You may have found this help file when you sought to send inventory to Shipwire and you clicked on one of the links in one of the check boxes of our Receiving Best Practices guide that new merchants have to walk through on receiving.
Shipwire understands that sending inventory to us can generate questions. Shipwire is here to support you. If you would like to go over particular questions regarding your inbound receiving please log into your account, click “Help” in the top right and submit a case to our support team with your particular questions or call Sales.
Shipwire constantly strives to make receivings a pain free and transparent process. Please note that we have lots of helpful files to inform you the best method of receiving. Here are a few must reads:
- Payments and Billing. Understand the impact of sending merchandise.
- Labeling and instructions for your supplier
- Review before Sending Shipwire merchandise
- Kitting and Bulk inventory management can save you a bundle and avoid account deposits.
- Special warehouse and receiving projects
- Acceptable products
Below is a review of common questions and points of distinction to help you qualify your inbound receivings and avoid hassles and delays. Please do review our terms and Acceptable Use Policy in full as this the list below is not a 100% complete list of the impact of receiving.
ASN Packing List Accuracy & SKU Label Accuracy
Tell us what you’re actually sending us. When you complete the ASN you are telling Shipwire what inventory quantities will be received.
Shipwire has strict receiving requirements so that we can give you a receiving service level. Before you send us merchandise please carefully review the Receiving requirements in section 3.1 of our Terms of Service.
If your receiving is not qualified and requires the warehouse to correct your receiving a Special Project will likely be required at your cost. For more information of Special Project minimums please see Sending Us Merchandise.
If you are using a supplier please ensure the supplier packing list matches what is inputted in the ASN.
Each individual SKU should be labeled clearly and accurately. If you need labels applied during receiving please request a “Special Project” when you input the ASN.
If you have questions about your product labeling please open a help desk ticket.
Acceptable Products – No Fragile, High Value or Hazardous Products
Today Shipwire does not allow perishables, food, Jewelry, Fragile merchandise or Hazardous Products. You must send Shipwire a minimum of 3 individial items for each SKU being received (no single products, samples or individual auction items).
For a complete list of excluded products please see our Acceptable Use Policy.
Receiving Service Levels
Shipwire warehouses can receive product quite quickly provided it matches what you tell us is coming, is qualified and we are moving the product into the warehouse. If you require labeling, product kitting or other projects please realize it will take the warehouse team a little time to conduct the project during which time your products will not be available for shipping.
Please note, if the inventory received does not match the packing list created in the ASN you may experience significant receiving delays and additional costs to receive the product.
For a complete list of receiving service levels please see the chart in sending us merchandise.
Shipping Service Levels
Once receiving has taken place your products are available for outbound shipping.
For a list of shipping service levels after receiving is complete please see Shipping from Shipwire
Our holiday and warehouse schedule can help you plan for holiday shipping.
Please also review outbound freight shipment and International shipping (crossing a border with a parcel).
Receiving, Payment and Billing
Payments and Billing. Understand the impact of sending merchandise.
Shipwire charges storage fees for products when they arrive at the warehouse. Once the inventory arrives at the dock and receiving is initiated storage fees will begin. If your receiving is unqualified or there is a special project attached to a receiving that delays a receiving you are still responsible for storage fees while the the products are being configured for storage.
Labels and Codes
Every shippable SKU that you send to Shipwire needs to be labeled. Please review our label and supplier instructions FAQ.
Receiving Fees, Deposits and Lots
People often ask us why we don’t charge a receiving fee; does that mean that there is no cost to receive with Shipwire? No, there is a cost to receive your products. Our receiving costs are included with our plan and per item ship fees. We do this in-lieu of confusing and costly receiving fees, and to assist our merchants with minimizing their upfront cash outlay.
In the event you send Shipwire a high quantity of items, ship in bulk, dispose of obsolete inventory, or cancel service and ship your product back to yourself, please note:
- Shipwire may require a security deposit for accounts with a high quantity of items. The number of items is determined at the time of receiving, and while a box can be broken down for individual shipping, it cannot be rebuilt for bulk shipping later. Sending product to Shipwire in Lots, and breaking it down as needed, can significantly reduce the number of items in your account. Here is an article to help you prepare for shipping in bulk at the time of receiving. This also applies to shipping in bulk back to yourself, or disposing of obsolete inventory in bulk.
- Beginning when you first reach an aggregate of more than 500 items being stored by Shipwire, a receiving deposit will be required to fund your account.
If you have any questions about receiving, please contact us. We want you to feel comfortable that your inventory is setup price optimally. This means that you need to do all your planning and packaging before sending merchandise.
For additional information about deposits and fees please see our Terms of Service and payments and billing.
Moving Inventory
From time to time you may find it necessary to move a portion of your inventory from one Shipwire warehouse to another. Moving Inventory from one warehouse is done by shipping inventory out of one warehouse and scheduling an ASN for the inbound inventory into the new warehouse. When you ship your product your account will be charged the per Item fee for each item shipped. Shipwire recommends that you review proper receiving of inventory as a “lot” or “bulk receiving” to keep outbound shipping fees to a minimum. Kitting and Bulk inventory management.
Tax ID’s & Inventory free of Customs, Tax or Duties Charges
If you are importing inventory into the U.S., Canada or the U.K. you will need to clear customs and pay taxes and duties on your inventory. Shipwire is not and can not be the “merchant of record” for importing and customs.
Please make sure you have a tax ID for the local jurisdiction that you are importing into. Shipwire can help you establish a Tax ID. Here are some guides to help you. If you have questions please contact sales or support.
Importers, your inventory must arrive at the warehouse free of customs, tax and duties charges. If Shipwire is asked to pay for any CTD fees at the point of receiving, these charges plus Shipwire fees will be passed through and paid by you before your inventory is ready for shipment. Shipwire reserves the right to reject shipments that request CTD payments of Shipwire.
For more information please see Sending Us Merchandise.
B2B, Bulk Inventory Receiving, Master Cartons and “Lots”
All these terms pretty much mean the same thing. When you are storing inventory in the warehouse, store it in the largest configuration (“lot”) possible and only have Shipwire break down the inventory when you are ready to ship it.
EXAMPLE:
- You are sending 5000 board games to Shipwire in Los Angeles. You expect to sell all the items through your web store to individual buyers. You can work with your supplier and have them sent as individual items or in boxes of 50.
- If you told Shipwire to receive the board games as individual items (1 SKU for 1 Board game in your account), Shipwire would ask for a deposit for 5000 items being received and you would only be able to ship individual items out.
- If you sent us 100 boxes of 50, Shipwire would not require a deposit as we are only receiving 100 items (in this case a box of 50 board games is 1 item). You would describe to products in your account: 1 box of 50; 1 individual board game. Reciving this way has many benefits:
- If you sold an individual item, Shipwire can receive a box of 50 into 50 individual products so you can send to individual buyers
- If you found a US distributor that needed 200 board games you would send them 4 items (4 boxes of 50) rather than 200 individual shipments.
- If there was an error in the product and you needed to ship the board games back to the manufacturer, it would be 100 items shipped rather than 5000.
- Planning to store in lots can save you a lot of money and increase your business flexibility.
For more information on lots, receiving and master cartons:
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