered, so a mis-pick shows up at the scan, before it reaches the box. Matching one specific cert number takes item-by-item handling, so tell us at the start if you need it. With any partner, ask what mechanism keeps a look-alike from shipping, not what it intends, and where in the flow that check happens.

3. What controls protect high-value inventory while you store it?

Press any partner on this one. At our dock, every unit is received, counted and scanned in, then shelved in whichever of our warehouses you choose, and every pick is scanned against the order until the carrier takes the parcel. Access controls differ between our buildings. Ask any partner, us included, which access, monitoring and record-keeping controls run at the building that would hold your stock, and ask to see them. Our guide to secure collectibles storage explains what to look for.

4. Do you track by SKU only, or item by item with a record of each piece's condition?

Those are two different levels of tracking, and a straight partner will tell you which one it's quoting. On every order, we scan by SKU at pick and at pack. Returns are inspected before they go back on the shelf. Together those check that the right item ships and that a damaged return is not re-listed as new. Some inventory needs more, such as a serial number on each piece and photos of its condition when it arrives. If yours does, say so in the first conversation. Ask any partner to say plainly which of the two it offers, without blurring them. Our guide to serialized item-level inventory explains what item-level tracking involves.

5. Where does your liability end and my own inventory insurance have to begin?

Begin with how cover usually works at a public warehouse: the brand insures its own inventory. Every brand storing with Fulfillment.com works that way today. What your policy needs to cover is a question for your insurer, and our guide to who insures your collectibles has more.

6. Do you grade, authenticate, or slab, or do you only ship?

The answer you want is that the partner only ships. We're a 3PL. We receive, store, pack and ship finished, sealed collectibles, graded slabs and raw cards among them. We don't grade, authenticate or slab anything. Grading companies such as PSA, BGS, SGC and CGC do that. Be wary of a partner that blurs fulfillment and grading together.

7. How do you pack graded slabs, given that slab sizes are not uniform?

Collectors know slabs come in more than one size: BGS and SGC cases run larger than PSA. One mailer for all of them either squeezes the smaller case or lets the larger one rattle. We match the packing to each slab's case and add an over-sleeve to guard it against scratches, then ship it in rigid, cushioned packaging built to hold the case still against cracking. Each slab is scanned at pick against the SKU and grade the customer ordered. Ask whether a partner allows for slab sizes or packs every slab alike. Our graded slab guide covers the sizes grader by grader.

8. How do you handle high-value shipping: declared value and signature?

Carriers set limits here, so the answer should be specific. Each carrier caps what it will pay on a high-value parcel, and adult or recipient signature is commonly required. A partner who does this well can explain how declared value, signature on delivery and the packing fit together on one order. We handle the packing and set the shipment up with the carrier. You hold the insurance on your stock, so your insurer belongs in this conversation too.

9. What do you do before a release-day or one-of-one drop, not just during it?

A release-day drop or a one-of-one listing can send traffic soaring within minutes. A warehouse that isn't ready for it can oversell or miss the launch. We get each drop ready ahead of time: we receive and count your stock, set up the SKUs and plan the floor around your launch date. During the launch, every order still gets its packing rule and both scans, and our team works out the shipping plan from how many units the drop holds. Ask any partner what it does before the drop, not only during it. Our guide to drop and release-day fulfillment goes into more detail.

10. How do you handle returns when condition sets the price?

A damaged card re-listed as new becomes the next dispute, so returns can't go back on the shelf unchecked. We inspect each return for condition before deciding anything. Saleable units go back into available inventory, and units that no longer meet condition are set aside and not re-listed. Inventory updates as each unit clears inspection, so a clean return can sell again instead of tying up your money. Ask any partner whether it inspects condition when a return comes in, or just scans the SKU and restocks it.

11. What does your platform actually do, and can I see my inventory?

Careful handling needs software behind it. Our packing rules, scanning, drop planning and returns run on BestOMS, which runs your orders and gives you a portal to see them. Deposco runs the warehouse. Dropstream connects your store and the marketplaces collectors buy on, eBay among them. Stock is received, counted and put away when it arrives, and each order is sent from the warehouse closest to your customer. Ask any partner to show you its portal, and how an order, a variant and a return look in it.

12. What is your pricing model, your network reach, and your track record?

Last come the commercial questions. We don't publish one rate that ignores how your product is handled. Instead, a free quote gives you rates for your product, volume and channels. Ground shipping from our warehouses reaches 99.77% of the US in 1-3 day transit, and an order in before the day's cut-off can go out that same day. Ask every partner to show you pricing and reach side by side.

Questions buyers ask about choosing a collectibles 3PL