You’ve probably heard a lot about “de minimis” lately. And this is especially true if you’re shipping internationally to people in the US. If you're like most business owners, you're probably wondering what on earth “de minimis” means and why everyone seems so worried about it. In this post, we’ll...

US trade policy has seen some remarkable and dramatic changes in 2025. The greatest among them are sweeping tariff policies that directly impact how eCommerce businesses and crowdfunding campaigns operate. Whether you're running a Shopify store, launching a Kickstarter campaign, or managing an Amazon FBA business, these changes affect your...

You built a product with a battery in it. It could be a dashcam, a headlamp, a smart gadget, or a wearable. No matter what, it’s something with a rechargeable cell inside. Then you went looking for a fulfillment partner, and half of them either said no or quietly stopped...

You're ready to launch your Kickstarter campaign any day now. But you're worried about taxes and VAT, customs, duties, and tariffs. How are you going to handle that for your Kickstarter? Customs & VAT may seem very complicated, and we won't sugarcoat it—they are. But with a little bit of...

If you’ve never run a crowdfunding campaign before, you might be surprised at just how hard it can be. And that’s why many creators-to-be choose to work with crowdfunding marketing agencies. Working with the right crowdfunding marketing agency can dramatically change the success odds of a campaign, turning one that...

Launching a Kickstarter campaign takes a lot of planning, especially with shipping. Many creators get excited about their product and forget about the tricky and pricey shipping process. This can cause big problems.

We asked 4 eCommerce operators and strategists how they evaluate fulfillment partners. Their answers reveal a process that most brands get badly wrong—and a framework for getting it right. So you've decided you need a 3PL. For a lot of growing eCommerce businesses, that’s a good idea. If you're not...

We asked 3 eCommerce professionals what warning signs brands should watch for when choosing fulfillment partners. We then took their answers and cross-checked them with what hundreds of eCommerce sellers have reported online. Together, we were able to find a consistent set of red flags that you should watch for...

We asked 8 eCommerce operators and strategists a deceptively simple question: when do I need a 3PL? Their answers reveal that the decision is far more nuanced—and the stakes far higher—than most brands realize. Every eCommerce founder hits the same inflection point, or at least hopes to. You’ve heard many...

There are a lot of fulfillment companies out there. Any of them can say "order fulfillment you can trust." That's not hard to do. So you might reasonably wonder what that means in practice. We can pitch our services all day long. Instead, we asked three clients what they thought...

THE COMPANY Creative Beast is a small business that sells realistic, built-to-scale dinosaur action figures made by owner-operator, David Silva. Creative Beast uses the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and the pledge management system BackerKit to launch each new line of action figures. Once launched, the dinosaurs are also available to buy online as...

The Company Level 99 is a board game publishing company owned and operated by Brad Talton. Some of their more popular games include BattleCON, Pixel Tactics, Millennium Blades, Argent: the Consortium, and Empyreal: Spells & Steam. Once launched on Kickstarter, the games are also available to buy online as well as at select retail outlets. The Challenge...