How to Fulfill US DTC Orders if You’re Located Outside of the US

You’ve hit the jackpot, your DTC product is currently blowing up in the United States. 

Maybe you’ve started selling through TikTok Shop and are seeing a huge uptick in orders from the US. Maybe a popular US-based influencer has been devoting videos to your product and there’s some strange dance and song getting associated with your goods.

When your product goes viral, you’ll obviously want to ride the wave while it’s crashing. If no one can find your product a few weeks after everyone is talking about it, you may need to wait years for another opportunity.

So how do you start fulfilling quickly in the US at scale? And how do you keep yourself legal while you’re at it?

At OTW Shipping, we’ve helped foreign DTC businesses get up and running quickly in the US for years. If you’re running a business in the above situation, we’ll happily get on a free call with you to tell you what we can provide.

However, we understand our solution isn’t for everyone, so below we’re going to explain the top ways you can start fulfilling quickly in the US today.

The Top Challenges For Foreign DTCs Fulfilling in the US

As a foreign DTC fulfilling in the USA, you’ll need to worry about:

• Fulfilling fast enough to meet demand

• Selecting the best location for cost and delivery speed

• Maintaining brand quality from overseas (delivering on time, intact, and with correct packaging)

• Expanding your product offerings as demand grows

  
  

Normally, these are the primary ways to handle fast expansion:

• Using a third-party logistics provider

• Running a barebones operation through friends/family/TaskRabbit

• Using Amazon

Why not use dropshipping to fulfill in the US?

Dropshipping (selling a product for a supplier online in exchange for a small markup) frequently gets confused with reselling (buying quantities of a product for yourself and doing the selling and logistics on your own). If you work with a dropshipper, you’ll still need to worry about fulfillment since these entities only perform marketing and sales.

Now let’s talk about the pros and cons of these above options.

Using Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Providers to Fulfill US DTC Orders

As a 3PL provider ourselves we’re a bit biased, but for most growing businesses fulfilling in another country for the first time, your best bet is to start with a 3PL. 

Read our explanation about what a 3PL is here.

While there are other options for selling in the US, it can be hard to begin selling on a retailer’s website (dropshipping) and utilizing a program like TikTok Fulfilment is really just a 3PL on the backend. With a 3PL, you can fulfill across multiple channels and assemble the building blocks for further expansion into retail or other channels down the road.

3PL providers can run pretty much every aspect of your fulfillment process end-to-end providing:

• Warehousing

• Integrations with your store or POS

• Fulfillment (pick-and-pack, kitting, returns, etc)

The advantages of 3PLs for US DTC orders:

• Most 3PLs can react quickly in response to supply chain disruptions. With the current tariff uncertainty, many brands are pivoting to US-based fulfillment as fast as possible. The quickest way they can do that is with a 3PL that fits their niche and has experience handling onboarding for brands like theirs.

• They can handle the entire logistics process end-to-end covering warehousing and working with shipping and last-mile providers.

• They can give you more competitive pricing based on your volumes than many shippers can.

• They can scale with your business – If you read our article on who top DTC brands use for fulfillment, you’ll see that 3PLs occasionally even open new warehouses and locations in part to accommodate growing clients.

• They can normally adapt to your packaging, handling, and return processes (within reason).

The cons of 3PLs for US DTC orders:

• They are the most hands-on option outside of starting your own fulfillment network. You will still be managing customer service, auditing fulfillment costs, and dealing with order management.

• Not all 3PLs are created equal – 3PLs can come in all shapes and sizes and specialize in different types of operations. If you aren’t careful, you may contract a 3PL that isn’t properly equipped to handle your business.

• Flexibility comes at a cost, so simplifying packouts and standardizing operations may be required to make a 3PL make sense if you’re currently fulfilling in-house.

We’ve got a bunch of articles about working with 3PLs on our blog. Read our pieces on:

• How to choose a 3PL

• How to negotiate pricing with a 3PL

We even created a 3PL rate comparison template sheet that you can download.

Using Contractors to Fulfill International DTC Orders (low volume only)

If you're still validating product-market fit or riding the early days of virality, you might not need a full 3PL just yet. For many foreign DTCs shipping under 10 orders per day in the US, a lightweight fulfillment setup can work, temporarily.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Recruit trusted US-based contacts or freelancers.

You can use platforms like TaskRabbit, Upwork, or Craigslist Gigs to find people who can receive inventory, store it in their homes or garages, and ship orders using prepaid shipping labels. Many DTC brands do this during the POC (proof of concept) stage.

Obviously, the more you trust these people the better. If you have family or friends who would be able to help you we recommend consulting them first.

2. Ship in bulk to your freelance contacts

Use air freight or small-parcel shipping (like DHL Express) to send units from your home country directly to your contact’s US address. Once the goods arrive, they can package them for you and get everything mailed out to local providers.

Classically you could keep shipments under $800 to take advantage of the de minimis exemption, avoiding duties. However, that is likely going away soon, at least in its present form.

Tips for using contractors to fulfill US DTC orders

Use shipping software for consistency

Set up software like ShipStation, Pirate Ship, or EasyPost linked to your store (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.). Using one of these tools, your helpers only need to print labels and pack orders. The platforms can take care of order tracking and returns.

Buy packaging in advance

To reduce friction and ensure brand consistency, send pre-printed mailers, boxes, or inserts from US packaging suppliers like: 

• Sticker Mule

• Uline

• EcoEnclose 

  
  

We’d also advise you to create specific and painstaking packing instructions for your local contractors. There’s a ton of room for error in this process.

Limit SKU count and packout complexity.

If you want this type of operation to run well, stick to one or two SKUs with minimal variants and keep packaging simple. Again, every additional option increases complexity and shipping errors at this scale.

🚨 Caution 🚨

If we haven’t made this clear yet, we warn all readers that this setup is not scalable and comes with inherent risks due to difficulties in oversight (inventory loss, poor inventory visibility, inconsistent packaging). However, it works to fulfill your first few months of orders and test US demand without committing to a 3PL contract.

Once you’re above 10 orders/day, or managing multiple SKUs, you'll want to migrate to a proper 3PL before quality slips or you burn out your friends.

Using Amazon to Fulfill US DTC Orders

If you need instant US presence without building your own warehouse network, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) lets you tap into American ecommerce behemoth, Amazon’s, logistic network to access the US market. FBA is probably the fastest path to US scale if you can live with Amazon’s fee structure and branding.

Pros of using Amazon to fulfill US DTC Orders

• When using FBA, you can send bulk inventory to Amazon’s prep centers via air or ocean freight. Amazon distributes it across 110+ US fulfillment centers so you won’t need to stress about site selection.

• That said, while FBA is designed specifically for orders placed on Amazon, Amazon also offers a separate service called Multi-Channel Fulfillment for non-Amazon orders.

Through MCF, you can fulfill orders from platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or TikTok Shop while keeping your own checkout. However, be aware that MCF is not the same as FBA. Performance can be inconsistent and the costs are higher, especially compared to using a 3PL.

• FBA orders qualify for Prime delivery speeds (~2 days) which can boost conversions.

• Amazon handles warehousing, picking, packing, customer service, and returns. You avoid managing multiple vendors or custom integrations.

Cons of FBA for US DTC orders

Amazon fulfillment does put a premium on its convenience. Fees start around $3.06 per small standard‑size unit and storage fees can spike to $2.40/cu ft (as of Q4 2024). Also, they’ll apply long‑term storage fees to slow‑moving stock. You’ll also be forced to use Amazon‑branded packaging may dilute your unboxing experience.

Beyond costs, sellers often face operational challenges. Inbound shipment delays are a common issue. For instance, some sellers have reported shipments delivered to Amazon warehouses remaining unprocessed for extended periods, impacting inventory availability and sales. 

Moreover, inventory discrepancies, such as lost or misplaced items during the fulfillment process, can occur, leading to potential revenue loss. 

Another significant concern is the limited access to customer data. When using FBA, Amazon retains control over customer information, restricting sellers' ability to engage directly with their customers and build lasting relationships.

🤝 A hybrid approach

For targeted control of your fulfillment, you should combine FBA for high‑volume SKUs with a specialized 3PL for premium or custom‑packaged items.

Hybrid approaches to FBA generally look like this:

• For Amazon orders, you use FBA. You send your goods directly from your supplier or 3PL warehouse to Amazon for the entire process.

• For FBM orders, you use your own 3PL to warehouse and send goods to Amazon just for the fulfillment process.

• For direct orders from your personal website (Shopify, etc) you’ll use your own 3PL for warehousing/fulfillment.

Looking For a US 3PL Fulfillment Partner? Let OTW Help

If you’re an ambitious and fast-growing DTC business ready to expand to the US we want to talk to you!

We founded OTW Shipping in 2020 with the goal of growing our business by helping other businesses grow. Today, we’re one of the fastest-growing 3PLs in the US operating two warehouses in Salt Lake City, Utah and Hartford, Connecticut. 

We can deliver anywhere on the mainland in two days partnering with all the major US shipping providers.

When you ship with OTW, you also get:

• 99.99% order accuracy

• Transparent rates and custom quotes to fit your needs

• Multiple locations for optimized shipping speed and cost

• Access to a Slack-like channel where you can chat with our team directly

• State-of-the-art warehouse management software

• And much more

Ready to start fulfilling? Let's get you a custom quote today.

Let's Start Shipping!