What it costs to store and ship your product
Your quote covers the cost of printing your product. This page covers everything around it: when your print order is charged, the fees that apply once your product is in our warehouse, and how billing works. Everything that applies to a standard printing and fulfillment account is here.
New to Vervante and still deciding? Start with How Vervante Works instead.
No flat rate, no markup on postageMany fulfillment companies fold shipping into a flat per-order rate with a markup built into it. We do not. Postage appears on this page as a pass-through because that is exactly what it is, billed at the amount the carrier charges us and nothing more.
What It Costs
Our fees are grouped by when you pay them. If your project involves freight, pallets, or bulk storage, those are quoted separately, so ask us and we will confirm before anything ships.
Each time you upload files
File upload
$35.00
Per upload
Upload fee
Covers all of the files for one product, not each file. Zip every PDF for the product and upload them as a single folder.
What the fee covers
- Two separate reviews before anything is produced, first in prepress and again in production
- Bleed, crop marks, page count, and page size checked against the specifications you gave us
- Each PDF measured, including tab widths and binding-edge margins
- Files renamed and your specifications transferred to a production job document
- Your product added or updated in your Vervante account
Revised or updated files go through that same review, so the $35.00 fee applies again. The fee is charged within 24 hours after your upload.
Before you print a full run
Printed proofs
A printed proof is a physical copy of your own product, priced by product type.
| Product | Proof cost | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Print on demand product | Quoted print on demand price | 3 to 5 business days |
| Board covers | $100.00 | 2 weeks |
| 10 mil laminated covers | $100.00 | 2 weeks |
| Disc-bound products | $100.00 | 2 weeks |
| Hardcovers | $250.00 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Turned-edge 3-ring binders | $250.00 | 3 to 4 weeks |
If your product includes foil, embossing, or debossing, the die is a separate one-time charge and is not included in the proof. Die pricing is preliminary until we receive and review your artwork, because the final cost depends on total coverage area and design complexity. We confirm that cost before you order a proof. A proof is charged within 24 hours after you order it, and the cost is not applied toward a later bulk order. Proof lead times can run longer from October through December, our busiest period.
Every order we ship
Order fulfillment
$2.50
Per order
Order fee
A flat fee on each order, no matter how many items the order contains.
$0.25
Per item from inventory
Pick fee
Charged for each item we pull from your stored inventory and add to the box. It does not apply to print on demand orders.
$0.25
Per stocked cover pulled
Cover pull fee
Charged each time we pull one of your preprinted covers from inventory to build a print on demand order. See Hardcover Print On Demand.
At cost
No mark-up
Postage
Actual postage based on weight, shipping method, and destination. You pay what we pay.
Free
Or $1.25 if manual
Order processing fee
Free when your orders arrive in our supported format, which works with any shopping cart. See Order Processing to set that up.
Ongoing, while we hold your inventory
Storage
Storage is calculated daily based on the quantity of each item in inventory and invoiced every two weeks. If your total storage for a billing cycle works out to less than $1.00, the charge is rounded up to $1.00. That is the smallest storage amount that appears on an invoice.
A
$0.001
Per item per day
Pen, sticker, sticker sheets, bookmark, postcard, tuck box
B
$0.002
Per item per day
Paperback books and other softcover products in any binding, including wire-o and spiral, single CDs and DVDs, card decks, USB, drawstring bags, tab sets
C
$0.004
Per item per day
Hardcover products, products with board covers or 10 mil laminated covers, 3-ring binders
D
$0.008
Per item per day
Poster, custom printed mailer box, 2-piece rigid box, apparel, supplements, water bottle, mugs, DVD sets, stuffed animal
E
$0.009
Per item per day
Exercise equipment, boxed electronics
Not sure which category your product falls into? Ask us and we will confirm it before your first shipment arrives.
The rates above are for item-level storage. Pallet storage, and preparing pallets for outbound freight, are priced separately and quoted on request.
Optional, if you want them
Listing and registration services
$35.00
One time, for each
Add to Vervante Bookstore or Amazon
Sets your product up for sale in the Vervante Bookstore or on Amazon. The fee is $35.00 for each, so listing on both is $70.00.
$35.00
One time, per ISBN
ISBN
The number retailers, distributors, and libraries use to identify your book. You need one to sell through Amazon or other retail channels.
$25.00
One time
LCCN
A Library of Congress Control Number, which is what libraries use to catalog a book.
$95.00
One time
Copyright application
We prepare your copyright application and submit it to the US Copyright Office on your behalf. The $95.00 includes the filing fee.
Only if it applies
Returns
$4.00
Per returned order
Returned order fee
Charged whenever an order comes back to us, for any reason. It covers handling the return and restocking the product.
At cost
Media Mail returns only
Return postage
Media Mail postage pays for the trip out only. If the post office sends an order back to us, for example because the address was incomplete, it charges us the same rate again for the trip back. That return postage is passed through to you at cost.
We ship to the address supplied with the order exactly as we receive it. We do not validate addresses, so setting up address validation in your shopping cart is the best way to avoid returned orders.
An example of an order
You have 250 paperback books printed and stored with us. We receive an order and ship one book via Media Mail within the United States.
| Order fee | $2.50 |
| Pick fee, 1 item | $0.25 |
| Order processing, supported format | $0.00 |
| Postage, Media Mail, at cost* | $4.39 |
| Total to fulfill that order | $7.14 |
*The postage figure above is an example only. Actual postage depends on the weight of the shipment, the shipping method, and the destination, and postal rates change over time.
Storage on those 250 paperbacks is category B at $0.002 per item per day, which is $0.50 per day, or $7.00 on each two-week invoice. Printing is quoted separately.
Payment and Billing
Charges fall into two groups: what you pay when you place a print order, and what we invoice twice a month while we store and ship your product.
| What | When you are charged |
|---|---|
| File upload fee | Within 24 hours after your upload |
| Printed proof | Within 24 hours after you order the proof |
| Bulk print order, in full | When you place the order |
| Custom foil stamping, embossing, or debossing dies | When you place the order |
| Specialty paper we order for your project | When we place the paper order |
| Shipped orders, including fulfillment fees and postage | Invoiced on the 1st and 15th of each month |
| Storage | Invoiced on the 1st and 15th of each month |
Bulk orders, dies, and specialty paper are charged up front because they are made or purchased specifically for your project. On the 1st and the 15th of each month you will receive an invoice covering all orders shipped in the previous two-week period, along with storage for that period. The card on file is charged within one to two business days after the invoice posts.
All charges go to the card on file unless we have arranged payment by wire transfer with you in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When am I charged for my print order?
A bulk print order is charged in full when you place it. Custom foil stamping, embossing, or debossing dies are charged at the same time, and specialty paper we order for your project is charged when we place the paper order. The $35.00 file upload fee is charged within 24 hours after your upload, and a printed proof is charged within 24 hours after you order it. Shipped orders and storage are invoiced separately on the 1st and 15th of each month. All charges go to the card on file unless we have arranged payment by wire transfer with you in advance.
Does my quote include shipping?
No. Your quote covers the cost of printing your product. Postage is charged at actual cost based on weight, shipping method, and destination, and we do not mark it up.
Is the $2.50 order fee charged per item or per order?
Per order. It is a flat fee on each order, no matter how many items the order contains. The $0.25 pick fee is separate and applies to each item we pull from your stored inventory. It does not apply to print on demand orders, except that a $0.25 cover pull fee applies when we pull one of your preprinted covers to build a print on demand order.
How do I avoid the order processing fee?
Send your orders in our supported format, which works with any shopping cart. Orders that arrive in that format are processed free. Orders we have to enter by hand are $1.25 each.
When does storage start being charged?
Storage is calculated daily from the day your inventory arrives in our warehouse and is invoiced every two weeks.
Why is my storage charge $1.00 when my rate works out to less than that?
Because $1.00 is the smallest storage amount we invoice. If you have a small quantity in stock and the daily rate adds up to less than $1.00 over a billing cycle, the charge is rounded up to $1.00. For example, 25 paperback books in category B cost $0.05 per day to store, which is about $0.70 across a two-week cycle. That is under the minimum, so the invoice shows $1.00.
Is the cost of a proof credited toward my bulk order?
No. A proof is charged separately and the amount is not applied toward a later bulk order. If your product includes foil, embossing, or debossing, the die is a separate one-time charge on top of the proof cost.
Why am I charged postage twice when an order comes back?
Media Mail postage covers the trip out only. When the post office returns an order to us, it charges us the same rate again for the trip back, and that amount is passed through to you at cost. The $4.00 returned order fee is separate and covers handling and restocking.
Do you mark up postage?
No. Postage is passed through at the exact amount we pay, based on the weight of the shipment, the shipping method, and the destination. Many fulfillment companies quote a flat per-order shipping rate instead, which has a markup built into it. When you compare us against a flat rate, compare the total cost of shipping one order rather than the fee alone.
Do I have to print with Vervante to use your warehouse?
No. We store, manage, and ship products we did not print. The same fees on this page apply.
Ready to move forward? How Vervante Works covers opening your account, sending your files, and everything else involved in placing your first order.
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