Host:
Hi! Good afternoon, good evening, or good morning—wherever and whenever you’re listening. I’ve got Brandon here, and it’s funny how he reached out to us. He initially contacted a colleague saying he’d love to partner up and see how we could work together. I get those emails all the time, but I did my due diligence on Fulfillrite and found exceptional reviews everywhere. So we scheduled a chat, and when Brandon and I finally spoke, we hit it off and talked for ages.
I thought: let’s get Brandon on the podcast. There are areas he knows that I don’t, and I think many listeners will find this valuable—especially with costs rising on Amazon from every angle. It’s getting harder to make a profit. When you’re managing PPC, there’s only so much you can do in ads; sometimes you need to get leaner in other parts of the business, not just advertising.
Brandon, thanks so much for joining us. Great to have you here.
Brandon:
Absolutely—thanks for having me.
Host:
Before we talk about Fulfillrite and your role there, I’d love to rewind and hear how you got into e-commerce.
Brandon:
I’ll give you the short version. Back in 2015, I wanted to launch a business, so I turned a childhood idea into a card game and ran it on Kickstarter in 2016. We barely crossed the goal—just over $10,000—and shipped it. I started a blog called Branding the Game Dev to share everything I wished I’d known about marketing, supply chain, and game development.
We did a couple more small games—War Co. and Tasty Humans. Along the way, I discovered I was better at SEO and blogging than game development. Fulfillrite reached out for a co-marketing content exchange, then flew me to New Jersey to meet. I picked up part-time work, which grew steadily and eventually became my full-time role as Director of Marketing. An unusual path, for sure.
Host:
Amazing. A big topic lately is the extra costs of storing products on Amazon—it’s hit a lot of brands hard. When should a brand consider moving away from FBA, or at least adding FBM?
Brandon:
Great question. For context, Fulfillrite is an order fulfillment center: we store inventory and ship orders—similar to what Amazon does with FBA. There are reasons to use FBA and reasons to use a third-party fulfillment company.
Common issues we hear when people evaluate options:
-
FBA pricing can be complex and hard to understand;
-
Some sellers prefer a partner they can call and talk to directly rather than a huge corporation.
Host:
How should a brand choose the right 3PL?
Brandon:
I keep a simple checklist. Five big items:
-
Location – The warehouse should be reasonably close to where most of your customers are. If most are in the U.S., use a U.S.-based fulfillment center. As you scale, you might use multiple locations (e.g., East and West Coast) to cut postage costs and shipping times.
-
Capabilities – Most centers can receive, store, ship, and handle returns. If you need special services, confirm them up front:
-
Communication – You should be able to reach real people and feel understood. If communication is poor during sales, it won’t get better later.
-
Pricing – It should be clear and competitive (not necessarily the cheapest). You need to understand exactly what you’re paying for.
-
Proof – Read reviews and case studies. Are they shipping on time? Are packages arriving intact? Do customers seem happy?
Host:
Can you share examples where a 3PL helped a business really flourish?
Brandon:
Absolutely. One that comes to mind is Calamityware—they make those blue-and-white China plates with quirky designs (robots, monsters, volcanoes). In 2014 they were manufacturing locally and the factory was handling shipping. That worked when they had just a few SKUs, but once the catalog expanded, orders took a month to go out—the factory wasn’t set up for fulfillment.
They found Fulfillrite via Shopify, moved inventory to a fulfillment center, integrated orders, and the shipping started flowing. They run a lot of crowdfunding campaigns, and once fulfillment was solved, they could keep launching. They’ve done so many campaigns since then that both we and they have literally lost count—it’s somewhere in the 70s. Fixing the supply chain unlocked growth.
Host:
From your vantage point inside fulfillment, what excites you about 2025?
Brandon:
It’ll be an interesting year for sure. Beyond headlines about tariffs and customs, I’m excited about the small daily improvements—tools people call “AI” but that are really practical QC systems. For example, overhead cameras that verify packing quality in real time: confirming there’s enough protective material to prevent breakage. It sounds simple, but fewer damages mean fewer returns and lower costs. That kind of applied tech saves a ton of money.
Host:
On the flip side, what are the biggest disruptors you see coming?
Brandon:
Trade policy. Changes in tariffs will influence where products are made, how much inventory brands import at once, and how they ship (bulk imports vs. drop shipping). That cascades into how much stock you keep, where you place it, total manufacturing costs, and whether you need added services like freight brokerage. The downstream impacts will ripple through fulfillment and logistics.
Host:
Is there a key question I didn’t ask that people should consider?
Brandon:
Yes—when do you need a fulfillment center at all? Sometimes it makes sense to ship on your own at first. Many 3PLs have minimums (e.g., ~100 orders/month). If you’re below that, it might be cheaper and simpler to self-fulfill initially.
How do you know you need help? Watch for:
-
Time: It’s taking too long to get packages out the door.
-
Cost: Postage is becoming painful; 3PLs and FBA often get discounted rates.
-
Backlog & errors: Orders pile up or you’re moving so fast you make mistakes.
-
Focus: If all you do is pack boxes and go to the post office, you’re not doing marketing, A/B testing, or product development—the things that grow the business.
Host:
Super helpful. If people want to learn more about Fulfillrite or ask brand-specific questions, how should they reach you?
Brandon:
Fastest is support@fulfillrite.com. If you want pricing, go to fulfillrite.com/open. And if you’re on our YouTube channel, I personally respond to comments there.
Host:
If you could leave Amazon or e-commerce sellers with one piece of advice, what would it be?
Brandon:
Obsess over customer retention. Delight customers with great products and packaging—and don’t sabotage that by fumbling the supply chain. Get orders out on time and intact. Do those basics well and you’ll earn repeat business and trust.
Host:
So true. It sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked. Reducing avoidable issues gets you one step closer to growth and doing right by your customers—which leads to repeat purchases and deeper trust.
Brandon, this has been incredibly insightful. Thanks for joining us. For listeners, if you have questions for Brandon, he’s been very responsive—reach out on Fulfillrite’s YouTube channel or email support@fulfillrite.com.
Brandon:
Thank you for having me, and thanks everyone for watching.
